EXCLUSIVE: Jack Sparrow Was Named After Hugh Jackman, Not Intended for Johnny Depp

As we all eagerly await the fourth installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, and the return of Johnny Depp morphing into Captain Jack Sparrow, Pop Tarts has learned that Depp was actually not the person originally planned to play the odd pirate.

“I initially wrote that character with Hugh Jackman in mind,” screenwriter Stuart Beattie told Pop Tarts at the Advance Lounge Chair series in Los Angeles. “Hence the name Captain JACK Sparrow.”

At the time, Jackman was a prominent actor in Beattie’s homeland of Australia, but was not yet a big on the international scene, prompting the folks at Disney to dismiss Beattie’s casting contribution and instead hunt down Johnny Depp for the role.

And when it comes to trying to pushing for a big break in Hollywood, patience certainly pays off.

“I spent ten years pitching it Disney and they weren’t interested,” Beattie, who went on to write a string of other big-budget, epic films such as “Collateral,” “G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra,” Australia” and “30 Days of Night,” added. “Then finally, I got a call to come back in.”