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

Eight years after the incident on the crossing from England, Governor Weatherby Swann requested of Mr. Brown a sword for Captain Norrington, due to be promoted to Commodore. Will forged the sword himself, and delivered it to the Governor's estate. There, he met Elizabeth, but his polite and reserved manner, still present after all these years of friendship, irritated her, and they parted on less than good terms.

Will returned to the blacksmith's following the ceremony, where he was confronted by Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate currently being hunted by the Royal Navy. Will's noble nature caused him to engage Sparrow in a duel, during which he displayed his skill with a sword. Will's training gave him an advantage over Jack, though the pirate ended the duel by pulling his pistol on his opponent. Even now, Will refused to back down, though Jack was reluctant to shoot the boy&mdash;and thus waste the single shot contained within his gun. His moment of indecision gave Mr. Brown enough time to rise and knock Jack unconscious&mdash;and reap congratulations for "his" efforts from Commodore Norrington.

Jack was imprisoned, and Will continued working at the shop. However, when the Black Pearl launched a surprise attack on the port, he joined the fighting, defeating a number or marauding pirates. However, he was overcome in the battle, and left unconscious. When he awoke, the attack was over, and he soon learned that Elizabeth had been kidnapped by the pirates. Will demanded that Commodore Norrington hunt down the attackers, but with no leads as to the ship's whereabouts, Norrington could do nothing.

Will, however, was not satisfied. He was fiercely loyal to those he cared about, and would not leave Elizabeth in danger. Though it pained him to do so, he made a bargain with Jack Sparrow, freeing him from prison in exchange for information on the Black Pearl. After declaring that he would do anything to save Elizabeth&mdash;even die for her&mdash;Will accompanied Jack as he commandeered the HMS Interceptor, the only ship that had a chance of catching the Black Pearl. With this, Will committed his first act of piracy, a fact that did not sit well with him. He became further conflicted when Jack revealed that his father, whom Jack had known, had been a pirate, and it was a pirate's blood that ran in Will's veins.

Finding the treasure
"You know, for having such a bleak outlook on pirates you're well on your way to becoming one. Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the Fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga&hellip;and you're completely obsessed with treasure."

- Jack Sparrow to 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: At Worlds End
 * Kingdom Hearts II