Kirsten Cannon D351 April 19, 2013

Character Analysis of Jack Sparrow

The tales of swashbuckling pirates have been told for years in which a stereotypical pirate was created; that being one with an eye-patch, a wooden leg and a bottle of rum in hand. In 2003 an ambitious and versatile actor took the image of a pirate into his own hands. Johnny Depp, cast as the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in Disneys Pirates of the Caribbean, created a new iconic image of a pirate. His immersion into his character and the consistency of the characters body movement is what made him so believable and loveable. As I took on this challenge of analyzing Jonny Depps character I found myself asking, If he didn't have make-up and a costume on would his movement still clearly translate who his character is? With four different movies featuring Depps character and by analyzing a specific movie clip I was able to analyze his movement in LMA terms and see how his movement manifested his character and compare how it matched the characteristics of his costume.

This was not the first time that Disney tackled a pirate film. In 1950 Treasure Island was released with Long John Silver featured as the main character. Johnny Depps costume kept the traditional look of Long John Silver but it evolved into a more stylistic, lighter, and grungier look. Johnny Depps costume kept the traditional pirates hat, a full length coat, belt buckle and sash. The fabric is the most striking difference I found. Long John Silvers coat looks like it is made of felt which is stiffer as well as his shirt and pants both are stiff and well-kept. The main feature of Johnny Depps costume that I think accentuates his body movement is the sleeves of

his blouse. They are very loose and the fabric is very light, giving way for movement. Jack Sparrows costume has more adornments and trinkets attached to the costume. Also more developed is the makeup of Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp said that the make-up artists got the process down to about 2 hours which goes to show how much detail was put into his make-up. The make-up made Jack Sparrow look very sea-worn and his skin shows the effects of being under the sun all day. His long dread-lock wig makes the character unique and gives Jack a more modern look compared to the curled wigs in past pirate films. In an interview Johnny Depp stated that putting on a costume is like a layer of the character, its like the skin, it helps you find the posture; how the character stands, etc (Johnny Depp). Johnny Depp certainly developed a posture and body language and found inspiration for his character to make him stand out as a different kind of pirate.

For most people when they think about pirates they think of Davy Jones or Treasure Islands Long John Silver, but not for Johnny Depp. His inspiration stemmed from Keith Richards, a guitar rock star. "When I read a script, I start to get flashes of imagery. It may be a person I've known in my life he explains. "These images arrive. That's really the basis. If I am guilty of one thing in my work in any situation, especially the heavier, is that I have a tendency to lean toward humor" (Johnny Depp). When Johnny Depp read this script he connected the rock n roll days of Keith Richards to his character from which gave him a starting place for his character. Knowing that Johnny Depp had an image of his character helps us gain greater insight into what Johnny Depp was going for with this character. Jack Sparrows character is a legendary pirate similar to the legend of rock and roll artists; upon meeting his character we see expect to see a fierce and intimidating pirate but rather Depp chose to portray a slightly more clumsy, comical, clever character .

To understand what makes Johnny Depp become Jack Sparrow it best to analyze his movement from the standpoint of Laban Movement Analysis. In an article written for actors to incorporate LMA methods into their characters author Kedzie Penfield stated, The very process of investigation will change the movers relationship to himself so that even if the choice made is to stay with a previous alignment or movement quality it is different when done with awareness. This awareness is what we see as Johnny Depps character has certain, consistent ways of moving that we will explore through the categories of Body, Effort, Shape and Space. A lot of Jack Sparrows trade mark characteristics are seen in the Body category. One of those being his use of Core Distal ( ) when gesturing to others. As he converses with others his arms go out from his center and back in repeatedly. He points and jabs his fingers towards people or waves his hands carelessly from one side to the other. Sparrows character is one that wants to be noticed and also wants to get his own way. The pattern of Core-Distal allows him to reach out to the world and interact but then he can also draw back into himself as his wants and needs are his priorities. Another Pattern of Total Body Connectivity manifested in his movement is UpperLower ( ). Jack Sparrows upper body is much more active where the lower remains more grounded. This is seen when he is talking to others, his lower body is stable and his upper is mobile. I found that Jack Sparrows character has a very distinct Body attitude in the way he holds his body. He reverts into a posture that is characteristic of Jack Sparrow. I observed that his torso leans back, his hips are pushed his forward, and his arms are held at right angles at various distances away from his body. His arms and hands are most active when walking and talking with his torso being the most held. His torso and head sway in a circular motion with his head bobbling in many directions when he addresses others and he to turn from one direction to another he initiates with his hips.

