Since the screenplay first made its way around Hollywood in the early nineties, several A-list names were attached to play Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearl.
When Steven Spielberg was considering directing an earlier iteration of the screenplay, the names he had in mind were Bill Murray, Robin Williams and Steve Martin.
After he’d left the project, everybody from Jim Carrey (who turned it down to shoot Bruce Almighty) to Matthew McConaughey, reportedly Johnny Depp’s biggest rival for the role, were offered the blockbuster part at one point or another.
But one actor reportedly got closer than most: Robert De Niro, who was offered the role prior to Depp, only to say no. However, this decision haunted the legendary star of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, going on to motivate him to take a major role in another 2000s blockbuster.
Why he turned it down
Disney
Whilst several A-listers were jostling for the part, De Niro was reportedly less than happy to have been approached. According to reports, he turned down the offer to star because he was convinced the film would be a box office bomb, which would ruin his movie star reputation.
As one of the most successful franchises of the 21st century, this seems laughable now, but back then Pirates was no sure bet. One of the most notorious bombs of the previous decade, 1995’s Cutthroat Island, made Hollywood uneasy about making a pirate-centred movie – and, as it was based on a theme park ride, there was no certainty it would work either.
Paramount
At one point in development, uneasy Disney executives wondered as to whether it should go direct-to-video. But even in that iteration, they had another unlikely A-lister in the wings to star – yes, Christopher Walken almost appeared in a straight-to-DVD Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, something we’d love to see elsewhere in the cinema multiverse.
Disney execs may have not known this at the time, but the number of A-listers attaching themselves to the project showed that Jack Sparrow was going to be a massive character – with De Niro being the rare one to disagree.
Pirate De Niro
Paramount
Many reports have stated that De Niro was “full of regret” for turning down the role, which likely influenced his decision to hop on board another pirate role a few years later.
In 2007’s Stardust, the actor makes a cameo as pirate Captain Shakespeare, one of many A-list names in the big-budget Neil Gaiman adaptation. However, the film didn’t go on to become a Pirates level success, making $137 million worldwide in comparison to Pirates making more than $600 million.
Stardust does have something that Pirates doesn’t have though, and that’s Take That’s power ballad banger Rule The World. Yes, Jack Sparrow may have become one of the most iconic characters of the 21st century, but his adventures weren’t soundtracked by the dulcet tones of Gary Barlow & co.
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