Paul McCartney took a left-field approach when casting the video for 'Early Days,' a remembrance song for John Lennon off his 2013 album New.

Rather than find lookalikes for himself and Lennon, the former Beatle went with unknown actors playing aspiring musicians in 1950s South — and instead of putting Johnny Depp front and center, which could have overshadowed the video’s heartfelt story, McCartney relegated the actor to a peripheral role as one of his bandmates.

Macca’s unexpected choices work in the video’s favor. But the decision to briefly show Depp is also part of an inside joke between the pair, who’ve worked together before on Paul McCartney’s videos for “My Valentine” (2012) and “Queenie Eye” (2013).

“It’s getting to be a running gag,” McCartney told Rolling Stone. “He’s like the Alfred Hitchcock of my videos. And he’s good!”

It wasn’t hard for Depp to get into character, especially considering he has a musical pastime  — as a guitarist, he contributed to Oasis‘ 1997 song “Fade In-Out” and was a member of the supergroup P, alongside Butthole Surfers’ singer Gibby Haynes, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea, and Sex Pistols’ guitarist Steve Jones.