Johnny Depp: Part-Time Pirate, Full-Time Awesome

Star makes time to visit a London grammar school in full Sparrow regalia after a 9-year-old "budding pirate" invited him to help her classmates stage a mutiny

By Natalie Finn Oct 07, 2010 11:21 PMTags
Johnny DeppCavan Pawson/Evening Standard/ZUMA Press

Smooth sailing for Johnny Depp, straight into the hearts of dozens of school children.

The movie star, in London shooting the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean flick, took time out Wednesday to surprise the kids at Meridian Primary School in Greenwich after an intrepid 9-year-old asked for his help in waging mutiny against their teachers.

Guess who's a shoo-in for student body president this year?

"Captain Jack Sparrow, At Meridian Primary School, we are a bunch of budding young pirates and we were having a bit of trouble mutiny-ing against the teachers, and we'd love if you could come and help," wrote the wee Beatrice Delap, who signed her entreaty, "a budding pirate."

And Depp, dressed in full Pirates regalia, happily obliged, although he told Beatrice they were going to have to hold off on the mutiny because of the police escort waiting for him outside.

According to London's Daily Mail, no one knew Depp was coming until 10 minutes before he arrived (smart, that one), but school administrators swiftly got everything in order so that Capt. Jack Sparrow himself could meet the students.

During his visit, Depp asked Beatrice to come forward for a hello hug and showed her classmates the letter (illustrated with a skull and crossbones, of course) she wrote him.

We're thinking the teachers, who probably didn't even know they were thisclose to a mutiny, have probably earned at least a few points with the kids for helping Depp pull off what we're safely going to call the highlight of the school year so far.

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