Meet the Cast of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

By Mary Lansing

Yo ho ho, matey! While the temperatures are beginning to rise and summertime is upon us, that can only mean one thing: some of the biggest, most awaited films of the year will be making their ways into theatres. One I have been especially excited to at last see? Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Not only did I have the pleasure of seeing this fantastic and latest installment (More on that later this week) to the Disney franchise, I also got to head out to Beverly Hills this past weekend and hear from the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. While I have been extremely lucky to not only meet some of my favorite stars, but, also discover new artists that I admire immensely. The Pirates crew is a perfect example.

The Cast and Crew on Deck (or, rather, in attendance) Included:
Javier Bardem (Captain Salazar)
Geoffrey Rush (Barbossa)
Kaya Scodelario (Carina Smyth)
Brenton Thwaites (Henry Turner)
Joachim Ronning & Espen Sandberg (Directors)
Jerry Bruckheimer (Producer)  
First up, was the handsome and charming Javier Bardem. Portraying one of the most terrifying villains that Captain Jack Sparrow has had to take on yet, we were anxious to know what drew him to the role of the evil Captain Salazar. Turns out, it was his wife, actress Penelope Cruz, that introduced him to this amazing Pirate world when she portrayed Anglica, an old flame of Captain Sparrow’s, in the 4th installment back in 2011.

The villainous Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) pursues Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as he searches for the trident used by Poseidon ©Disney Enterprises, Inc.

“When she did it back in 2010, I was visiting the set and i was amazed,” he explained, “I have never been on a set of a movie like that before. So, it was a first time experience. I remember talking to Jerry and saying that i’d love to be apart of it. I saw the quality of the production, and what fun they looked like. He called me five years later!” When asked if he played “pirates” as a young boy in Madrid, he confessed that he loved to Star Wars and playing space ships!

Which, brought up if his children (twins with Cruz) visited their Dad, in his very dark makeup and costumes, on set?!  Turns out, just on the days when he looked more “normal” for his role. When you see the film, you will understand that VERY much.

Next up were our new young loves in the movie, Kaya Scodelario and Brenton Thwaites. Much like their on-screen alter-egos, Scodelario has so much poise, and is reserved and when she speaks, it is with much sense and a very well thought out comment (Just like the films female heroine, Carina) while Thwaites brought to mind his character, Henry, with all the high school crush-like charisma and Australian meets skater boy good looks.

Offering us coffee as he took a seat (and joking he hopes it’s Irish coffee), the press was interested what it was like for these young stars to arrive on set for their first Pirates film? “For me it was really weird.” answered kaya, “I try to treat every job the same when I get on set, but, all that goes out the window for Pirates. It’s so big, and so cool. I had met Johnny (Depp) previously at a table reading but, when he came on set as jack that was it. I was a little kid again. I was more star struck seeing Jack Sparrow than Johnny Depp!”

“For me personally it was something that followed Hook”, adds Thwaites, “I still remember when I was a young boy I wanted to be Peter Pan, and Pirates was the next movie like that, with comedy, supernatural, and so I followed the franchise, saw every movie when it came out. It was such a huge part of school to mimic the actors, and do cockney accents” he chuckles.

We then got to chat with the hilarious Geoffrey Rush, who has played the beloved Barbossa for 13 years strong. Coolest tid-bit we learned about Rush? He loves fan mail,and tries to answer every piece! “I get some fan mail, and I always answer them. It may take three months. They build up and I sit down for a day and write back. Initially, it was young women in Japan, and men in Germany. I thought, what’s the attraction there? What demographic am I reaching?!” Rush could not be further from the (at once) evil Barbossa, and truly gives his all to the favorite character.

Next up, we heard from the incredible Directors of the film, Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg. Wanting to know what makes this 5th Pirates movie different than the rest, they were quick to know what makes it so unique and what they were trying to accomplish; “There’s many things. One is, we get to see how Jack Sparrow became Jack Sparrow. That was something we really wanted to explore and go back in time to see how he became the character that everyone loves. It’s a personal, strong journey and we want to have strong characters. We grew up together making films together, like 10 and 11 years old. Pirates reminds us of those kinds of films that we made.”

While Producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, shed some light on the hilarious cameo of Paul McCartney, he was quick to give the credit where it was due: “I didn’t make it happen. Johnny did. Keith wasn’t available, and Johnny has just worked with Paul and called him up, and just asked, ‘Wanna be a pirate?’ Paul said sure, they got together and worked on the scene, the costume. They had a blast shooting that together.”

The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, will set sail into theatres THIS Friday nationwide!

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Mary Lansing is the Editor of the popular LA lifestyle and travel blog,  Along Comes Mary. When she is not keeping busy with her Social Media Managing business, you can find her out exploring all Southern California has to offer, or off on a trip! Visit her on Twitter,  Instagram and Facebook.