Johnny Depp once again appear in-character at Disneyland, to promote the latest Pirates of the Caribbean film. Depp, of course, earned initial '80s fame as a teen hearthrob in the FOX TV series 21 Jump Street, before transitioning to spending most of the 90s as a quirky character actor in films like Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood. It wasn't until 2003's Disney blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean that Depp was finally established as a household name, via his bombastic but lovable portrayal of the oft-drunken Captain Jack Sparrow.
Depp has gone on to play the role in three more Pirates films, all of which have met varying degrees of critical opinion. On the financial side though, the picture has been much more rosy, with the franchise having hauled in nearly $4 billion at the worldwide box office; a treasure that would no doubt delight Captain Jack.
While some have questioned why an actor as talented as Depp needs to keep going back to the Pirates well so often, he's made it clear on more than occasion that he really enjoys playing Jack Sparrow, and will happily continue to do it as long as Disney wants him to. As part of the promotion for latest Pirates sequel Dead Men Tell No Tales, Depp yesterday pulled off quite the amusing publicity stunt: appearing in-character as Jack Sparrow during portions of the classic Disneyland ride that inspired the now-massive Pirates film series.
Sick RT @ItsMandizzle: Johnny Depp spent his day at Disneyland surprising guests on Pirates. I could die. pic.twitter.com/4fzVNltzbU— David V⚽️? (@EsBeeDave) April 27, 2017
Just saw #johnnydepp at Disney land! SO AMAZING AHH pic.twitter.com/EaBUIWXsE7— sam (@smccrackenn) April 27, 2017
In today's technological age, Depp's surprise appearance was unsurprisingly captured on video by more than one excited park attendee, with two of the clips presented above. As one might imagine, Depp popping up seems to have had the desired effect, striking the Pirates riders with a mix of shock, confusion and amazement that the A-list star of Disney's blockbuster films was now in front of them in the flesh. That's certainly not something one sees everyday.
While the above surprise was indeed a marketing tactic, when one considers Depp's well-known love of the odd, it totally seems like something he might do for fun, even if Disney hadn't asked him to. No word yet on if a similar surprise Depp appearance is being planned for those riding the Pirates attraction at Disney World in Florida at some point. With a month left until Dead Men Tell No Tales sails into theaters, one never knows what might happen between now and then.
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Source: Deadline
