Captain Jack Sparrow

Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional pirate and one of the primary characters of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2004), Dead Man's Chest (2006), At World's End (2008) and On Stranger Tides (2011).

Johnny Depp portrays Sparrow and won great acclaim for his comic performance, basing the character off Keith Richards. Following the sudden popularity of the character after his debut in The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow reappeared in the two sequels which were produced back-to-back, as well as a series of prequel books, video games and even in the Disney theme park ride which inspired the films. There is a running joke throughout the movies where people neglect to mention "Captain" when addressing Captain Jack Sparrow, and this seems to be something of a nuisance to Jack Sparrow, and occasionally others such as Elizabeth and Will Turner, who promptly correct them.

Character history
Depp claims that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who has a cameo role as his father in the third movie, and Pepé Le Pew (from Looney Tunes) were both inspirations for his performance (although Errol Flynn &mdash; primarily in Captain Blood [1935] &mdash; was also an influence). Depp has also said that he imagined pirates as being "like the rock stars of their day" and that he likes to portray Sparrow as "sexually ambiguous".

The part earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, a rarity for a comic performance. This performance made Johnny Depp the only man to be nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for a Disney movie. Screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio compared his character to Bugs Bunny and Groucho Marx on the DVD commentary for the first film.

Early Life
According to the official Disney website and the game based on the film series, Jack Sparrow, the son of Captain Teague was born in British Colonial India and was once employed by the East India Trading Company. Jack helmed the Wicked Wench, an EITC merchant vessel, performing odd jobs for Cutler Beckett. When Jack refused to transport slaves and instead freed them in Africa, Beckett sanctioned the torching (and sinking) of the Wicked Wench, and literally branded Jack Sparrow a pirate. Jack came to embrace his outlaw status, becoming a successful pirate with no desire to return to life under the command of others. Later, Jack petitioned Davy Jones to raise his ship from the ocean floor. He rechristened her the Black Pearl. (In the original screenplay by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, Gibbs tells Will Turner that Jack served as a cartographer's apprentice.)

Disney Press began a book series for young readers in June 2006, chronicling Sparrow's adventures as a teenager. Written by Rob Kidd, the first four books follow Sparrow and a young, motley crew in many adventures aboard a tiny fishing ship called The Barnacle. The adventures included a search for the legendary Sword of Cortés, and a trip to New Orleans that turned the city into bronze. Along the way, they battled pirates, ancient curses, witchcraft, sirens, and the power of the sea.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
About a decade prior to the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow was searching for the legendary Chest of Cortez containing cursed Aztec gold. When Sparrow shared the bearings to the chest's location, Chief Mate Hector Barbossa and the crew mutinied and marooned him on an island with only a pistol containing a single shot (allowing the option of suicide over starvation). After three days, Sparrow bartered passage off the island with rum runners. Seeking revenge, Sparrow kept the pistol to kill his former first mate.

Ten years later, Sparrow arrives in Port Royal to acquire a ship, but he is arrested for piracy after saving Elizabeth Swann, the governor's daughter, from drowning. That night, the Black Pearl attacks Port Royal, seeking the last Aztec medallion that will break the curse that has rendered them into immortal skeletons. Elizabeth, who possesses the coin, is kidnapped. The next morning, Will Turner, a blacksmith apprentice whom Sparrow fought in an escape attempt, seeks Sparrow's help to rescue Elizabeth, whom he secretly loves. Sparrow agrees only when he realizes Will is the crucial element needed to break the curse and that he can use him to bargain back the Black Pearl. Will frees Sparrow from jail, and the two commandeer the HMS Interceptor.

After recruiting a crew in Tortuga with help from his old friend, Gibbs, they head to Isla de Muerta, where Sparrow knows the pirates will go to break the curse. Once there, Sparrow and Will infiltrate the cave where a ritual is underway with Elizabeth, whose blood Barbossa believes will break the curse. Mistrusting Sparrow, Will knocks him unconscious. He rescues Elizabeth, and the two escape to the Interceptor, but the Black Pearl pursues them. After a fierce battle, the Interceptor is sunk, and the crew is captured. After learning Will can break the curse, Barbossa maroons Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann. To Sparrow's horror, Elizabeth burns an abandoned rum stockpile as a signal fire that is spotted by Commodore James Norrington. Sparrow provides the bearings to Isla de Muerta after Elizabeth persuades Norrington (by accepting his previous marriage proposal) to attack the island and rescue Will.

