Stirrings. Small, small stirrings... of feelings for a woman. Having sailed 'round the world and gone on countless swashbuckling adventures over the past four years, it's a big a step as any for Jack Sparrow.
In the new "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," the fourth chapter in the blockbuster Disney pirate series, Johnny Depp's Captain Jack faces a new obstacle: love. It comes in the form of Penelope Cruz's formidable Spanish pirate Angelica, a past flame who comes back to either team up or torture the charismatic Sparrow.
No spoilers here, but speaking to MTV, Depp said that it goes against his iconic character's very nature to fall dreadlocked head over boots for someone other than himself.
"I think if we did a scenario where it was Captain Jack really falling in love, it would most likely be a silent film. I think he would go completely catatonic and be unable to speak," he told the network. "He would probably sit there and quiver for an hour and a half... It would mess up the legend. Which I think is always working for it, to leave the legend behind."
However, perhaps Depp is only speaking of Sparrow falling in love with a woman. In a November interview with Vanity Fair, Depp said that Disney was worried about whether Sparrow was gay -- to which he replied, "all my characters are gay."
Still, while on-screen love may be difficult for Sparrow and Angelica to traverse, Depp spoke at the "Pirates" press conference about his love of working with Cruz.
"It just sort of clicked instantly so that this whatever exists in terms of chemistry, was just instantly firing on all cylinders. It felt completely right, and it was [director] Rob's [Marshall] brilliant idea to bring her in and I think when he
brought up the idea to me, he maybe got out the consonant and I went, great idea," he told the press. "So I was very, very excited to have Penelope come into the this film. I knew that she would be not only a worthy opponent but someone who could just kill the scenes and she did. She was incredible."
Cruz has had similar things to say, though it was less emotional infatuation for her; she couldn't get over Depp's impeccable comedic timing.
"To keep a straight face sometimes with Johnny in some of the more dramatic scenes," she said in a recent interview. "I would look at him doing the things he does as Jack Sparrow, and Rob had to cut so many takes with Johnny or me, because we could not control ourselves. He would provoke me and always make me laugh.
"It was harder than the swordfights, for sure."
For more on Depp and Sparrow, click over to MTV.