Name: Captain Jack Sparrow
Age: mid-30s?
Occupation: Pirate
Actor: Johnny Depp

It’s fairly widely known around here that I love bizarre comedy and dry wit. And everyone is pretty well aware that I have a Thing for characters who are ever so slightly odd by society’s standards but utterly brilliant at the same time. There’s the whole morally ambiguous conman-type thing. And lest I forget the benefits of swarth...

There are a few characters who embody all of these traits – Duke L’Orange and Tulio spring to mind – but perhaps none so effectively as Captain Sparrow. Jack may be a skosh off his nut (the phrase “se destaca” keeps running through my mind...), but he is one of the more insightful characters in the movie, and in pop culture as a whole. I especially enjoy the fact that his plans are not always successful, whether due to extenuating circumstances or his own lack of foresight. But he generally has a good grip on the situation at hand and is far more in control of his facilities than most are aware. And he’s got style. I mean, just watch him dock! I love it.

Depp does a fantastic job of bringing to the part something of a drunken Muppet (what the smeg am I talking about? Refer to the sword fight between Sparrow and Barbossa. When Jack runs under that arch thing, he’s flailing his arms about. Watch that and tell me that he doesn’t put you in mind of Kermit). And not only his body carriage and gestures, but his facial expressions are fabulous, as well. His voice is perfect for the part (or rather, he made it perfect), and his inflection and delivery are spot on. I’ve never actually seen him in anything else, so I got that marvelous un-tainted view of the character.

For a pirate, Jack is remarkably well-mannered and good-natured. A large portion of the movie focuses on the fact that not all pirates are bloodthirsty madmen. Jack is the ideal character to support this claim. On first glance, he is a scoundrel in bad need of a bath. But it soon becomes apparent that he is relatively honorable and self-sacrificing, though not outrageously so. He loves treasure, rum, women (or at least what he can get from some of the ladies of negotiable affection for a reasonable price), and his ship. He’s not opposed to throwing his weight around if necessary, can be very manipulative, and is occasionally quite self-serving. And he’s not very forgiving. But he is quite polite (count the number of times he apologizes to someone, especially when in the middle of a battle scene) and very nearly sacrifices both his ship and his life for Will and Elizabeth. But my favourite thing about him is definitely the fact that, through his seeming unsteady grip on reality, he is actually incredibly quick-witted and sly.

Overall, Jack Sparrow is a complex character with an intriguing past. And he never once makes us listen to some trite sob story about his stormy childhood (notice it was Gibbs who gave us nearly all the background we know about him) Will Jack be dethroning any of my harem members? Nah. But he has certainly joined the sallied ranks of My Favourite Characters.

Psst! Like what you see? There’s more here!

Savvy?
Created Friday, February 13, 2004.