At the island, Sparrow saunters into the cave and interrupts Will's sacrifice. He informs the stunned Barbossa that Norrington is waiting outside to ambush them and proposes they form an alliance. When Barbossa agrees and sends the crew to fight the navy, Sparrow attacks him. Barbossa impales Sparrow with his sword, believing he is mortally wounded; but, when he stumbles backwards into the moonlight, Sparrow is revealed to be an immortal skeleton&mdash;having snuck a coin from the chest to curse himself. Sparrow and Turner lift the curse just after Sparrow fatally shoots Barbossa with the shot he has carried for ten years. No longer immortal, Barbossa falls to the ground dead and the remaining now-mortal pirates surrender. Sparrow is arrested and returned to Port Royal for hanging, but with help from Will and Elizabeth, the execution is interrupted, and he escapes by accidentally falling off the rampart and into the bay where the Black Pearl is waiting. Sparrow is captain once again. Will and Elizabeth declare their love for another, and Norrington graciously concedes Elizabeth's hand to Will.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Thirteen years ago, Captain Sparrow obtained the Black Pearl from Davy Jones by bargaining his soul in exchange for 100 years service aboard the infamous ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman. Now the debt is due. One night, Sparrow's former shipmate, "Bootstrap Bill" Turner appears and marks him with the Black Spot, a sign the Kraken is hunting him. Meanwhile, Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company arrests Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann for aiding in Sparrow's escape. With Elizabeth in jail, Beckett offers clemency if Will agrees to search for Sparrow and his compass. He has Letter of marque with which he wants to recruit Sparrow as a privateer. Otherwise, Will, Elizabeth, and former Commodore James Norrington will be executed. Will finds Sparrow and the crew held captive by cannibals on Pelegosto. They escape, barely making it to the Black Pearl.

Rowing upriver, they visit Tia Dalma, a voodoo priestess with whom Sparrow hints he was once close. Sparrow shows her a drawing of a key; he does not know what it unlocks or where to find it, and his magical compass has failed him. Tia Dalma says it will not work because Sparrow does not know what he truly wants or, "he is loath to claim it as his own". She tells them the legend of Davy Jones and the Dead Man's Chest. When Jones lost his true love, his pain was so deep that he carved out his heart and buried it in the chest. The key is kept with him. Back at sea, the Pearl encounters Davy Jones who has come to claim his debt. Sparrow tricks Will into telling Davy Jones that he was sent to settle Sparrow's debt, but Davy Jones tells Sparrow that one soul is not equal to another, and demands a total of 100 souls in exchange for Sparrow's soul. Sparrow's attempt to haggle a better price fails, and Davy Jones insists on keeping Will Turner as a "good faith" payment toward the debt, and removes Sparrow's black spot, giving him three days to find him 99 more souls.

In Tortuga, Sparrow and Gibbs recruit unsuspecting sailors. A fallen James Norrington applies and then attempts to shoot Sparrow, whom he blames for his ruin. Elizabeth, who escaped jail, arrives and rescues Norrington from the ensuing brawl. Confronting Sparrow, Elizabeth demands to know what happened to Will. Sparrow regrets to report he was press-ganged into Davy Jones' crew, although Norrington doubts Sparrow's claim that he was uninvolved. Sparrow reveals the compass's secret, telling Elizabeth that if she finds the Dead Man's Chest, she can save Will. The compass works at last. After setting sail for Isla Cruces, Elizabeth discloses it was Cutler Beckett who sent Will and shows Sparrow and Gibbs the Letters of Marque she took from him. Norrington overhears the conversation and sets his own plan in motion. The captain then expresses an amorous interest in Elizabeth, who coyly rebuffs his attempts to woo her. When he attempts to kiss her, the Black Spot suddenly reappears on his palm, and he hastily retreats. The Kraken is on the hunt again.

