Jack Sparrow

"Me? I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict, when they're going to do something incredibly&hellip;stupid."

- Jack Sparrow

Captain Jack Sparrow was a pirate captain in the Caribbean, most notably in command of the Black Pearl. He was born onboard a ship caught in the middle of a typhoon.

Early life
"You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of!" "But you have heard of me."

- James Norrington and Jack Sparrow



At one point in his early life, Jack was employed by the East India Trading Company, and was made Captain of the merchant vessel Wicked Wench. Although Jack carried out many jobs on behalf of Cutler Beckett, he refused to transport slaves. In response, Beckett ordered the Wicked Wench to be torched, and branded Jack a pirate. Jack soon took to his outlaw status, and left the East India Trading Company behind.

Jack Sparrow began his life as a pirate after stowing away aboard a ship to reach Tortuga. However, Jack had few worldly possessions, and these were stolen by Captain Torrents. In attempting to reclaim his property, Jack accidentally stole a sack containing the scabbard of the sword of Cortés. Learning of its magical nature from a barmaid named Arabella, Jack set off to track down the sword itself. He was given command of The Barnacle, and, after besting him in a sword fight, found his first crewmember in a man named Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III. Arabella also joined, and Jack soon recruited two more sailors, Tuman and Jean&mdash;the latter providing one further crewmember in the form of her cat, Constance, who was once Jean's sister before being transformed by Tia Dalma.

With a ship and a crew, Captain Jack Sparrow set off to find the sword of Cortés, and soon encountered Captain Torrents, who was also searching for the sword, on behalf of Davy Jones. Jack ultimately outwitted Torrents, and his crew later happened upon a group of mermaids whose song made most of the crew act upon their deepest desires. However, Jack proved immune to their song, since his only true desire was freedom. Unfortunately for Jack, poorly-thought-out negotiations with the mermaids forced him into a deal that would cost him his freedom should he ever find it.

His early life was also the subject of many legends and rumors about his exploits, some of which were most likely mistruths possibly made up by Sparrow himself to bolster his reputation. One of these legends told of how he sacked Port Nassau without firing a single shot, while his other notable exploits included impersonating an officer of the Spanish Royal Navy and a cleric of the Church of England.

The Black Pearl
"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate&hellip;I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

- Jack Sparrow to Hector Barbossa



In his later life, Jack made a deal with Davy Jones for the return of his first ship, the Wicked Wench. The bargain sealed, Jones raised the ship from the ocean depths, whereupon Jack rechristened it the Black Pearl. Jack apparently paid little heed to keeping his end of the bargain, and was content enough to have a ship of his own. He named himself captain of the Black Pearl, with Hector Barbossa as his First Mate. The treasure of Cortés would again play a part in Jack's pirate life, as he and the crew of the Pearl embarked upon a quest to find a cache of Aztec gold stashed by Cortés. However, before the treasure was found, the crew mutinied. Led by Barbossa, the crew marooned Jack on a desert island with nothing more than a pistol with a single shot. Barbossa believed it would be the last they would see of Jack Sparrow.

However, Jack was in luck, as a group of rum runners had currently been using the island as a secret cache, and for the next three days Jack cavorted with the rum runners, and likely suffered little more than a severe hangover before bartering passage off the island. This misadventure helped to build upon Jack's reputation in the Caribbean, helped along by Jack's outlandish exaggerations as to the circumstances of his escape&mdash;one version of events saw Sparrow using a couple of sea turtles as a raft to flee the island. Jack kept his single-shot pistol, making no modifications to it, but rather keeping it with the intent to use it upon his mutinous first mate; Barbossa.

It was believed that Jack's altruistic nature may have been part of the reason why his crew mutinied; indeed, Barbossa would later note that Jack's attempts at non-violent solutions to problems was exactly the attitude that lost him the Black Pearl. Whatever the reason, the mutiny was not a unanimous agreement among the crew of the Black Pearl. Bootstrap Bill Turner, for one, disagreed with Barbossa's decision to maroon Jack, but he too would suffer Barbossa's wrath. Bootstrap was tied to a cannon and plunged into the ocean depths, apparently to his death.

