He might have played with superstars such as Oasis and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, but don't expect Johnny Depp to abandon acting for rock and roll anytime soon.

Speaking on the red carpet at the premiere of his new movie Mortdecai, the 51-year-old screen icon was surprisingly forthright in his criticism of actors with musical sidelines.

"That whole idea for me is a sickening thing, it's always just made me sick," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Acknowledging that he has dabbled in the world of music, he confessed: "I've been very lucky to play on friends' records and it's still going.

"Music is still part of my life.... But you won't be hearing The Johnny Depp Band. That won't ever exist."

And warming to his theme, he denounced stars who leverage their fame into an audience for their musical ventures.

"The kind of luxury now is, anybody with a certain amount of success, if you have a kind of musical being, you can go out and start a band and capitalise on your work in other areas.

"But I hate the idea, 'Come see me play the guitar because you've seen me in 12 movies'. It shouldn't be.

"You want the people who are listening to the music to only be interested in the music."

We wonder what he'd think of the cast of Towie's brief recording career then?