Johnny Depp 'fired shotgun blanks at terrified assistant' in wild prank, claims Don Johnson

"fired shotgun blanks" at a petrified assistant, Golden Globe winner claimed.

Johnson, 74, recalled how Depp and journalist hid behind cars outside the writer's house to scare Johnson's assistant with the unloaded guns. Depp and Thompson both reportedly said, "Die, mother!" before firing the blanks, which it is claimed led to the assistant "peeing his pants".

The bizarre prank happened in the mid 1990s, before Depp would go on to portray Thompson in 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a comedy adventure based on the writer's novel of the same name.

Recalling the mishap on Thursday's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Johnson said it occurred when he lived next door to Thompson in Woody Creek, Colorado. Depp, who was in his early 30s at the time, had struck up a bond with Thompson, who often used the pen name Raoul Duke.

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Johnson recounted: "I called over to Hunter’s to see if had any weed and, of course, he had. Like a ton out back. He continued, explaining his plan to visit Thompson for some marijuana due to having guests: 'So I said, "Listen, I’m going to come over and get some weed ’cause I got a little group of people here."

Sending his assistant to collect the cannabis, Johnson described the shocking moment: "[He] drives up Hunter’s driveway and Johnny Depp and Hunter were hiding behind Hunter’s car with shotguns loaded with blanks and my assistant got out of the car and they both jumped out and said, 'Die, mother!' before firing the blanks."

The assistant was so terrified that he "peed his pants", Johnson revealed. Reflecting on his three-decade friendship with Thompson until the journalist's suicide in 2005 at age 67, Johnson told People: "I loved him. I learned so much from him. We first crossed paths, believe it or not, during the Andy Warhol era when I was filming my debut movie in New York. We connected because he was the wild character who walked in with a pocket full of drugs, and our film revolved around drugs.

"So, we got to know each other quite well. Surprisingly, he ended up being my neighbour, literally a stone's throw away at my ranch in Colorado. For the next quarter-century, if I was out of town and one of my animals fell ill, he'd come over and sleep in the stall with my pet, nursing them back to health."

Depp also portrayed Thompson's character in the 2011 film adaptation of his book The Rum Diary. The Rum Diary draws inspiration from Thompson's escapades after relocating to the Caribbean to write for the San Juan Star newspaper. Thompson tragically took his own life in his office at his Colorado residence on February 20, 2005, aged 67.