Jack Sparrow

## Relevant Pages

**Captain Jack Sparrow**, also known as Jackie and the Sparrow, referred to as Mr. or Captain Sparrow, is the main protagonist and a character in Disney's *Pirates of the Caribbean*. He is the current captain of the *Black Pearl* and often goes on adventures with the Turner families to defeat the supernaturals.

Jack is portrayed by cast members Johnny Depp and Anthony De La Torre.

## History

Jack is born in a typhoon to Captain Edward Teague and his unnamed wife. When Jack is a child, his mother passes away to an unknown illness.

From afar, Jack watches Elizabeth and Will reuniting with each other. Although content within, he said it was a revolting sight. Suddenly, Jack the Monkey comes up and hands him back his compass. Jack (Sparrow) takes the compass back and starts shouting orders while the monkey named after him jumps on his shoulder. Though shocked, Jack soon accepts him as his companion and heads out on another adventure.

## Relationships

### Family

* Edward Teague (father)
* Uncle Jack (uncle)
* Jack the Monkey (pet monkey)

### Allies

* Elizabeth Swann
* Will Turner
* Hector Barbossa
* Henry Turner
* Carina Smyth
* Pintel
* Tia Dalma / Calypso
* Ragetti
* Mr. Gibbs
* Bootstrap Bill Turner

### Enemies

* Davy Jones
* Cutler Beckett
* James Norrington
* Hector Barbossa *(formerly)*
* Pintel (formerly)
* Ragetti *(formerly)*
* Angelica
* Blackbeard

## Trivia

### Etymology

* The name "Jack" derives from the name, Jackin, a diminutive form of the name "John" >, which came from the Latin Form of Ioannes", meaning "God is gracious."
	+ Jack was likely named after his uncle *(Dead Men Tell No Tales)*.
* Jack adopted the last name "Sparrow," alluding to the bird of the same name. .
	+ He and Elizabeth Swann have names associated with birds. This can be briefly alluded to when Jones calls Jack "a lost bird who never learned to fly."

### Character Notes

* Jack always insists on being called Captain Jack Sparrow for the past thirteen years.
* Always uses wit and tries not to fight anyone, unless necessary and always find a way to talk himself out anything without a fight.
	+ Jack always wanted to negotiate rather than put up a fight. According to Barbossa, it was that kind of behavior that made him lose the Pearl in the first place.
* Elizabeth tells Jack that he's a good man and that one day, there will come a moment where he'll do the right thing. This foreshadows Jack coming back for his crew rather than abandoning them and knowing right from wrong by having Will stab the heart.
* Jack has the highest bounty known in Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, having 10,001 guineas for his death
* Having a few gold teeth
* Jack also several tattoos, one of them is a sparrow, a reference to his surname.
* A few people are skeptical of Jack's honest streak, which sometimes surprises him.

### Production Information

* Before Johnny Depp was cast, Michael Keaton, Jim Carrey, Christopher Walken, and Hugh Jackman were all considered for the role of Jack Sparrow.
	+ When Hugh Jackman was considered for the role of Jack Sparrow, his character was named "Jack" in honor of the actor.
* Johnny Depp adlibbed the line, "Bring me the Horizon." And also improvised the song "I got a jar of dirt" in order to spite Davy Jones giving genuinely shocked reactions from the cast and crew.
* Depp based his performance of Jack on Keith Richards and Pépe Le Pew. Similar to Le Pew, they were known to be womanizers and had bad smell. According to the screenwriters, Ted Elliott and Terry Russio, Jack was inspired by Bugs Bunny and Groucho Marx.
* In the original story for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow was a former member of Captain Blackheart's crew. Captain Blackheart was later renamed Barbossa. [Reference: Bring Me That Horizon: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean, p45.]

### Cultural References

#### Disney

* Jack utters the line, "Hello, beastie" to the Kraken, the same exact quote that Maleficent would use in her own feature film eight years later (Maleficent)
* Jack receives the Black Spot, a reference to spot the book, Treasure Island and also appears in Disney's Muppets Treasure Island.
* One of Jack's tattoos are shaped like Mickey Mouse, in reference to the character of the same name and follows tradition of the famous hidden Mickeys found in Disney films

### Set Notes

#### Prop Notes

* Jack's sword is used throughout the first four films, and its blade is cut in half by Davy Jones. The sword is later mysteriously full again, despite being cut in half by Davy Jones, meaning Jack must have had it reforged.

Costume Notes

* Jack wears a tricorne throughout most of the films, and hardly ever seen without it, with the exception of Dead Man's Chest.

## References

1. ↑ Jack - Behind the Name
 https://www.behindthename.com/name/john
2. ↑ Since most of his family members have different surnames, including his father, Jack therefor adopted the last name Sparrow