William Turner

"My name is Will Turner, my father was "Bootstrap" Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins."

- Will Turner

William Turner Jr. was the only son of "Bootstrap" Bill Turner. Born in England, Will was raised by his mother, and had no contact with his father, whom he believed was a merchant sailor.

Early life
"That is the child of "Bootstrap" Bill Turner. His only child. Savvy?"

- Jack Sparrow to Joshamee Gibbs

William Turner lived with his mother in England until her death while Will was still in his childhood. At the age of twelve, Will set off on a quest to track down his father, and traveled to the Caribbean. However, his ship was attacked by the Black Pearl under the command of Captain Hector Barbossa, and was set aflame. Will was the only survivor, and was ultimately spotted and rescued by a young Elizabeth Swann aboard the HMS Dauntless.

Lieutenant James Norrington left Elizabeth to watch over the unconscious boy as his men set about searching the wreckage for further survivors. Alone with Will, Elizabeth was surprised to find a pirate medallion around his neck, and took it from him to protect Will from Norrington, who would undoubtedly consider the boy a pirate and deal out his brand of justice. Elizabeth kept the medallion in her possession for the next eight years.

Will, meanwhile, was taken to Port Royal, where he became apprenticed to J. Brown, a local blacksmith. Will became proficient at his trade, and it could be said that he carried out many of the duties neglected by his oft-drunken master. He also began forging a number of swords, and practiced with them for hours at a time. He had developed a hatred towards pirates, and wanted to be able to best one in single combat should the opportunity arise.

During this time, Will's friendship with Elizabeth developed further, but grew into something more romantic as they grew older. Despite Will's feelings towards the girl, he remained reluctant to reveal his true feelings towards her, likely due to the social divide between them.

Pirates
"You need to find yourself a girl, mate. Or, perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is that you've already found one, and are otherwise incapable of wooing said strumpet. You're not a eunuch, are you?" "I practice three hours a day so that when I meet a pirate, I can kill it!"

- Jack Sparrow and Will Turner

Behind the scenes

 * Will Turner is portrayed by Orlando Bloom.
 * The character is voiced by Crispin Freeman in Kingdom Hearts II and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow.
 * The character is believed to have been based upon Guybrush Threepwood from the Monkey Island games, with whom he shares many similarities. As the archetypal hero of the series, Will also shares traits with other fictional characters, notably Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars saga.
 * Will's name, as with Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann, is linked to birds; in this case, he is named after the ornithologist William Turner.
 * On the DVD commentary of The Curse of the Black Pearl, the scriptwriters reveal Will is said to be the best swordsman of all the main characters.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
 * Pirates of the Caribbean 3
 * Kingdom Hearts II