JACK SPARROW

The Wobbly-Legged Rum Soaked Origins
by Rick Samson

It's Captain...


Andrew's signature impression is that of Johnny Depp's character from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Captain Jack Sparrow. Andrew takes pride in entertaining others with his impersonation. He does it not only for his own joy but what he says "...to tribute and honor the genius that is Johnny Depp."

In the summer of 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl was released in theaters. Not knowing too much about the film or the character that Depp was playing, Andrew into the theater with his parents, anxiously awaiting what would (little did he know then) impact his life heavily.

Let's Go the Movies

Actually, the only things Andrew knew about the film was that A.) it was based off his favorite Disneyland attraction B.) There were un-dead skeletal pirates  C.)Orlando Bloom from the Lord of the Rings franchise was in it. It being a Disney film, Andrew was surprised at the footage he saw in the trailer - with the explosions, guns, fighting, etc.

The film started, with it's mysterious opening revealing the cursed aztec medallion and the characters of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. "Alright no real surprises here. Pretty neat though" and said he thought to himself. The film cut away from a horse drawn carriage to the back of a man atop of a mast. The man appeared to be Johnny Depp dressed pretty stylized for a Pirate...and uniquely. "He had eyeliner and dreadlocks! Who was this guy? Is he a captain of a ship? Is he a bad guy? What's this character?" Andrew says that "What may be the best introduction for a character became my favorite film scene of all time; it is revealed that this man is standing on the mast of a small fishing boat, a dingy: and it's sinking. No one expected this,including me, and it really helped in setting the tone for the film. And then of course it ends with Jack Sparrow stepping onto the dock and delivering his first slurred line - 'Whaddya say to three shillings, and we forget the name?'"

The Beginning

Andrew fell in love with the character. He was not able to put it in words how him and the character Depp created clicked, but for some odd reason or another, he identified with Jack Sparrow. For Halloween of 2003, Andrew put together his first Jack Sparrow outfit. Far from accurate, but got the job done. It actually won him several costume contests that year. The impression? Andrew states "...the impression was pretty lousy you know. I mean, it was alright for a 13-year old kid, but I laugh at myself now for sounding like Mickey Mouse and Steve Irwin had a kid."

Andrew didn't don the Sparrow outfit again until Halloween of 2004. However, his impression was better and his costume updated. It wasn't until 2005 when Andrew became "a legitimate Jack Sparrow impersonator" (as he put it). In January of 2006, Andrew started working on a film he wrote, "Top Stories", featuring a plot different movie characters breaking the law. It was with this film that Andrew decided to put in Jack Sparrow and play the part. After numerous weeks  of filming the film was unfortunately canceled due to conflicts with some of the other actors. However, Andrew was able to perfect his impression and get used to being Sparrow more often, becoming more comfortable with the character. While filming "Top Stories", Andrew created his now well-known Youtube profile, uploading "rough-cut" clips of the movie. They became popular, and Andrew soon gained a small fan-base.


Evolution

After the online contest with "VendettaMan" (see the page "POTC Spoof: Parts 1 - 6") Andrew developed and evolved his impression even more so, getting a costume make-over and refining his Sparrow accent and voice. At the midnight showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Andrew showed up to the theater in full Jack attire, much to his friends astonishment. About a couple weeks later, Andrew attended his second public event as Jack - a Pirate fair at Ventura County Harbor Village. There, Andrew swaggered around, taking pictures and interacting with fellow attendees, and even made the newspaper. "This was the first time where I really felt the joy of entertaining others in person as Jack". Andrew looked into other events, and started going to Renaissance fairs.

Captain Jack Goes to High School


It wasn't until his third year of High School when Andrew became known at school for his impression. In fall of 2007, Andrew helped rejuvenate the long deceased school television program, "Panther TV". In it, Andrew would star as Jack in segments about various school events. After the first episode, where Jack Sparrow went backstage of the school's current play production, a buzz around the school started about Panther TV and also about Jack Sparrow himself.

After the second time appearing as Jack, Andrew decided to include a co-host for the show, thus involving his friend (a senior) Dave Delgado. Dave had been making the morning announcements for the school and was pretty popular in general, and had a great speaking voice. Along with the other people working to produce Panther TV, Andrew thought Dave was perfect to co-host the segments and the series "Jack and Dave" was born.

Only having a run of a total of three episodes, the purposely campy-written series entertained students, or at least most of them. "I had some issues with the president of the club that ran the program. He was always telling me how his friends and classmates didn't like what I was doing and stuff, while others I knew said otherwise.I kind of ignored it and eventually broke off from Panther TV and did everything on my own".



When Dave graduated the next year (Andrew's senior year), Andrew was forced to find a replacement for his charismatic co-host. He went to his friend, Matt DiMaggio, who had been in many of Andrew's previous films. He wanted his new co-host to be a little more nerdy and less confident as his last partner, and Matt could easily pull that off, as he had played a role like that in an earlier film they had done together.

Re-named "Jack and Matt", the show went on for four episodes, all focusing on various events being put on by the school's drama department. There were plans for a fifth and closing episode, which would center on the rehearsals of the school's current musical - but unfortunately Andrew did not have the time to commit to making another one due to conflicts with helping to direct the musical itself.

Bring Me That Horizon...


Besides making videos, Andrew also has been hired for various events, including appearances at hospitals and birthday parties.
"I love the kids. That's the true enjoyment for me, to see their smiling faces. They believe its real and so they always ask questions and stuff like Jack Sparrow had jumped out of the TV or something. It's awesome."

Andrew definetely wants to continue to entertain with his impersonation, doing it with deep respect and honor towards Johnny Depp. He plans on doing more videos on his YouTube channel, hoping that he can help the fans of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films as they (including himself) wait for the possible fourth film. Andrew says jokingly "There won't be another movie for a while probably, so I like to think I'm helping Johnny and Gore and the others tide the fans over as they take a break...ok it's not exactly like that but hey I can dream can't I?"