The Curse of Cortés


"Well, then, I confess: it is my intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer my weasely black guts out."

- Jack Sparrow to Mullroy and Murtogg

Death would not come quickly for any of the crew of the Pearl. After leaving Jack marooned, Barbossa's men found the Aztec gold, but their treasure, soon fritted away on manifold pleasures, came at a price. They became cursed men, walking dead, unable to live as normal men until all 882 pieces of Cortés's treasure were returned and repaid in blood.

Jack was the only member of the crew not to be affected by the curse, since he had already been abandoned by Barbossa. However, he heard tales of the curse placed upon his former crewmen. Over the next eight years, Jack continued his life of piracy, though on the eighth year, he was reduced to commandeering the Jolly Mon from Anamaria, a boat that barely made it to Port Royal before sinking. Now "in the market" for a new vessel, Jack attempted to commandeer the Interceptor, but his plot was interrupted by a young lady falling from the fort. Despite his piratical nature, Jack was not about to let the girl, Elizabeth Swann, drown, and dived into the ocean to rescue her. Bringing her on deck of the Interceptor, Jack spied a strange coin fastened around her neck; one of the pieces of Aztec gold Barbossa's men were seeking. However, before he could explore the situation further, Commodore Norrington arrived to arrest Sparrow.



Despite having saved Governor Weatherby Swann's daughter, Jack was sentenced to be hanged. However, Jack held Elizabeth hostage, ensuring the return of his effects before making his daring escape. With Norrington's men in pursuit, Jack sought refuge in a blacksmith's shop, where he cut his manacles. However, he was soon confronted by the blacksmith's apprentice, Will Turner, who engaged the pirate in a sword fight. Sparrow won, through a mixture of skill and pirate trickery, but Turner refused to stand down. Jack was resolute he would not shoot Turner&mdash;thus wasting his single shot&mdash;and was preoccupied enough with this quandry for John Brown to knock him unconscious.

When Sparrow came to, he found himself incarcerated in Fort Charles, which soon came under attack by a fog-shrouded pirate ship&hellip;the Black Pearl, as Jack immediately identified it. During the fight, as Jack was luring the Prison Dog to him, the pirate Koehler happened upon Jack's cell, and inadvertantly revealed to Jack the existence of the curse of Cortés upon Barbossa's men. Jack remained in the cell throughout the attack, but, the next morning, was visited again; this time by Will Turner, who made a deal with Jack to help him reach the Black Pearl's port and rescue the captive Elizabeth. Jack agreed, and immediately set about acquiring a ship.

Escape to Tortuga
"That's got to be the best pirate I've ever seen."

- Groves on Jack Sparrow



Sparrow and Turner used cunning and guile to board and commander the flagship Dauntless, which was summarily boarded by Norrington's men. However, the pirates slipped away unnoticed, and boarded Norrington's ship, the HMS Interceptor, using it to flee Port Royal and leaving the Dauntless with its rudder chain disabled.



The pirates arrived at Tortuga, and after some less-than pleasent reunions with several of his lovers, Jack tracked down Joshamee Gibbs, and explained his plan to follow the Black Pearl to Isla de Muerta, using Will as leverage to reacquire his ship from Barbossa. Sparrow and Gibbs assembled a crew, and set off in the Interceptor, following Jack's navigation by his strange compass.

Isla de Muerta
Thanks to the Interceptor's speed, the crew arrived at Isla de Muerta just after the Black Pearl, and Jack and Will went ashore. There, Jack witnessed the start of the ritual that Barbossa hoped would lift the curse, but complications arose in the shape of Will, who was far too impatient for Jack's liking. Jack implored Will to remain where he was so that Jack could implement his plan, but Will rashly knocked Jack unconscious and rescued Elizabeth himself. Turner took the girl back to the Interceptor, where he admitted Jack had fallen behind. Having sworn to keep to the code, Gibbs ordered the crew to set sail.

