Dueling Sparrows
E! Online's Megaplex column ventured over to Hollywood Boulevard to interview two of the Captain Jack Sparrow impersonators who work the sidewalk in front of the Kodak and Chinese theaters, who should be seeing a serious spike in income once the new Pirates of the Caribbean sequel opens. We've excerpted a little from Sparrow Number Two, the more openly hostile and territorial Johnny Depp clone:
You don't get along with the other Jack Sparrows? There's one guy, I just get so mad. You do not do Jack Sparrow wearing Matrix boots, for crying out loud. He had it all wrong. That's the main reason I did [this]. This is Hollywood Boulevard, the most famous boulevard on the planet. And I thought, is this the best we can do to represent Jack Sparrow?
Do you talk with the other Sparrows?
I've cussed one out a few times. I've had guys walk up to me and say they do the character, and they ask me how I did this and that. Of course, like a magician, you don't want to give away all your secrets. Being a character, you're not just being a clown and making people laugh. You've got higher standards. You ask yourself, What would Johnny want his character to say or do?
It's encouraging to see that the fierce competition to shake down star-struck tourists with loose grasps on currency exchange rates and itchy Polaroid fingers hasn't made these boulevard buccaneers forget why they got into the business in the first place: a single-minded dedication to the craft of pretending to be a very famous actor.
