Johnny Depp skipped a press conference to promote new movie Mortdecai in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday (27Jan15) because he was sick.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star arrived at the rescheduled news conference on Wednesday (29Jan15) and explained that he was a no-show the previous day because he was unwell.

Rather than reveal the nature of his illness to journalists, Depp joked that he had been ambushed by a chupacabra, a mythical creature reportedly spotted in the Americas.

According to the Associated Press, Depp said, "I was attacked yesterday morning by a very rarely seen or experienced animal called chupacabra. I fought with it for hours. They're very persistent, very mean. And I'm pretty sure it came into my suitcase. I threw him off the 23rd floor. So we'll never see him again. Thank you for understanding."

More than 200 journalists waited for an hour before being told Depp's press event was cancelled on Tuesday.