Johnny Depp's Pirates Character was Originally Written for Hugh Jackman

Johnny Depp almost missed out on playing his famous Pirates Of The Caribbean character Captain Jack Sparrow - the part was intended for Hugh Jackman.

Depp has thrilled moviegoers with his portrayal of the flamboyant pirate, who the actor has admitted was inspired by Rolling Stones rocker Keith Richards, in all three films of the franchise.

He's currently shooting the next instalment, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, set for release in 2011 - but the screenwriter of the original film, Stuart Beattie, has stunned fans by revealing Depp was not his first choice for the role.

Beattie wanted Jackman for the part - but the Australian X-Men star was a relatively unknown actor at the time, and Disney bosses opted to hire Depp.

He tells Fox News, "I initially wrote that character with Hugh Jackman in mind. Hence the name Captain Jack Sparrow."

And Beattie also admits his pirate project took a decade to come to fruition: "I spent ten years pitching it to Disney and they weren't interested. Then finally, I got a call to come back in."

Johnny Depp: Made Disney Nervous With His Flamboyant Portrayal of Capt. Jack Sparrow

Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Capt. Jack Sparrow in Disney’s blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean and its two sequels was good enough to earn the actor an Oscar no nomination for best actor.

But Depp, the cover story in the new Vanity Fair, that some Disney executives were initially skittish over his over-the-top flamboyant portrayal.

“They couldn’t stand him,” he tells rocker Patti Smith who did the interview. “They just couldn’t stand him. I think it was Michael Eisner, the head of Disney at the time, who was quoted as saying, ‘He’s ruining the movie.’ Upper-echelon Disney-ites, going, What’s wrong with him? Is he, you know, like some kind of weird simpleton? Is he drunk? By the way, is he gay?… And so I actually told this woman who was the Disney-ite… ‘But didn’t you know that all my characters are gay?’ Which really made her nervous.”

As we all know, it turned out well for everybody!