On Isla Cruces, Sparrow, Elizabeth and Norrington find the chest. Will arrives with the key (having escaped from the Flying Dutchman). Each man claims the heart. Turner hopes to free his father from Davy Jones' servitude, Sparrow wants to escape his blood debt, and Norrington schemes to reclaim his career. Sparrow extricates himself from their three-way sword fight and gets the heart. However, Norrington steals it and the Letters of Marque and escapes while Jones' crew retrieves the chest, unaware it's empty. Back at sea, the Dutchman chases the Pearl, but the Pearl outruns her. Jones summons the The Kraken. In a moment of cowardice, Sparrow deserts the Pearl as the crew valiantly fights the monster. However, Sparrow's underlying loyalty and honor compel him to go back and save his shipmates. Knowing the Kraken will return, he gives the order to abandon ship.

Realizing the Kraken is only after Sparrow, Elizabeth distracts him with a passionate kiss and cuffs him to the mast. She claims she isn't sorry for her actions, to which Sparrow merely retorts "Pirate." She tells the others that Sparrow chose to stay behind, unaware that Will witnessed the kiss. Sparrow frees himself and bravely battles the ferocious beast, lunging into its toothy maw as the Pearl is dragged underwater. Davy Jones declares their debt settled but is enraged when he discovers the Dead Man's Chest is empty. Meanwhile, Norrington delivers the heart and the Letters of Marque to Lord Beckett, hoping to reclaim his career. Beckett now controls the world's oceans.

The saddened crew make their way to Tia Dalma's. As she consoles them, she asks if they would be willing to sail to Worlds End to bring back Sparrow and the Pearl, to which all agree. She says they will need a captain who knows those waters. Just then, the resurrected Captain Barbossa descends the stairs, asking what has become of his ship.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Lord Cutler Beckett continues his purge against piracy, hanging pirates, beggars, thieves, and even children without trial. Davy Jones is commanded to attack all pirate ships. In response, the pirate lords comprising the Brethren Court are summoned to convene at Shipwreck Island; however, the late Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, died without a successor, and therefore must be present. Captain Hector Barbossa leads Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Tia Dalma and the Black Pearl crew to Davy Jones' Locker to fetch Jack. They need the navigational charts leading to World's End, the gateway to the Locker, charts belonging to Sao Feng, Pirate Lord of the South China Sea. In Singapore, Elizabeth and Barbossa bargain with Feng for a ship and a crew, but he refuses. Feng has a personal grudge against Jack and is furious that Will attempted to steal the charts from his revered uncle's temple. Just then, East India Trading Company soldiers attack Feng's bathhouse. During the chaos, Will secretly bargains with Feng for the Black Pearl in exchange for Jack. Will wants the Pearl to rescue his father from the Flying Dutchman.

The crew journey through a frozen sea. Reaching World's End, they sail over an enormous waterfall and into Davy Jones' Locker. There, Jack is aboard the Black Pearl, surrounded by desert and suffering hallucinations. To his amazement, strange crabs appear and carry the Pearl to an ocean where he is reunited with his former shipmates, although Jack and Barbossa continually bicker over who is the captain. While seeking an escape route, the crew sees souls adrift under the water. Tia Dalma explains that Davy Jones was appointed by his lover, the sea goddess Calypso, to ferry those who died at sea onto the next world. In return, Jones could step upon land for one day every ten years to be with her. But when Calypso failed to meet him, the scorned captain abandoned his duty and transformed into a monster. Elizabeth then sees her father, Weatherby Swann's soul pass by in a dinghy, murdered by Beckett after discovering that whoever slays Davy Jones by destroying his heart replaces him as the Flying Dutchman's immortal captain. Unable to retrieve him, a distraught Elizabeth vows to avenge her father's death.

The charts reveal that a green flash on the horizon signifies a soul returning to earth. When Jack deciphers a clue on it, he realizes the ship must be capsized to escape the Locker. They overturn the ship at sunset and upturn back to the living world at sunrise amid an emerald light. Upon their return, they discover the Kraken is dead; Beckett ordered Davy Jones to kill it to prevent him from using it against him. Shortly after, Sao Feng arrives and attacks the Pearl. He has betrayed Will and made another deal with Beckett, but Beckett double-crosses Feng. In retaliation, Feng gives the Pearl back to Barbossa in exchange for Elizabeth, who he believes is Calypso. Angry over Will's deception and to keep the crew safe, Elizabeth agrees. Jack is taken prisoner aboard the Endeavour and forms an accord with Beckett to lead his fleet to Shipwreck Island, but he escapes back to the Pearl. Will is thrown into the brig.

