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AFTER three movies and five years of playing Captain Jack Sparrow, you wouldn't expect anything to faze Johnny Depp on the set. But for him and the rest of the Pirates crew, one new cast member in the third instalment Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End made it very special - Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

Depp has openly admitted that he fashioned the character of Captain Jack at least partly on the guitarist whose grizzled looks indicate that he's lived the rock 'n' roll lifestyle to the full.

He appears in the third instalment as, fittingly enough, Captain Jack's father. "That was great, he was just so cool," says Depp. "First of all, not just for me, but also for the entire crew, it was so special. I mean, seeing Keith Richards arrive for work totally prepared like, beautiful, 7.30, eight o'clock in the morning. It's like, 'what?', it was incredible."

There must have been a feeling among the film-makers beforehand that Richards might keep rock'n'roll time and be a bit late on set. "Well, you just don't know, it's totally outside his arena," says Depp.

"But boy, what a professional man. He came in and just smoked us. He was amazing, just amazing, and adorable. This crew have been working together since 2002 when we did Pirates 1, and it's the first time I've seen the entire crew show up on the set. Instead of 200 people, it was like 500 or 1,000. We were all peeking, trying to get a glimpse of the maestro." He got to spend "a bunch of time" with Richards away from the cameras. "My only comment to him was that he seems to know how to draw a crowd. He was super, super-sweet and couldn't have been nicer to everyone or more accommodating."

The Rolling Stones guitarist did four or five days filming. Depp rejects what he terms weird reports of Richards' behaviour on set because of his lack of experience of making movies. Far from it. "He was incredibly savvy," reports Depp.

"I don't think he's ever done a film before and he was like, 'oh, so I stand here and say this, and then I walk over here and do this'. He'd do two takes and the director would go, 'okay, next'. I started calling him Two Take Richards."

Having around the person on whom he'd based his character must have been odd, but perhaps helpful, for Depp. "This is going to sound strange but as Jack I felt like I'd known Keith a lot better and for a lot longer than Johnny has. If I had the guise, or I was in Jack mode, it was a lot easier to play around and improvise. It was almost like a jam session in that sense. Whereas for me, as Johnny, it would get to a certain point and I'd clam up."

That's down to being in awe of Richards. "On one level, there's this guy Keith and he's a terrific guy to hang out with and he's a really wonderful man," he says. "But there's always that thing that reverberates with me - he's one of my guitar heroes and I can never escape that".

Even though Depp finished shooting the third Pirates movie six months ago, it's still very much swimming around in his head, making it difficult to get a perspective on the whole experience. "I don't have that distance on it. But, all in all, it's a positive reflection and I loved the experience, and even at its most gruelling, it was positive. It was a gas," he says.

His last day as Captain Jack was one of those times when he did everything he could to postpone it. He even tried to persuade director Gore Verbinski to let him do another take and asked if there was anything else they could shoot.

"Because you just don't want to say goodbye to that guy. You've been that person for umpteen months and you don't want to say goodbye. It's very strange."

His final scenes were marked by a big cake and champagne, and he was given a collage of photographs. "It was very moving, it was like we were all saying goodbye to Captain Jack in that moment".

Does that mean he won't be taking up his sword and flying the skull-and-crossbones again?. He replies with a never say never line. "If I were approached to play Captain Jack again, under the right circumstances, with all the right and proper elements involved and a good script, I would definitely give it some serious thought," says Depp.

* Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (12A) opens in cinemas today and is reviewed on Page 11

REACHING 30 caused Pirates Of The Caribbean swashbuckler Orlando Bloom to review his priorities about what he wants to do with his life. "I have to tell you that it felt very good to reach 30, I thought I'd never make it to 30," he says.

"It's the first time in eight years I haven't got a job which I am immediately going into after Pirates 3. That in itself has given me a moment to take a breath and look around."

Bloom's been to Antarctica to look at the environmental situation and to Indonesia with Unicef.

He wonders if there's a play he can get off the ground. He saw Daniel (Harry Potter) Radcliffe in Equus on the London stage, praising his brave choice and for doing a great job.

Bloom visited Antarctica after being part of an environmental company, Global Green, for four or five years through his cousin's involvement. "I spent three weeks in a 1950s Norwegian icebreaker. I slept in a room the size of a bus shelter and was on the top bunk. I shared a bathroom and toilet with 27 others. The water was freezing, but I had a swim for the hell of it. It was crazy."

The house he's building in England has taken a year to complete. He's trying to make it a green house. "It's powered by solar panels. I'll be using energy efficient light bulbs and tried to think about recycling and using old materials as much as I can."

* Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (12A) opens in cinemas today.