Meanwhile, Jack had woken up, and found himself surrounded by Barbossa's pirates. Invoking the right of parley, Jack was brought before Barbossa, and made a deal with him to procure the person whose blood would lift their curse&mdash;for Elizabeth's blood had had no effect. Jack was brought along as the pirates set sail to pursue the Interceptor, and found himself aboard his former ship for the first time in eight years. However, when he suggested to Barbossa that he attempt a negotiation with the Interceptor's' crew, Jack was locked in the brig&mdash;as Barbossa said, that was the kind of attitude that had lost Sparrow the Pearl in the first place.

Battle with the Black Pearl
Jack witnessed the ensuing battle from within his cell, but when a stray shot smashed the lock, he was able to return to the deck, and slyly helped his crew in the fight. Noticing Barbossa's monkey making off with the medallion, Jack gave chase, and once more found himself face-to-face with Barbossa aboard the Pearl. This time, Barbossa was not so lenient, and made Jack walk the plank, and, accompanied by Elizabeth, Sparrow had no choice but to make for the island he had been marooned on eight years earlier. Fortunately, Barbossa allowed Jack to keep his pistol, still with its single shot.

Marooned
"Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails; that's what a ship needs, but what a ship is&hellip;what the Black Pearl really is&hellip;is freedom."

- Jack Sparrow to Elizabeth Swann

With the rum-runners no longer operational, Jack had no plan of escape. However, Elizabeth proved more cunning than Jack had expected, and, after getting him drunk, proceeded to burn the rum caché, hoping the ensuing fire would attract attention. Jack rubbished the plan, but a short time later, help did indeed arrive in the form of the Dauntless, and both Jack and Elizabeth were rescued.

Onboard, Jack and Elizabeth persuaded Commodore Norrington to set after the Black Pearl and rescue Will, though yet again Jack had his own agenda. He coerced Norrington into allowing him to go ashore alone, and Jack once again confronted Barbossa in the treasure cave, just as the ritual began for a second time&mdash;this time with Will as the sacrifice. Jack stalled the proceedings, and managed to slyly steal one of the coins from the chest. Barbossa sent all but a few of his men to attack the Royal Navy forces outside, while he, Jack and Will remained in the cave. It was at this point that Jack showed his true colors.

The Immortal Jack Sparrow
"So what now, Jack Sparrow? Are we to be two immortals locked in an epic battle until Judgment Day and trumpets sound?" "Or you could surrender."

- Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow

Stealing a sword from one of Barbossa's men, Jack engaged his former first mate in a deadly duel, in which Barbossa seemed to gain the upper hand. The fight led them around the cave, until Barbossa cut it short by declaring that, as an immortal, Jack could not kill him. Sparrow tried anyway, but Barbossa merely sighed at the sword plunged into his body, and responded in kind, stabbing Jack in the gut. Victory was denied, however, when Jack stumbled backwards into a shaft of moonlight, transforming into a skeleton before Barbossa's shocked eyes. Holding aloft the medallion he had taken, Jack grinned triumphantly at his nemesis, and begun the duel anew.



By this time, Elizabeth had joined Will in the cave, and, working together, they had dispatched the remaining Black Pearl pirates. Noticing Will standing over the chest, Jack quickly cut his hand with his sword, staining his medallion with his blood and hurling it to Will as he did the same. Will dropped both coins into the chest, and Jack finally used his single shot, firing it into Barbossa's heart. Barbossa realized he had been decieved moments before he toppled backwards, dead.

Avenged and the curse now lifted from him, Jack set about searching through the treasure cave for items of particular value. However, upon his return to the open water, he discovered his crew had already departed in the Black Pearl, after Elizabeth had failed to convince them to stay and help in the fight. Jack had no choice but to accompany the Royal Navy back to Port Royal.



Freedom
"On deck, you scabrous dogs! Man the braces! Let down and haul to run free. Now&hellip;bring me that horizon."

- Jack Sparrow

For his crimes, Jack was sentenced to be executed by hanging, and grimly awaited his fate in the courtyard of the fortress. However, Will Turner was also present, and staged a daring rescue of his comrade. Together, the two pirates fought the Commodore's soldiers, but were ultimately surrounded. It was only when Elizabeth decided to stand with them that Governor Swann ordered the soldiers to lower their weapons. Siezing his chance, and noticing a familiar parrot nearby, Jack made his escape, diving into the ocean just as the Black Pearl rounded the cove. In the face of this alarming chain of events, culminating in Elizabeth's profession of love for Will, Commodore Norrington decided not to immediately pursue Sparrow, giving him time to escape.

