Hollywood stars shine brighter when actions speak louder than acting. All hail Captain Jack Sparrow, who while filming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, took time out of his busy schedule to give one 9-year-old girl, a memory she will never forget for the rest of her life. With just 10 minutes notice to school officials at Meridian primary school in Greenwich, London, Johnny Depp answered a plea for mutiny assistance. What a star.
Depp shows depth of character outside of Capt. Jack Sparrow
What's great about this story is that it's just plain nice. In a Hollywood arena where stars seem to be increasingly unreachable, it's acts like this that transform a movie star into a supernova. According to Simon Perry of People magazine, Depp, dressed as Capt. Jack, waltzed into a school assembly brandishing a written request for an assistance of mutiny penned by school girl, Beatrice Delap.
"We are a bunch of budding young pirates," Beatrice had written, "Normally we're a right handful, but we're having trouble mutinying against the teachers. We'd love it if you could come and help." On Wednesday Oct. 07, 2010, help arrived reported Perry, in the form of Capt. Jack Sparrow, who despite recommending against mutinying because of the strong police presence outside watching him, left an entire school full of kids absolutely elated. It is actions of stars like Depp that make Hollywood truly shine.
Let's face it, kids relate to movies and characters far better than us jaded and somewhat cynical adults do. What might be just a movie to us "older kids," holds far more grip in the imagination of a child. I recall writing and inviting Black Beauty to tea once. "Where would we put him?" asked my pragmatic father. "Who cares?" thought I. Anything was possible when obstacles were meant to be vanquished.
Impromptu visit to school is not the first clandestine trip for Depp
In retrospect I cringe at the countless crafted begging letters of my youth, but actions like Depp's nudge and tease a long-muted spark of hope. Good for Beatrice I thought, she won one for every kid out there, including us old ones, but Depp never needs much persuading when it comes to kids. The visit to Meridian school, which was completely impromptu and can be viewed in part on YouTube, is not the first time Mr. Depp has shared his appreciation for kids on the sly.
During the filming of Sweeney Todd at Pinewood Studios in 2007, Depp's daughter Lily Rose, suffered renal failure and was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. In 2008, Depp dropped in on the hospital and donated £1 million pounds as a thank you for saving his daughter's life. In 2009, Depp was in London for the premiere of Public Enemies when he covertly appeared in full Capt. Jack regalia and spent four hours telling stories to sick kids on the wards.
What a precious pearl of Hollywood Johnny Depp is, but who better to exalt him than crafty Capt. Jack himself, "I think we’ve all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically." Bravo Mr. Depp, bravo.
Sources, accessed Oct. 07, 2010:
- People Magazine; People.com.
- Mtv.com.
- Daily Mail; Dailymail.co.uk.
- Captainjacksblog.com.
Elizabeth Batt - Elizabeth Batt is a former large animal nurse, certified NREMT, lover of equines and conservationist.
Join the Conversation