Aboard his warship, Empress, Feng tells Elizabeth that Davy Jones revealed to the first Brethren Court how to entrap Calypso into human form, allowing men to control the seas. Feng is mortally wounded when Jones attacks his ship, and before dying, appoints Elizabeth his heir, making her captain and Pirate Lord of the South China Sea. She and the crew are taken prisoner aboard the Flying Dutchman. Also aboard is Admiral James Norrington, who switches allegiance after Elizabeth chastises him for his disloyalty, and he frees her and the crew. Elizabeth and the crew escape to the towed Empress, although Norrington is killed by a deranged "Bootstrap" Bill Turner. Meanwhile, Will, who escaped the Pearl's brig, leaves a trail of floating corpses for Beckett to follow. Jack catches him and proposes that he will stab the heart, making himself immortal while freeing Will's father, "Bootstrap" Bill, without condemning Will to taking Jones' place. Will agrees. Jack then gives him his magical compass and pushes him over board, intending to lead Beckett to Shipwreck Island. Will is rescued by Beckett's ship. There he learns that it was Davy Jones who masterminded Calypso's imprisonment with the first Brethren Court.

When the Brethren Court disagree over Barbossa's proposal to free Calypso, he tricks them into yielding their pirate lord insignias. Meanwhile, Captain Elizabeth Swann arrives on the Empress. Disagreeing over what action to take against Beckett, the Court moves to elect a "Pirate King", although the lords always vote for themselves. Jack breaks the long-standing stalemate by voting for Elizabeth. As he anticipated, she declares war. During parley with Beckett and Jones, Jack is traded for Will. Just before the battle, Barbossa conducts a ritual using the insignias to release Calypso (Tia Dalma). Her fury upon learning Jones’ betrayal unleashes a violent maelstrom as Beckett's massive fleet appears on the horizon. As the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman clash head on, Will again proposes to Elizabeth, and amid the fighting, Will and Elizabeth are married by Barbossa. When Davy Jones mortally wounds Will with Norrington's sword (the same one Will made for him in the first movie), Bootstrap Bill attacks him. Jack, who has captured the heart for his own immortality, instead helps Will to stab it, killing Jones. As Will dies, the crew carves out his heart and places it into the "Dead Man’s Chest". Jack and Elizabeth escape as the Dutchman is pulled into the whirlpool, but it quickly resurfaces with Will at the helm as its new captain. Uniting forces, the Dutchman and the Black Pearl destroy the Endeavour, killing Beckett and forcing the armada to retreat. Although Will has been saved, and the Dutchman crew has regained their humanity, Will is now bound to the Flying Dutchman and must spend ten years in the Netherworld ferrying souls to the other side. Will and Elizabeth have one day together to consummate their marriage on an island before Will leaves. Will entrusts Elizabeth with the Dead Man’s Chest containing his heart. Shortly after, Barbossa again commandeers the Black Pearl to seek the Fountain of Youth using Feng's charts, leaving Jack stranded in Tortuga. Having anticipated Barbossa's deception, Jack has already removed the chart's working parts and sets sail in a small dinghy, searching for immortality. In a post-credits scene set ten years later, Elizabeth and her son wait atop a cliff oves Will's return from the Netherworld.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Little is known about this latest installment in the adventures of Captain Jack. What is known that he and Captain Barbossa will meet up and be in competition and partnership searching for the fabled Fountain of Youth. Somehow, they will run afoul of dreaded pirate, Edward Teach aka Blackbeard and his lovely daughter Angelica.

Appearance
Jack Sparrow's appearance has been altered slightly from film to film. Most changes relate to the general color scheme of his clothing, while others are more noticeable.

Sparrow has dark brown eyes and long, dark brown to black hair, which he wears mostly in braids and dreadlocks. He has a facial hair in a goatee type style, the beard he makes into two long braids. He wears several strands of beads in his hair, a single piece of eight draped over his bandanna, a silver chain-link charm, and a reindeer shin bone needle. On the right side of Sparrow's jaw is an open wound, reminiscent of a scrape. For some unusual reason (a fact pointed out by Johnny Depp in the DVD commentary for the first film) this wound never heals. Sparrow's bandanna is dark red in the first film, although in the second and third installments it has a much more faded appearance giving it a pink hue.

