FIRST LOOK: Johnny Depp in bald cap and wig in role of mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger as he begins filming biopic



Over the course of his 30 year career, he has hidden his matinee idol good looks through an array of quirky characters including The Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland and Pirates Of The Caribbean's unkempt and eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow.

And Johnny Depp was again nearly unrecognisable in the guise of gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger as he began shooting new movie biopic Black Mass in Boston on Wednesday.



The 50-year-old actor wore a bald cap with receding hairline along with a leather jacket and jeans for filming.



Unrecognisable: Johnny Depp stepped out in bald cap and receding hairline as criminal boss James 'Whitey' Bulger on the Boston set of Black Mass on Wednesday



The biopic will tell the story of Bulger, who last November received two life sentences and five years for his part in 11 murders and other crimes including drug trafficking, racketeering, extortion and money during the 1970s through to the 1990s.



The film, directed by Scott Cooper, is based on the book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob by ex-Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerald O’Neill.

Guy Pearce will join Depp as Whitey's law abiding brother Bill - former president of the Massachusetts Senate , while Joel Edgerton will appear as corrupt FBI Agent John Connolly.

Fascinating: Depp has said in previous interview that he is looking forward to getting under the character's skin

Dakota Johnson joins the cast as Bulger's girlfriend Lindsey - the mother of his six-year-old son Douglas, who dies tragically. 'The reason to play him is obvious to me,' Depp told Collider in an interview earlier this year. 'He’s a fascinating character. It’s not like anything I’ve done before, on that level. I’m very excited to slide into that skin for a little bit. ' And director Cooper said he was determined to 'get to the root of the psychology and behaviour' in his film, telling Collider that he was looking forward to working with Depp.

Smoke break: The 50-year-old was seen puffing on a cigarette as he arrived on the set Lights, camera, action: Depp was also wearing a black leather jacket over a matching polo shirt and jeans 'I only want to work with actors to have a strong point of view and who want to race to set,' he said. 'And Johnny is that type of actor. He’s always pushing himself and always playing something different. He’s one of the best actors in American screen history.

'Our hope is to really craft a full-bodied portrait in ways that you haven’t seen. It’s exciting to see an actor like Johnny really attracted to a part like this because you’ve never seen him like this. ' Meanwhile, one of Bulger's old hangouts is currently being painstakingly recreated in a Cambridge square in preparation for scenes in the movie, reports Masslive.com. What a transformation: It was hard to believe it was the same man who had arrived for filming earlier in the day Makeunder: Depp had been clad in a cream hoodie, baggy jeans and his trademark ripped fedora

Finally caught: Bulger's mug shot after he was captured in Santa Monica after 16 years on the run



Infamous South Boston dive bar Triple O's - where Bulger allegedly ran his gang and business enterprise - will be recreated for the film using the façade and interior of the Polish American Club.

The original bar is now a Japanese restaurant in the increasingly gentrified area known as 'Southie' by locals.

Despite his eventual downfall Bulger - the inspiration for Jack Nicholson's sinister character in the 2006 Martin Scorsese movie The Departed - was seen for years as a Robin Hood figure who bought Thanksgiving turkeys for working-class residents and kept hard drugs out of the neighborhood.



But that image was shattered when authorities started digging up bodies linked to Mob killings in the Boston area more than a decade ago.



Prosecutors at Bulger's two-month trial portrayed him as a cold-blooded, hands-on boss who killed anyone he saw as a threat, along with innocent people who happened to get in the way.

Corrupt Boston FBI agents protected Bulger for years while he worked simultaneously as a crime boss and an FBI informant who ratted out the rival New England Mafia and other crime groups.

New drinking hole: Infamous dive bar Triple O's was being recreated in a Cambridge Square on Wednesday Favourite haunt: The original dive bar where Bulger spent time running his underground empire

However, in 1994, police and the DEA launched an investigation into Bulger's gambling operations, with the gangster and associate Stephen Flemmi set to be indicted.

But Bulger's former FBI handler and friend John Connelly tipped him off, allowing the criminal to flee with his common law wife, Theresa Stanley. Missing her children, it was only a month before Stanley returned with Bulger, but he fled soon afterwards with his mistress Catherine Greig.

Quiet on set: The inside of the building is currently being worked on to use for the Black Mass interiors



Refurbishment: The Polish American club in Cambridge is being used for the movie



Bulger was soon named on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List - at one point he was only second to Osama Bin Laden.



He remained a fugitive for more than 16 years until he was captured in Santa Monica back in 2011 with Greig.

Now 84-years-old, he stood trial in July last year before being sentenced in November.



The new film is slated for release next year.

America's Most Wanted: James Bulger's FBI Fugitive poster along with his girlfriend Catherine Greig before he was discovered living in Santa Monica, California back in 2011