Film Focus: Exclusive Interview with Johnny Depp – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest By Joe Utichi.
(This interview occured at the London Premiere of POTC 2 – Dead Man’s Chest. What follows is a short excerpt. To read the entire interview please follow the link above to the FilmForce Website.)
FF: Are you surprised that Captain Jack is such a loved character?
Johnny Depp: That’s an enormous surprise as well, the fact that people took the character in and really supported me. At a certain point during the production, some of the better-dressed people at Disney were having a difficult time with my interpretation of the character. The fact that audiences came in and supported me was a win-win situation.
FF: How do you react when you see people dressed up as him?
Johnny Depp: It’s very touching when you see a kid dressed up as your character, because a couple of years ago, the character didn’t exist. To see some little kid affected by something you’ve done is moving. At the same time I guess I’m relieved it’s Jack, I could have seen the idea of kids dressing up as Ed Wood or Raoul Duke. I might not have had the same reaction.
FF: People are starting to imitate the Captain Jack swagger…
Johnny Depp: *laughs* I suppose Jack’s body language, in fact, came from extreme heat. I went to a sauna, locked myself in; by the way, I don’t recommend that. Out on these open seas for a long period of time, he’d obviously be subjected to the elements. So what happens when you lock yourself in a very hot place, it starts to effect the way you move and that’s kind of how Jack’s movement was born.
FF: This is your first sequel, was it interesting getting a chance to go back to Jack?
Johnny Depp: The opportunity to play Jack Sparrow again was a real gift. I can very clearly remember wanting to be a pirate when I was a kid. It feels like that still exists for a lot of people. Something with the idea of total freedom. Everybody wants to be that free, everyone would love to be totally irreverent and not have to answer to anyone. At the end of the first one, I felt it wasn’t done; there was more to be done, more possibilities, more areas to explore.
As long as there’s a good script there, you’re OK. And I’d be happy to keep going with Captain Jack; I just very selfishly enjoy playing the character. I really love playing the guy, purely because it’s fun, nothing more. There’s no evil moment when you go into a back room and start counting money! It’s never been about that for me. It’s purely about playing the character. So if these guys wanted to continue on, on the same ride, if everything’s in the right place, if the script & story was good, I’d stay on the ride, sure.
The idea of a sequel felt totally normal to me. I was looking forward to it, just to be able to put the gear back on and become Captain Jack. And working with Stellan Skarsg