Jack was brought aboard the Pearl, and was once more given command of his ship. He ordered his crew to set sail, and headed off on another adventure on the high seas.

Marked Man
"You're a marked man, Jack Sparrow. You owe Davy Jones your soul."

- Bootstrap Bill Turner



As Captain of the Black Pearl once again, Jack continued operating as a pirate, but soon realized his freedom came at a cost. The debt he had sworn to Davy Jones thirteen years prior had still not been paid. Whether Jack had the foresight to attempt to call off the debt, or whether it was simply a coincidence is unknown, but Jack embarked on a quest to locate the Dead Man's Chest, rumored to contain the still-beating heart of Davy Jones. First, Jack had to find the key to the chest, and soon happened upon a valuable drawing of the key, giving him an advantage in his quest. He was able to obtain this drawing, but soon encountered trouble, and fled the island within the confines of a coffin launched out to sea. He used the coffin as a makeshift boat to return to the Black Pearl, where he informed his crew of his new venture.

That night, Jack was visited in the cellar by Bootstrap Bill Turner, currently serving as part of Davy Jones' crew aboard the Flying Dutchman. Turner informed Jack that his time was up, and Jones was calling in his debt. To reinforce this, Turner branded Jack with the Black Spot, setting fear into Jack's heart and causing him to begin his quest for the key with all haste&mdash;though he was so fearful of what his debt might entail, Jack could not bring himself even to tell his crew what forces pursued them.



Running to Pelegosto


Jack knew that as long as he remained on the open seas, he was in danger, so the Pearl weighed anchor at Pelegosto, the closest body of land. Even here, the crew of the Pearl was not safe, as they were summarily captured by a group of cannibalistic natives. Jack was made the chief of the tribe, although he found his fortunes had little improved when he learned that the natives believed him to be a god, and he would be eaten to release his spirit from its "fleshy prison". Despite this, Jack played along, all the while looking for means of escape. Meanwhile, some of his crew had already been eaten, and the rest held in cages made from the bones of their former companions.



Jack's situation improved with the arrival of Will Turner, seeking Jack in order to obtain his compass for Lord Cutler Beckett. Will inadvertantly caused a distraction&mdash;through his capture by and subsequent escape from the cannibals&mdash;which gave Jack the time he needed to flee. Jack, Will and the surviving crew returned to the Black Pearl and set sail, though Jack still refused to head into open water. Instead, he had unfinished business on another part of Pelegosto.

Tia Dalma
"Jack Sparrow is a dying breed. The world is shrinking. The blank edges of the map filled in. Jack must find his place in the new world or perish."

- Cutler Beckett to William Turner

The crew traveled up-river in boats to the shack of Tia Dalma, where Jack hoped to find information on the forces that persued him. He and Dalma had a history, and as Jack himself said, they had, at one time, been inseperable. It was also believed that the two had once been lovers.

Upon arrival at her shack, however, Jack was somewhat perturbed to find Dalma took more interest in Will than himself. However, Jack was able to trade Barbossa's undead monkey in exchange for information on the the location of the Flying Dutchman, and details about Jones himself. He was also given a jar of dirt, though Tia did not specify why this was of use to him.

Armed with this knowledge, the crew set out to find Jones' ship. Will was summarily captured by Jones' crew, and Davy Jones himself confronted Jack aboard the Pearl. He demanded Jack's debt be paid, and agreed that, should Jack bring him one hundred souls for his crew, he would be free. As slim a chance as this was, Jack took it, and immediately set sail for Tortuga, noting that Jones did not specify what state the souls should be in.

Jack and Gibbs began recruiting for service aboard the Black Pearl, and managed to enlist a total of four mariners before a bar brawl broke out, started by the disgraced former Commodore, James Norrington. Jack and the crew managed to slip out, and began preparing the Pearl for launch. At this point, Jack encountered Elizabeth Swann, having escaped from the custody of Lord Beckett to find Will. Jack realized Elizabeth's true desire was being reunited with Will, and knew he could use this to his advantage. He persuaded Elizabeth that finding the Dead Man's Chest would lead her directly to Will, thus ensuring that when she used Jack's compass, it would point to her true desire&mdash;now the chest. Jack had his bearing.