Over his puffy white shirt, Jack wears a long vest. This vest is blue on the front and dark gray on the back, the back being shorter than the front. In the sequels, the vest has been altered slightly adding a pinstripe pattern to the back.

Jack Sparrow also wears dark brown (dark gray in the first film) drop front breeches, which are tucked into his brown suede leather boots.

Jack has a leather baldric with a silver filigree buckle slung over his shoulder, which holds the scabbard for his black sabre. The color and buckle were changed from first film to the sequel.

Jack's leather tri-corn hat is medium brown. The back side of the hat is rolled up like a scroll. Jack also has a dingy brown wool/tweed frock coat.

Four rings adorn Jack's hands. One is a skull ring with a green emerald on his right index finger. Another is a black onyx flower ring on his left ring finger. In Dead Man's Chest, he steals an oval amethyst ring from Tia Dalma's shack and places it on his left index finger, moving the silver oriental dragon ring to his left thumb. He also has two leather glove bands on his right middle and ring fingers which attach his leather glove.

Jack wears a red-striped sash and 2 belts around his waist. In the first film, only his compass is attached to his belt. In the second film, a second belt and more trinkets were added such as a small animal skin, a chicken foot, an animal vertebrae, and a small red sculpture of a mermaid which serves as a fertility symbol. In the third film, a large tuft of gray hair has been added that is actually the shrunken head of his mother, which was first seen in the hand of his father after Jack asked the question, "How's Mum?"

Interestingly, in the deleted scenes for the first film, Jack reveals what appears to be a severe burn mark on his left forearm when Elizabeth questions his legend. However, in the second film (most noticeable as Jack hangs off the rigging of the Pearl, bidding farewell to the Pelegostos), this scar is clearly missing. Having only existed in a deleted scene, this scar is non-canon.

Weapon skill
Average in height and build, Jack relies more on intelligence, agility, and quick wit to protect himself, rather than physical strength. According to the filmmakers, Jack is nearly as skilled with a blade as Barbossa or Norrington, while Will is described as the best swordsman among them. Jack can hold his own in a duel with any of them by manipulating whatever is at his disposal: unstable terrain, distracting his opponent's attention, releasing a bag of soot, and so on. Jack's trickery has also included pulling his flintlock on Turner and merely exiting a fight by rolling off a roof (such as the three-way battle with Norrington and Turner on Isla Cruces). Whenever possible, he prefers escape or negotiation in lieu of combat.

According to the book Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide, Jack learned swordplay from an Italian fencing master in exchange for captured Chinese silk. He later "trained himself to shoot by taking aim at empty wine bottles tossed from the Black Pearl's deck rail."

Demeanor
Sparrow's trademark physical characteristic is a slightly drunken swagger, accompanied by slurred speech and awkwardly flailing hand gestures that make him appear unfocused. Some claim this was due to his long exposure to the sun while stranded on the Rumrunner's Isle.

Unique Marks
Jack sports a distinctive tattoo of a sparrow flying in front of a setting sun over the ocean on his right forearm. This is apparently a well-known identification mark of the infamous pirate as Commodore James Norrington immediately recognized it.

The letter "P" (for pirate) was also branded on his right wrist by the East India Trading Company. While handling a red-hot P branding iron, Cutler Beckett tells Will Turner that he and Sparrow each left their "mark" upon the other. Beckett branded Jack with the letter "P", but he refrains from saying just how Jack marked him.

Rum
Sparrow is particularly fond of rum. After Barbossa maroons Jack and Elizabeth on the deserted island, Elizabeth burns the cache of smugglers' rum to create a smoke signal. Jack is so outraged that he pulls out his pistol and is momentarily tempted to use his single shot on the oblivious woman. However, when Commodore Norrington spots the smoky cloud and rescues them, Jack grouses to himself, "There'll be no living with her after this." While aboard the Dauntless, Elizabeth accepts a previous marriage proposal made by Commodore Norrington. Upon hearing this, Jack exclaims "Wedding?! I love weddings! Drinks all around!" When Elizabeth boards the Pearl in Dead Man's Chest, Sparrow turns and whispers to Gibbs, "Hide the rum," fearing she will try to get rid of it. In another nod to his fondness for the drink, upon finding his bottle of rum empty, Jack groans, "Why is the rum always gone?" Standing up, he staggers a bit and mutters, "Oh, that's why."

