Pirates of the Caribbean star on how Johnny Depp overcame Disney’s ‘worries’ | Films | Entertainment

Pirates of the Caribbean may be a billion-dollar franchise for Disney after five films and counting, but the original movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl, was far from a sure-fire hit. The last big-budget swashbuckling adventure to hit cinemas was 1995’s Cutthroat Island, which was such a box office bomb that the losses led to the closure of Carolco Pictures. Basing a Pirates movie on one of their theme park rides was going to be a big gamble for Disney when it was released in 2003, 23 years ago today.

Originally, Disney had considered the likes of Matthew McConaughey for Captain Jack Sparrow. This was mainly because they wanted the character to resemble Burt Lancaster, the star of 1952’s The Crimson Pirate, a far cry from Johnny Depp’s take. Others who could have ended up playing the lead included Jim Carrey, Michael Keaton and Christopher Walken. Robert De Niro even turned down Captain Jack for fear that the movie would be a giant flop after Cutthroat Island.

The Curse of the Black Pearl’s screenwriter, Stuart Beattie, initially wrote the role with Hugh Jackman in mind, hence the name Captain Jack. At the time, the Wolverine star wasn’t a big enough name so Disney cast indie actor Johnny Depp. But he wouldn’t go for that cocky Burt Lancaster type and decided to base his character on a mixture of Rolling Stones rock star Keith Richards and Looney Tunes womaniser Pepé Le Pew. Speaking with GQ in 2018, Depp claimed Disney just didn’t get it, constantly asking him what he was doing with the character.

Depp said: “Disney hated me. [They were] thinking of every way they could to get rid of me, to fire me. ‘Oh, we’re going to have to subtitle him.’ ‘We don’t understand Captain Jack Sparrow. What’s wrong with him?’ ‘What’s wrong with his arms?’ ‘Is he drunk?’ ‘Is he mentally f***ing stupefied?’ ‘Is he gay?’”

His Mr Gibbs co-star Kevin McNally previously spoke with the Daily Express and remembered the studio executives coming to set. He said: “Oh yes definitely yeah. A lot of suits visiting asking what the hell was going on.”

When it came to Captain Jack’s flamboyant costume, Depp would even overdress the character as he knew he’d have to take some items off. Nevertheless, the star’s creative gamble paid off and the first Pirates of the Caribbean film was a huge hit. McNally continued: “But I think once we got our budget back within about a week, all their worries seemed to fade! And he got an Oscar nomination. I wish he’d got it actually.”