Journey to Isla Cruces
"Mr. Gibbs&hellip;I feel sullied and unusual."

- Jack Sparrow to Joshamee Gibbs

The Black Pearl immediately set course for Isla Cruces, the burial site of the Dead Man's Chest. Onboard his ship, Jack learned of Will's association with Lord Beckett, after finding his Letters of Marque. Jack took the documents, much to Elizabeth's annoyance, and refused to return them unless she could sufficiently "persuade" him to do so. It appeared that Jack was becoming increasingly interested in Elizabeth, though it was equally possible that his interest was only an act staged for the duration of Elizabeth's usefulness in his quest to find Davy Jones' heart.

Later on during the journey, Jack once more approached Elizabeth, offering her a drink and stating that she would come over to his side in time. He stated that Elizabeth was curious about Jack's way of life, and longed to feel the freedom Jack enjoyed. In turn, Elizabeth told him she was sure one day Jack would prove himself to be a good man, and he would long for the reward of fame that would follow. Jack was indeed inticed by this, but whatever attraction may have developed between the two was soon quashed when Jack noticed the Black Spot has reappeared on his palm. At that moment, Gibbs sighted land: Isla Cruces, and the end of Jack's quest.

The Dead Man's Chest
"You'll have the chance to do something&hellip; something courageous. And when you do, you'll discover something: that you're a good man."

- Elizabeth Swann to Jack Sparrow

Upon arrival at Isla Cruces, Jack set about tracking down the Dead Man's Chest, using Elizabeth as his guide. Jack had Norrington dig at the supposed burial site, as deigned by Elizabeth, using the compass. Her reading was correct, and Norrington soon unearthed the chest. However, before Jack could open it, Will Turner arrived, having escaped from servitude aboard the Flying Dutchman. He refused to let Jack open the chest, wanting to stab the heart within and thus free his father from his debt to Jones. Jack, naturally, wanted the heart for himself, in order to call off Jones' Kraken, and drew his sword. It was a standoff, exacerbated by Norrington's intervention, who wanted control of the heart for his own personal reasons.

A fight inevitably ensued, in which Jack attempted desperately to get his hands on the key. The three-way duel progressed atop a stone church, where Norrington stated his intention to kill Jack for ruining his life. Jack deflected blame onto Will's shoulders, and fled through the graveyard with the key. However, he was soon thrust back into the battle when the two duelists dislodged an old water wheel, and continued the fight inside and around it as it rolled through the jungle.

Ultimately, however, Jack managed to hold on to the key, and opened the Dead Man's Chest after taking it from the pirate Hadras. Within was Davy Jones' heart, just as Tia Dalma had said, which Jack hid inside his jar of dirt back at the longboat on the beach. Davy Jones' crew soon caught up, and Jack became too preoccupied with fighting them off to notice Norrington studying the jar with great interest.

Jack's companions were able to hold the pirates back, and fled in the longboat&mdash;sans Norrington, who instead fled into the jungle carrying the empty chest, thus distracting the pirates. Jack made it back to the Black Pearl, which launched for the open water, safe in the knowledge that he was now in possession of the heart of Davy Jones.

Confrontations
"Come to negotiate, eh, have you, you slimy git? Look what I got. I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt! And guess what's inside it?"

- Jack Sparrow to Davy Jones

As Jack had expected, the Flying Dutchman soon caught up with the Pearl, and he began taunting its Captain, holding his jar of dirt aloft. Jones called upon the Kraken once more, which began its assault on the Black Pearl. Shaking the vessel, the Kraken dislodged Jack's, which smashed on the deck, revealing nothing inside but a pile of dirt. Desperately searching for the missing heart&mdash;which was already making its way to Cutler Beckett in the possession of Norrington&mdash;Jack realized his advantage over Jones was lost. True to his usual form, Jack turned tail and fled in the ship's lone remaining boat, seeking to escape back to the relative safety of Isla Cruces.

