Johnny Depp says he was almost terminated from the first installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series twelve years ago because Disney execs were worried about his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow.
“It trickled back to me somehow that, ‘Goddammit, Johnny Depp’s ruining the film! What is that thing? Is it drunk, is it gay?” Depp tells the Guardian.
A top executive asked him what was going on:
“When they asked if it was gay, I said: ‘Didn’t you know all my characters are gay?’”
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In 2013, the actor talked to the U.K.’s Metro about the upset his over-the-top performance caused.
“I’m very happy to explore all possibilities of a character and really, you know, dive into the role,” the actor explained. “They couldn’t understand what I was doing. You know? To the point where Disney wanted to — wanted to fire me. They didn’t understand the character. They were actually contemplating subtitling the film.”