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Very few franchises have ever so successfully pulled off what Disney’sPirates of the Caribbeandid, with ease. Well, undoubtedly, a major portion of that credit goes to Johnny Depp who played the titular character of the eccentric pirate. This led many fans to believe there won’t be any further films in the franchise without Depp.
Unfortunately, according to Johnny Depp, Disney wasn’t always convinced of his capabilities to portray Captain Jack Sparrow. The actor revealed how he almost got fired, as Disney execs felt he was ruining the character and the films, with his over-the-top acting.
Also read:Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow Look Was Devised Purely By Accident While Filming the First ‘Pirates’ Movie Inside a Cave
Johnny Depp’s ‘Pirates’ Franchise Was an Immediate Hit
When Johnny Depp’s firstPirates of the Caribbeanmovie, based on a Disneyland theme park ride, hit the theatres in 2003, no one knew what to expect from it. It was almost like an experimental film released by Disney. But much to everyone’s surprise, the movie became an immediate hit, which encouraged Disney to turn it into a franchise with few other sequels.
Bagging over billions of dollars at the global box office, thePirates of the Caribbeanturned into one of the most renowned franchises of this era.Johnny Deppwas hailed by fans and critics for turning the eccentric character of Captain Jack Sparrow, into an iconic swashbuckler. But quite shockingly, his performance was based on his idea of pirates.
Upon researching, Johnny Depp discovered that, in their day, the pirates were regarded as rockstars. This led Depp to base his now-famous interpretation of Jack Sparrow on his favorite rockstar, Keith Richards. However, despite his broad portrayal and prolific performance, Disney wasn’t convinced of his capabilities as the portrayal wasn’t anything close to what they expected.
Also read:Johnny Depp Won’t Ever Admit a $260M Bomb Was His Fault: “Media is targeting all these movies”
Disney Initially Lacked Faith in Johnny Depp
There was a time when Disney executives were initially resistant and almost decided to fire the actor. Lacking faith in Johnny Depp, the studio heads were unsure of the actor’s capabilities to portray the role of Captain Jack Sparrow. Clearly, the execs weren’t impressed with Depp’s over-the-top performance.
During a panel at A.F.I. Fest viaENews,Johnny Depp revealed how he was inches close to getting fired from his role. The actor’s over-the-top performance wasn’t well received at Disney studios. Eventually, his portrayal prompted a Disney executive to call and ask, “what the f–k are you doing?”
“Yeah, they wanted to fire me. It trickled back to me that [former Disney CEO] Michael Eisner went on some sort of bent about how ‘Goddamnit Johnny Depp’s ruining the film! Is it drunk? Is it gay?’ So I fully expected to be fired.”
“I got a call from the upper echelon at Disney who were courageous enough to ask me, ‘what the f*ck are you doing?’. I said, ‘Well don’t you know all my characters are gay? I really expected to be fired, but I wasn’t for some reason. They were actually gonna put subtitles under my character, they couldn’t understand Captain Jack.”
Luckily, Disney took a gamble on Johnny Depp’s drunkenly charming take on the character, and it eventually paid off.
Krittika Mukherjee
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3219
Krittika Mukherjee is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on films, TV shows, and celebrity news with over 3,000 articles published. With an educational background in Journalism, and a keen interest in filmmaking, Krittika blends factual precision with creative flair, when crafting her editorials, or dissecting fan theories.Her coverage often includes news and analyses of critically acclaimed films, celebrity news, and franchises like the Wizarding World, LOTR, DC, and MCU—particularly Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, Superheroes, and fan theories. As a Wizarding World aficionado, Krittika has spent countless hours exploring hidden backstories, unadapted book moments, spells, and trivias surrounding J.K. Rowling’s lore.An imaginative writer with a way with words, Krittika has worked as an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a web content writer for a year. She brought her experience and expertise to FandomWire to pursue her desire for sipping coffee while dissecting films and tracking celebrity drama.