When Jack is visited by "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, he wonders if it's a dream, but Bootstrap says no. Jack resignedly sighs, "I thought not. If it were, there'd be rum," to which Bootstrap proffers a bottle that Sparrow has to pry from his barnacle-encrusted hand.

Jack's effects
Jack carries a number of items on his person at all times, including his pistol, sword, coat and tricorne hat and an unusual compass.

Jack's sword is a hanger (a 17th and 18th century style of sabre), rather than a cutlass, the weapon preferred by most cinematic pirates. The sabre's longer blade allows him to keep his enemies a few inches further away than a cutlass.

In The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack carries a single barreled pistol given to by Barbossa when he maroons him. The weapon was made by and bears the name of a smith named "Perry." He does not use the pistol until the end of the film, having saved his only shot to kill Captain Barbossa. During his escape from the Turkish prison in Dead Man's Chest, he carries a double-barreled pistol. He later returns to his original, single barreled variant, using it to prove to Tia Dalma that the monkey is undead.

After his compass, Jack's most prized possession is his hat. He is rarely seen without it, and he always mentions it when discussing his effects. When Jack orders the ship to head for land to escape the Kraken, his hat is tossed overboard by Jack the monkey. A panicked Sparrow commands it be left behind, which so surprises the crew they are literally struck motionless. The hat, which is unwittingly picked up by nearby Turkish fishermen, is eaten by the Kraken when it attacks the wrong ship. Jack spends the entire film searching for a suitable replacement and even walks through a pub fight trying on the brawlers' tricornes. He eventually regains his own hat when it is regurgitated by the Kraken as is about to devour him. Covered in mucus, Jack merely shakes it off and puts it back on before drawing his sabre and attacking the monster.

Compass
Captain Jack's compass was obtained in a barter with Tia Dalma (as established in Dead Man's Chest). Rather than point north, its needle points to whatever the person holding it wants most. That can be treasure or other valuable items, but also a person or a geographical location. It works for anyone using it, but only if they know what they truly want. It will even work while lying untouched on the ground, if the possessor is nearby. When it fails to work properly for Jack, Tia explains that it is because he does not know what he truly wants, "or do you know but are loath to claim it as your own".

When Captain Jack Sparrow is arrested after saving Elizabeth Swann from drowning (in the first "Pirates" movie), Commodore Norrington searches through his possessions. Most of what he finds appears to be junk, including the compass that does not point north. In fact, the four geographical directions are not even specified on it.

Later, a hint of the compass' true nature is revealed. When Will notices Jack using the odd instrument to navigate through a storm, he asks Gibbs how they're supposed to find Isla de Muerta with a compass that doesn't work. Gibbs replies, "The compass doesn't point north. But we're not trying to find north, are we?". Will and Elizabeth mistakingly believe the compass only points toward the island.

When Elizabeth discovers Lord Cutler Beckett wants Jack Sparrow's compass, she mistakenly believes he is searching for the treasure on Isla de Muerta and warns him about the cursed Aztec gold. However, Beckett says that the compass does not only point to Isla de Muerta and that there are "other chests of value in these waters." During the Kraken's attack, Jack deserts the Black Pearl and his shipmates in a longboat. He pauses a moment to look at his compass. Although it is not shown where the needle points, but it is believed it points towards his ship, he returns to the ship and saves his crew.

Traits
Sparrow is a decent, if self-serving, man who adheres to the "Pirates' Code." He believes pirates can still be "good men," which was his evaluation of "Bootstrap" Bill Turner. Unusually altruistic for a pirate, Jack will risk himself to save others, most notably Will and Elizabeth. In the first film, it's implied that Jack's benevolence is one of the reasons his crew mutinied him. It's also implied in the third film that Sparrow rarely makes plans without drinking rum.

As often as Jack saves Elizabeth and Will, however, he also tricks them to serve his own purposes and even offers up Will to Davy Jones in exchange for himself. In a weak moment of cowardice, he deserts his ship and crew to save himself from the Kraken. However, after checking his compass, he chooses to return and saves his shipmates. What or who the magical compass was pointing towards is not established.