Under the category of Effort, Depps weight of his movement is Light ( ) in the upper body and Strong ( ) in the lower. This is seen in the clip I analyzed where he walks back to talk to Gibbs, a fellow pirate. It is almost as though he prancing towards him. His arms are light but not to the extent of flitting around like a princess. Rather they are more carefree and seem to react as an after fact of the movement of the rest of his body. The lower body has more Strong weight as he seems to firmly plant each step he takes. He is aware of space with his head and eyes and is very Direct( ). The rest of his body movement when walking and talking seems to be more Indirect ( ). His gestures start out to be Direct but seem to flow to the next gesture blurring the lines as to whether it is a Direct or Indirect movement. From my analysis I saw those gestures to be more Indirect but some actions that had Strong Weight behind them I categorized as Direct. Jack Sparrows approach to Kinesphere ( ) is Central ( ). Jacks pointing and gesturing comes from the center out to the edges of his Kinesphere. He chooses to use his hands while he talks which makes his movement less proper and contained giving him a more flamboyant and carefree personality. He tends to move in the Sagittal Plane ( ) as he rocks forward and backward with his body, indicating that he may be intoxicated or seasick. His reach space is Near to Middle but mostly seems to live in Middle in the amount of Space he reaches. In the specific clip I analyzed Sparrows arms are hardly ever attached to his side but are rather moving centrally in and out or are held at different angles at various distances away from the body. Jack Sparrows Physiological Kinesphere ( ) is very generous as has no qualms sharing it with others. He gets very close to others to talk to them showing once again his efforts to be in command. The last category of BESS is Shape. Jack Sparrows main shape is Wall ( ). While standing and talking to others his feet are shoulder width apart. This allows for him to have that swaying

motion in his upper body whereas in a Pin ( ) shape this movement would be harder to access. Jack is always attempting to be recognized as the best, elusive pirate and wants to be known as Capitan. Inhabiting the Wall shape makes his presence more commanding but his other comical behaviors dont always match this desired image. He has many different Shape Qualities such as Rising ( ) with his head as he converses, Spreading ( ) with his arms as he points and gestures, and Advancing ( ) as he moves forward into new Wall shapes. As far as Modes of Shape Change are concerned Jack Sparrow uses Spoking ( ) very frequently. This is seen as he raises his arms and points from the center out. Sparrows personality is one not afraid of confrontation as he seems to use Spoking as a way to bridge himself to those around him to have his presence be noticed by others. As Depps character has been analyzed what is it that makes the movement seem like a pirate? What does his body language convey that could be recognized as a pirate if his costume was not on? From each category of BESS, I can see a meaning behind Depps movement and have come to contextualize the essence of his character. Depp took Sparrows character and engrained certain aspects of a pirate into each of his actions. Its as if Depps character is in a dream-like state of living on a ship commanding orders but he has forgotten how to act otherwise. For example, the way his body sways and his head bobbles while he talks to others is as though he is rocking back and forth on a ship sailing the distant oceans; the leaning back of his body position seems to be counteracting the rock of the ship on a choppy ocean with his lower body keeping him grounded to the ship in a wide, grounded stance; the way he slashes his hands through the air is as though he is dreaming of a past sword fight; his Indirect waving of the arms as he walks gives the idea that he is drunk, a characteristic recognizable for a pirate; and his

use of Spoking and gesturing reflects giving orders on a ship calling out for the crew to raise the sails and clean the brig. Depps costume helps accentuate his movement. The loose arms of the blouse show the movement more clearly of Jack Sparrow and do not constrain his movement. Jack Sparrow does not heed proper manners or have much sense of propriety and the grungy look of the clothes, the scraggly beard, and assorted array of trinkets show that he is a wanderer. The wig being so long allows for the movement of his head to show more clearly. Because Depps movement vocabulary is so consistent and engrained into his body the body language can do most of the talking that Depp is conveying a pirate. The main movement feature that would show someone that Depp is acting as a pirate is the way he walks. The posture of his torso, the swaying of his arms and the Sagittal plane he moves in would indicate to someone that this man is slightly drunk or seasick. One critic said about Johnny Depp, He's very intuitive. It's kind of contradictory because he's incredibly intelligent and smart, but he will react from his heart and not from his head. For me, really good actors don't act, they react; they become a character and they're put in a situation that their character's in and react to it (Savini). This is what Depp does so well. There is no question about who his character is and how he would react to something. The consistency of his characters behavior remains the same. In an interview Depp even mentioned the process of learning choreography for sword fights was difficult but then the added layer of putting his character into the formula was the real challenge. The way he stayed in character is what made him so believable.

To answer the original question of this analysis these prior steps of analyzing the costume, the LMA observations, meaning of the movement and costume choice all contribute to

the final conclusion that can be made after these steps. What I found is that because Depp created such a consistent movement vocabulary that can be identified through the lense of BESS a viewer would be able to recognize that Depp was playing a character if he was not fitted in his costume. The viewer may not be as quick to connect his movement to that of a pirate because his character is so unique and does not act like traditional pirates in past films. However, I believe that if a viewer had seen the film, Pirates of the Caribbean, they would recognize his movement as Jack Sparrow right off the bat. They would see it through his body attitude, gestures, and the gait of his walk. The costume helps to individualize Depps character and puts his character in context and obviously makes it more clear the character he is portraying but his movement speaks for itself and it is what clearly defines Depps character as the beloved, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Works Cited Johnny Depp-Theres method in his madness. The Independent. 29 January 2010. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/johnny-depp--theresmethod-in-his-madness-1882231.html.

Pendfield, Kedzie. Application of Laban Movement Analysis To A Movement For Actors Training Program. http://labspace.open.ac.uk/file.php/6691/APPLICATION_OF_LABAN_MOVEMENT_ ANALYSIS_TO.pdf

Savini, Costanza. Johnny Depp- Acting. Ezine Article. http://ezinearticles.com/?Johnny-Depp--Acting&id=5402830