“Jack’s one mission is to get back his ship,” echoes Verbinski. “Again, it’s about the simplicity of the character: his great love and his great freedom are his ship. He’s not the villain and he’s not the love interest, although he does think he’s got a chance with Elizabeth. Jack Sparrow is a bit of an oddball. Johnny’s character is not unlike Lee Marvin’s in ‘Cat Ballou.’ He really just floats through the story affecting all around him while pursuing his goal.”
Depp, who developed his ideas for the character of Jack while reading the script in his sauna, had strong ideas about Jack’s attitude and appearance. His inspirations for the character were diverse: Depp says he modeled a large part of the character after legendary Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, added a bit of the cartoon character Pepe Le Pew and tossed in some modern day Rastafarian. “Pirates were the rock stars of their day,” says the actor.
“Jack’s got little trinkets hanging in his hair, so that was one of the inspirations. I like the idea that each one of these little pieces is a very vivid and extremely important memory for Jack,” says Depp.
Still in his thirties, Depp also found himself in the unusual role of elder statesman to his younger costars, who grew up watching the actor in such films as “Cry-Baby,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.”
“I can’t say enough good things about Johnny,” says Keira Knightley, who plays Elizabeth. “It was a dream, it was a pleasure. I mean, he was wicked. Really cool.”
“Johnny is a wonderful human being,” says Orlando Bloom. “I would go to him for advice on all sorts of things. I felt really privileged to work so closely with somebody who I’ve admired from afar throughout his career.”
Geoffrey Rush stars opposite Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow’s nemesis, the dastardly Captain Barbossa. An Academy Award® winner heralded for tackling profound characters in momentous projects, Rush enhanced the entire project by taking on the mantle of Barbossa, a scheming brigand with a pompous air, forced to live in a netherworld between human life and skeletal demise.
“We needed an equally accomplished actor to play Johnny’s adversary,” explains Bruckheimer. “Geoffrey Rush is enormously talented and is known for playing a vast array of characters. We were lucky that he had a break in his schedule and wanted to be part of this project. Geoffrey’s Barbossa is the quintessential villain; it’s a treat to watch him become the character.”
In an effort to find out what makes the wicked Barbossa tick, Rush created a rich backstory for the character as he prepared for the role. “He achieved the position of captain by being a mutinous first mate, and taking over the Black Pearl and claiming it as his own,” he says. “I thought, this guy has got to be a crack swordsman, and a very nasty, dirty fighter. He didn’t go to finishing school with an épée; he probably had a sword on his belt from the time he was about 13, and he just knew how to hack off heads.
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