Jack considers himself a ladies' man, explaining that he has a "tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature." However, he is seemingly unable to commit to a long-term relationship, although Elizabeth appears to be the first woman he is unable to forget. Interestingly, in the novelization of the second film, Jack tells Elizabeth that marriage is, "like a wager to see who will fall out of love first." As a youth, Jack unsuccessfully flirted with deadly mermaids and with Arabella, a crewmate on the 'Barnacle'. A mature Jack is more adept at sweeping ladies off their feet, although his conquests seem to have a sour memory of him. Former flames, Giselle and Scarlett, slap him or anyone looking for him. However, Tia Dalma, whom he apparently has a history with, is rather pleased to see him when he visits her, although Jack's anxiety over their impending reunion indicates they may have parted on less than good terms.

Jack apparently suffers from extremely bad breath, although this may just be from drinking alcohol. Commodore Norrington took a step back when Sparrow got a little too close, and Governor Swann nearly gagged when face-to-face with him. When Jack attempts to romantically approach Elizabeth during Dead Man's Chest, she notes their various differences, including "personal hygiene." However, she seems unaffected by Sparrow's breath during later close encounters with him.

Catchphrases
Sparrow's most commonly used words and phrases include "savvy?" ("Understand?"), and "bugger" when something does not go according to plan. He makes repeated references to using someone or something as "leverage" and to waiting for "the opportune moment". "That's interesting", is used frequently as well.

During the production of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Ted Elliot and Terry Rosiro told Johnny Depp that Jack Sparrow needed a main catchphrase. During a production day, Depp started running aroud waving a paper yelling, "I got it! I got it!" While running up to Rosirro and Elliot, who were on the Black Pearl, Depp nearly fell of the gangplank. Depp told them. "This is it. Bring me that horizon!" Rosiro and Elliot decided to use that as the main catchphrase of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Sparrow uses seemingly educated terms that are in fact nonsensical to the context. At the conclusion of The Curse of the Black Pearl, he utters the line, "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually, ecumenically... grammatically". In Dead Man's Chest he tells Will, "Because the finding of this finds you incapacitorilly finding and/or locating in you discovering the detecting of a way to save your dolly belle, ol' what's-her-face. Savvy?" .

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow", is also used by him as a simple explanation of his cunning craftiness. When Barbossa asks how he escaped from the island they stranded him on, Jack responds, "You forgot one very important thing, mate - I'm Captain Jack Sparrow".

As an endnote, Sparrow frequently says, "This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow". Twice in the first two films, the line is cut off to comedic effect; the only time he manages to complete the line uninterrupted, he is knocked out and arrested shortly after. It is also attempted to be used in the second movie, when he is escaping the Pelogosto natives.

Sparrow often uses "eunuch" as an insult. During his first duel with Will Turner, he asks him if he is one, given his penchant for practicing long hours with swords rather than courting ladies. In an effort to hide Will's identity, Jack tells Barbossa&mdash;and later Davy Jones&mdash;that Will has a "lovely singing voice" and is a soprano (making oblique reference to Castrati). While addressing the Pelogosto natives about the hog-tied Will, he refers to him by saying, "Eunuchy, snip-snip."

Another popular saying is "Why is the rum gone?" Jack asks this question twice after Elizabeth burns the rum to make a smoke signal in the first movie. In the second movie, after realizing his bottle of rum is empty, he asks, "Why is the rum always gone?"

Game Notes


Captain Jack is the first character the player meets in the Pirates of the Caribbean Online game. He is sharing their jail cell on the island of Rambleshack and aids them in escaping once the player has completed the Pirate Creation process.

The island is being seiged by Jolly Roger, who is in pursuit of Sparrow. He made arrangements with Bo Beck, a local pirate who was going to help Jack escape. Jolly Roger paid Beck to deliver Sparrow to him. However, Jack sends the player in his stead. This, of course, dooms poor Beck for his betrayal and the player for being in the wrong place at the right time.

However, Jolly lets them live to tell others what happened and to be a warning to Sparrow.

During the game, Jack asks the players help to gather the crew of The Black Pearl, so he can free her from the Royal Navy. Also, Jack offers the pirate other quests for grenades, other special treasures and the fathers day quest.

He can often be found in the Faithful Bride, a tavern on Tortuga. During the fathers day quest he will be at Port Royal in the Rowdy Rooster.

You can also buy a tattoo with eyes like Jack Sparrow on your eyes by a Tattoo Artist.