However, despite all evidence to the contrary, Jack was indeed a good man at heart, and a consultation with his compass revealed his true destination; he knew he could not leave his crew to die in the attack, and began rowing back to his beloved, doomed Black Pearl.

He arrived back on deck in time to ignite a gunpowder trap set up by the crew that wounded the Kraken and forestalled its attack for a moment. Jack ordered his crew into the longboat, at the cost of his ship. Gibbs was shocked at Jack's decision, but the Captain had seen sense; after all, she was only a ship.

As the crew raced onto the longboat, Elizabeth thanked Jack for coming back to save them, and leaned in for a kiss. Their embrace carried them to the mast, to which Elizabeth suddenly chained Jack. She had realized the Kraken was after Jack alone, not the rest of the crew, and his sacrifice would be the only way to ensure their survival. Jack conceded her trickery with a smile, calling her a "pirate". Apparently resigned to his fate, Jack watched her leave the ship.

Down with his ship
"And already the world seems a bit less bright. He fooled us all right to the end. But I guess that honest streak finally won out"

- Joshamee Gibbs



As soon as he was left alone on deck, Jack frantically tried to escape his chains. He managed to slip out of his manacles with the aid of oil from a broken lantern, though he was not out of danger. No sooner had he freed himself than the Kraken returned, its fanged maw rising up to deck-level. The Kraken belched out a roar, spraying Jack with slime and spitting out his tricorne hat, eaten prior to Jack's arrival at Pelegosto.

Placing his hat once more atop his head, Captain Jack Sparrow drew his sword and faced off against the Kraken as it dragged the Black Pearl under water, lunging into its maw with a cry of "Hello beastie!"



With that, the Pearl and its Captain disappeared without a trace, and Davy Jones considered his debt settled. Jack's Captain-less crew returned, dejected and defeated, back to Tia Dalma's shack. There, they raised a toast to the late Jack Sparrow, but Tia had not yet given up hope. She stated that there was a chance to bring Jack back from the depths of Davy Jones' Locker, though it would entail a journey to World's End. The crew agreed, and set out under the command of their new Captain&mdash;the resurrected Hector Barbossa, a man who knew the waters of World's End well.

The Return of Jack Sparrow
"Why should I go with any of you? Four of you have tried to kill me in the past. One of you succeeded."

- Jack Sparrow to Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Hector Barbossa, Pintel, and Ragetti



Jack was taken by the Kraken to Davy Jones' Locker, where he was forced to endure his worst fear: being stuck on land, unable to drag the Black Pearl out into the sea. He was ultimately found and rescued by his former crew, now under the leadership of Hector Barbossa, with whom Jack formed an antagonistic partnership.

World's end
"Captain Jack Sparrow&hellip;the last pirate."

- Jack Sparrow

Following his escape from purgatory, Jack met with the Pirate Lords at Shipwreck Cove, and joined in the decisive battle against Cutler Beckett's East India Trading Company, now with Davy Jones' Flying Dutchman in its employ.

Appearance
"And it's not a bad look, really&hellip;"

- Jack Sparrow to William Turner



Jack wore the clothing and effects common to pirates of his time, though marked himself apart from his fellow crewmen by adopting a dress style that projected an air of flamboyance and a touch of the dandy. He wore sea boots and long, hard-wearing linen trousers; a knotted sash, a waistcoat and a white undershirt. A red bandana was almost constantly wrapped around his head.

Jack's distinctive look accentuated by dreadlocked black hair and a goatee beard. His hair was adorned with all manner of beads and trinkets gathered from all over the world, each one reminding him of a different adventure. He had two tattoos on his right forearm marking him as a pirate; one, the distinctive "P" brand marked on pirates by members of the East India Trading Company&mdash;this one in particular administered by Cutler Beckett&mdash;and a personalized tattoo of a sparrow flying across a setting sun. This was apparently a well-known identifying mark, since James Norrington recognized it immediately upon first viewing. Among the beads and trinkets in his hair, there was a reindeer shin bone hanging off of a single strand. On his arms and chest, there were many scars and gashes, the result of some of his previous adventures.

Demeanor
"They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die, but not before he'd gone mad with the heat." "Ah. So that's the reason for all the&hellip;?"

