Pirates 2 Interview - We speak to Johnny Depp and Jerry Bruckheimer about the pirates sequel.

Even buccaneers in the furthest oceans of the world will know by now that Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest has made a kraken- sized splash at the box-office. But before the movie's crew headed off to toast their success with a warm flagon of grog, we caught up with them to talk about the making of the franchise's second chapter and what awaits on the horizon. Star Johnny Depp and producer Jerry Bruckheimer were on understandably cheerful form, happy to chat about "Barbie jags", body language and the mysteries of the next instalment....

Johnny, was the second movie as fun to make as the first? And how many more of Jack’s adventures can we expect?
Depp: As long as the story is there, as long as all the elements are there, why not? I’d be happy to keep going. I just very selfishly enjoy playing the character. I love playing the guy. Purely because it’s fun, nothing more you know. Acting’s never been about counting money in a back room for me. So, if these guys wanted to continue on, on this same ride, if everything was in the right place and the story was good, I’d stay on the ride for sure. I’m surprised they pay me for it, actually…

Bruckheimer: Don’t say that in front of Disney.

Did you have any idea making the first one that Pirates would turn out to be such a massive franchise?
Depp: Absolutely not, I had gotten used to the idea of never having a successful film. I was pretty comfy in that. It was a terrific shock for me. I’m still babbling about it.

Do you feel vindicated after Disney’s negative initial reaction to your performance?
Depp: It’s an enormous surprise, the fact that people took the character in and really supported me. At a certain point, as Jerry knows as well as I do, some of the better- dressed people at Disney were having a difficult time with my interpretation of the character. I felt like I’ve accomplished something, because it affected them to that degree. I just believed in it. So it felt really good then, and it still feels really good. The fact that audiences came in and supported me was a win-win situation.

Disney must be relieved that the risk they took with the first film has paid off so spectacularly. Has all that tension between filmmakers and studio vanished?
Depp: Pretty much, but they haven’t seen part three yet… (Laughs) It’s a strange thing, Gore and I were talking about this a couple of weeks ago. If you’re not making them really nervous, you feel like you’re not doing your job fully. (Pause) Part three should be interesting.

How much work have you put into developing Jack’s very distinctive walk and woozy movements?
Depp: What are you saying? (Laughs) I suppose Jack’s body language came from extreme heat. I locked myself in a sauna for a long period of time… by the way I don’t recommend that to anyone, no-one should do that. I thought at the time, out on these open seas for long, long periods of time, he would be subjected to the elements. So what happens when you lock yourself in a very, very hot place is it starts to affect the way you move and you get very, very uncomfortable and that is how Jack’s movement was born.

What’s it like seeing one of your characters entering the popular consciousness in such a massive way?
Depp: It’s obviously very touching when you see a kid dressed up as your character, because a couple of years ago the character didn’t exist. So to see some little kid that affected by something you’ve done is moving. At the same time, though it’s probably not a good idea, I could have seen little kids dressing up as Ed Wood or Raoul Duke.

What’s the story with Keith Richards? Is he definitely going to play Jack’s dad in the next movie?
Depp: We’re all looking forward to the idea of Keith coming and doing a cameo, and it’s looking very, very good. Nothing’s definite until the guy steps on set and the camera is rolling. But it’s certainly something I’m excited about.

Jerry, is it intentional to have so many British actors in the cast?
Bruckheimer: Yeah. Gore was looking for wonderful character actors, and in America unfortunately our great character actors are a lot more chewed up on television. But the British actors who are wonderful are not chewed up by American television, which is great. They are really fresh to American audiences and worldwide audiences

Johnny, how was working with Bill Nighy?
Depp: Bill is one of my all-time heroes, one of the finest actors that have ever done anything. He is just miraculous to watch. I probably would have fallen over laughing had he been all tentacled up. In fact, he was doing his work in a glorified prison suit. It was strange, a grey and black thing with little ping-pong balls all over it. So just that alone was fascinating to look at. It was really that that kept me from giggling all the time at Bill.

This is your first sequel. Are there any other characters you’d like to return to?
Depp: Years and years ago, I always thought a sequel to Edward Scissorhands would have been a good idea — that character felt like we hadn’t explored all the possibilities. There was more to do. Obviously Twentieth Century Fox felt differently. I think it might have had something to do with money...

Do you leave your characters on the set, or do you occasionally practise things at home?
Depp: Well, I sit down and play Barbies with my kids from time to time — we all do, we can freely admit we play Barbies — and it’s a great way as an actor to experiment with voice and things. I start to assume characters and my daughter will just sort of go, “Umm, papa, could you just, sort of…do your regular voice?” There was only one time when she was totally taken aback — when I was trying to find the voice of Willy Wonka. She stopped and said, “Who’s that?” I said, “I think it’s Willy Wonka”, and she said, “I like it.”

Do you miss your characters once they’ve gone?
Depp: Absolutely. There is always that certain time that arrives when the clock starts ticking and then you have to say goodbye. Though it sounds horribly silly for a middle-aged man to admit, I do go through a kind of decompression. You miss these guys. You know you’re never going to see them again in that capacity, you won’t look at them again. They may rear their ugly heads with me, every now and again, when I go into one of my Barbie jags, but you don’t get to play them again. I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye to Jack Sparrow. (To Bruckheimer) Hint, hint.

Jerry, are you thinking beyond the third film?
Bruckheimer: Yes we are. We’re hoping to continue the series of films. Audiences seem to love it and we love making it so hopefully we’ll get the same team back together again and make another one. Everybody seems to have enjoyed making the second one as much as the first one so we’ll have everybody back and have some fun again.

Johnny, where would you like to see yourself in ten years time?
Depp: Hanging out with my kids, somewhere where phones don’t ring, and where there’s a lot of sun. I think that’d be fine.

source: Empire Online