Actors Who Almost Played Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’

It’s hard to imagine what the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise would have been like without Johnny Depp as the charismatic Jack Sparrow. However, the original plans for the role had other actors almost accepting his job, and some of them were even going to sign with Disney to be part of the next films in the saga, but for different reasons they were cancelled. .

The first of them was Matthew McConaughey, who nearly stole the Johnny Depp franchise ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. In the 2000s, Disney was looking for the actor who would bring Jack Sparrow to life, and found Matthew, who was able to convince the executives, thanks to his uncanny resemblance to Burt Lancaster, who was the inspiration for the character.

Robert Deniro

One of Actors who turned down the role of Jack Sparrow, and who no doubt would have been a totally different character, is Robert de Niro. The star of movies like ‘Taxi Driver’ or ‘Godfellas’ was about to sign with Disney to join the franchise. However, the fear of not knowing if he was going to become a failure was what ultimately made the actor back off.

Jim Carrey

Unsurprisingly, Disney sought out charismatic comedians to land the role of Jack Sparrow. That’s why they got close Jim Carrey protagonist ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, since his histrionics were perfect with that of the character, according to the producers. But not so the actor, who has decided to choose to star in ‘Almighty’, one of his most successful films.

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Cary Elwes

Everyone knows that “Pirates of the Caribbean” was a hit in theaters all over the world, but Disney at one point thought of launching it directly on television. If so, Cary Elwes would have been the actor chosen to play Jack Sparrow. The producers wanted all possibilities covered, and for that reason, they called the actor from ‘The Princess Bride’, but it ended up being released in theatres.

Christopher Walken

Another of the actors taken into consideration, in the event of the launch of “Pirates of the Caribbean” in video format, was Christopher Walken, who would have brought Jack Sparrow to life in his VHS version. Like Elwes, executives eventually agreed to release the film worldwide and Johnny Depp landed the role.

Hugh Jackman

One of the names executives had pitched for the role was Hugh Jackman, chosen by the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ co-creator, but Disney believed he wasn’t famous enough to hire him. Another name that was considered was that of Michael Keaton, the protagonist of Tim Burton’s “Batman”, but who eventually got off the boat.