- Joshamee Gibbs and William Turner on Jack's mannerisms

Jack Sparrow was noted for his unusual demeanor, characterized by a slightly drunken stagger and wild, flailing arm and hand gestures that made him appear unfocused and possibly ataxic. This was likely due in part to the hot climate of the Caribbean, and the large amount of time spent on deck of various ships&mdash;though it should be noted he seemed fairly sure-footed onboard a ship. It was rumored that Jack suffered heat stroke while marooned on a desert island after Hector Barbossa's mutiny aboard the Black Pearl. However, Jack was actually only on the island for three days before bartering passage off with a group of rum-runners.

It was more likely that Jack's unusual demeanor was largely a ploy designed to keep his enemies off-guard. Jack could be deadly serious on occasion, such as after shooting Barbossa on Isla de Muerta. Jack's seemingly-perpetual drunkenness may have been the cause of his slurred speech.



Effects
"Do not lose these!"

- Jack Sparrow on his effects

Jack was known to carry a number of items about his person at all times, including a tricorne hat, a single-shot pistol, a sword, a compass and a coat, commonly referred to as his "effects". Jack was highly possessive of these items, and became visibly agitated whenever they were taken from him or tampered with. Even while escaping a Port Royal Prison, Jack would not leave without first gathering his effects, much to the consternation of Will Turner.

Jack's tricorne hat was one of the pirate's most beloved possessions, possibly because it symbolized his status as a Captain. When asking for his effects to be handed over to him during his escape attempt in Port Royal, Jack specifically requested his hat. After Jack was marked with the Black Spot, his hat was thrown into the sea by Jack the monkey. The crew realized what a loss this must be for Jack, though he himself was too preoccupied with the Black Spot to pay much attention. The hat is later recovered and summarily eaten by the Kraken along with the ship it was aboard at the time. Jack attempted to replace the hat several times during a bar brawl in Tortuga, though ultimately regained it when the Kraken spat it out during their confrontation prior to the fall of the Black Pearl. Jack put his hat on prior to being eaten by the Kraken.

Jack's pistol remained with him for many years, after it was loaded with a single shot and carried with him to the desert island he was marooned on by Barbossa. Jack escaped, and for the next ten years carried the pistol with him, intent on killing Barbossa with the single bullet he had been left. Thus, Jack could not bring himself to fire his pistol on anyone else; although he drew his pistol on Will Turner in order to end a duel between them, he did not shoot the boy, and was thus captured by the Royal Navy. Jack ultimately got his revenge on Barbossa, shooting him in the heart moments after Will reversed the curse that protected Barbossa. Jack was then free to load his pistol to capacity, and continued to use it years after.



Behind the scenes

 * Jack Sparrow was portrayed by Johnny Depp in all three Pirates of the Caribbean films, and voiced by James Arnold Taylor in Kingdom Hearts II. Hiroaki Hirata voiced the character in both Kingdom Hearts II and the Japanese dub of the first film. Depp voiced the character in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow.
 * Michael Keaton, Jim Carrey, and Christopher Walken were all considered for the role.
 * Depp claimed Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and Pepé Le Pew (from Looney Tunes) were inspirations for his performance (though Errol Flynn was also an influence)
 * Depp was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a rarity for a comic performance.
 * Depp's tattoos were covered by clothing and smears of charcoal for the film, though his character's tattoos (the East India Trading Company brand and Sparrow's insignia) were fake. Depp had a replica of the "Jack Sparrow" tattoo after filming was complete, in honor of his son, Jack. Additionally, Depp asked his dentist to implant real gold teeth for the film, though Disney executive Michael Eisner felt he had too many and asked Depp to remove all but a few.
 * According to the screenwriters' commentary on the DVD release of The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack is actually the worst swordsman of the main characters, with Will being the best and Barbossa and Norrington evenly matched.

Canon

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow
 * The Coming Storm
 * The Siren Song
 * The Pirate Chase
 * The Sword of Cortés
 * The Age of Bronze
 * Silver
 * City of Gold
 * 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 World's End
 * Pirates of the Caribbean (ride)

Non-canon

 * Kingdom Hearts II