After years of proving his versatility as an actor without ever starring in a gold-plated box-office blockbuster, his talent was finally acknowledged by cinemagoers and critics alike through his performance as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean three years ago – By Steve Pratt for The Northern Echo
Public adoration of Captain Jack, the fact that people took to the character and supported him, came as a pleasant surprise. “At a certain point some of the better dressed people at Disney were having a difficult time with my interpretation of the character. The fact that the audience came in and supported me was a win-win situation,” says the actor with a degree of satisfaction.
Executives’ worries were understandable when you consider Captain Jack’s mincing swagger and mangled, effeminate English accent. His body language is all to do with the weather, explains Depp. “It came from extreme heat. I went to a sauna, locked myself in – by the way, I don’t recommend that. Out on the 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 affect the way you move, that’s kind of how Jack’s movement was born.”
The combination contrives to remind you not only of Keith Richards but also Captain Birds Eye and Julian Clary. The two sequels are being filmed back-to-back, with Depp and the rest of the cast reuniting to complete filming next month.
Refreshingly, Depp rejects any actory character development nonsense regarding his pirate. “I kind of reckon he’s fully developed,” he says. “He’s arrived and had arrived on the first one, so that whole idea of the arc of the character? Bollocks. The guy is, and he sort of moves forward.”
What comes across on screen is that Depp’s having a ball doing a funny voice and silly walk, and it’s difficult to resist warming to Sparrow. For Depp, the role helps fulfil a childhood dream. “I can very clearly remember wanting to be a pirate when I was a kid,” he says.
“It feels like that still exists for a lot of people. Something to do 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. He’s me and I’m him. He’s a character born out of me, but I don’t trust him at all.”
Pirates 2 is his first sequel and he’s happy to keep splicing the mainbrace for as long as audiences want to see Captain Jack. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has said that he’s looking to make more Pirates movies beyond number three. “As long as there’s a good script there, you’re OK,” says Depp.
His children haven’t seen Pirates 2 yet. “The responsible thing to do was to check it out first before they come to it. I’ve come to the conclusion they’ll be OK,” he says.
