Depp then promised he would send the tan and grey headwear to him once filming had finished, and Jack was amazed when it came in the post.

The youngster revealed: "All I really said was, 'Can I have your hat?' And he said, 'When I'm done with it, it's yours.' He was actually pretty cool."

The hat was posted along with a host of promotional gifts from 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', in which Depp played eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka, to the boy's home in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

[View our Johnny Depp pics]

Taylor's mother, Kris Brand, said: "For him to do something for an ordinary child is really something. You hear who is doing drugs, who is sleeping with who, but you never hear a celebrity saying 'of course' to an ordinary kid."

The package arrived with a note signed by Depp which read: "Here is a hat for you. Hope you like this and assorted fun bits."

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