Robert DeNiro almost played the iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow instead of Johnny Depp

It is difficult to imagine anybody but Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The role which turned out to be the most iconic one in Depp's career almost went to another actor. The actor who was initially approached for the role of the pirate was Robert DeNiro. Find out why the veteran actor turned down the role.

Robert DeNiro almost cast as Jack Sparrow

As per a report by Screenrant, Robert DeNiro was the first choice of the makers but the actor turned down the role. DeNiro was originally offered the titular role of Captain Jack Sparrow, but the actor believed that the movie would flop and opted not to take on the part. DeNiro rejecting the role paved the way for Johnny Depp's iconic take on the character, leading to the box office success that also directed to a string of Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. 

However, DeNiro wasn't the only high profile celeb who turned down the role of the pirate. As per reports, Christopher Walken and Jim Carrey were also offered the role, but both the actors turned down the offer with Carrey choosing Bruce Almighty over Pirates Of The Caribbean. The movie franchise starting off with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl spawned four other critically and commercially successful sequels - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).

Meanwhile, Johnny Depp recently took a dig at Disney for firing him from his role as Jack Sparrow amidst his legal battle with estranged wife Amber Heard. While accepting the honorary Donostia Award at this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival, Johnny  said, "Suppose this is the positive side of having, in a strange way, given life to those characters like Captain Jack or whatever character that I was lucky enough to locate and bring to life the beauty of Captain Jack Sparrow."

The actor added, "I don’t need a company to do that. I can just do that myself and nobody can take that away. That’s the greatest pleasure of Jack Sparrow. I can travel with Captain Jack in a box – literally Captain Jack in a box – and when the opportunity is right and I’m able to go and visit people and places where the smiles and the laughs and the things that are important, the most important things in the world are on the line."

Image: Instagram/@jacksparrow/@robertdenlro