PARIS (AFP) - Pirates Of The Caribbean star Johnny Depp is about to chart a new course into fragrant waters by agreeing to be the face promoting Dior's line of men's scents.

The French luxury fashion house confirmed on Wednesday that the 51-year-old American actor would soon be fronting its new cologne.

Dior declined to say how much the contract was worth, but it has pockets deep enough to afford him while also paying Natalie Portman and Charlize Theron to endorse its products.

Depp, ranked among the top-paid actors in Hollywood, has amassed an estimated fortune of US$250 million (S$336 million), much of it thanks to the Pirates movie franchise, the latest of which he is currently filming in Australia.

His star has been fading of late, though, with a string of box office bombs over the past four years, including The Lone Ranger, Transcendence and Mortdecai.

The Dior campaign is his first fragrance deal, and the fashion house has released a photo of the star in his signature smoldering style - complete with guyliner, layered necklaces and gelled hair.

Created by Dior perfumer François Demachy, the scent will be the first new men's fragrance from the house in 10 years.

It will be out in September, around the time his next film, Black Mass, is released, according to reports.

Depp ran into trouble last month in Australia after smuggling his two pet terriers into the country on his private jet, bypassing strict quarantine laws.

After authorities threatened to put the dogs down, prompting him to have them flown back out, Australian media termed the incident the "war on terrier".