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It's not every day a Hollywood heart-throb pitches up in your classroom.
But these Greenwich schoolgoers left the rest of Britain's children - if not parents - green with envy when they had a surprise visit from Johnny Depp yesterday.
The star is currently in south-east London filming the fourth Pirates Of The Caribbean movie On Stranger Tides and arrived at the Meridian Primary School dressed in full character as Captain Jack Sparrow.
He made the one-off trip after nine-year-old pupil Beatrice Delap wrote to the star asking for help staging a 'mutiny' against the teachers, as he was filming at the nearby 18th century Old Naval College.
The school was told just ten minutes before that Depp would be arriving and two blacked-out cars swept through the school gates.
An onlooker said she heard the most 'incredible screams of joy' as the actor, in full make-up, then entered the school.
In an interview on London Tonight after the visit, Beatrice revealed what she had written in the letter to the star - or rather his salty seadog alter ego.
She said: '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.
'Beatrice Delap, aged nine, a budding pirate.'
She said that she was then asked by the star to make herself known from the assembled pupils once he arrived, and gave her a cuddle.
Beatrice marvelled: 'He gave me a hug and he said, "Maybe we shouldn't mutiny today 'cos there are police outside monitoring me."'
So Johnny Depp, dressed in full Jack Sparrow garb, decided to visit a 9-year-old girl who wrote his character a letter. He made that girl's life, and probably a lot of the other kids in school. He also donated 1,000,000 pounds to the hospital that saved his daughter's life in 2007, although that's pretty understandable -- yet when he daughter was being treated, he also dressed as Captain Jack and would visit the other sick children and read to them. And he once left a nice waiter a $4,000 tip. And here's the killer -- he never told anybody any of this. He's never once announced any of his good deeds; it's been the school, the hospital, the waiter. So, I repeat: Johnny Depp is the best. (Via WWTDD)
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I believe they're learning the 'This Old Man' nursery rhyme. You know, This old man / he played one / he played knick-knack on my bun, etc?
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Slightly off topic but... A friend of a friend of a friend claims that when they were filming Snatch that Brad Pitt was staying at a plush London hotel. He had the same driver to and from the set every day and got to know a bit about the drivers family etc. One Friday they are driving back to the hotel and the driver (dunno his name) asks Brad Pitt what he is doing that weekend. 'Nothing much' is the reply 'what are you doing?' the driver tells Brad Pitt that he is having a barbeque with all the family on Saturday evening. 'That sounds really nice' says Bradd Pitt a touch wistfully. 'You're more than welcome to come along' says the driver. 'Well, I'd love to but..you know...' says Brad Pitt. 'Sure, sure. I understand, no problem' and the driver thinks no more about it. Come Saturday evening the driver is tending the barbeque at his house in a nondescript suburb of London when the door bell rings. He hears his teenage daughter and wife scream and rushes to see what is going on. There on his doorstep is Brad Pitt with shitloads of booze and food having rung the drivers boss to get his address so he could take him up on his kind offer! He then proceeded to be the life and soul of the party staying until the small hours chatting to anyone and posing for photos etc with no big star attitude and only left when he had helped tidy up the mess at the end of the party. Respect.
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As a longtime fan of his, none of this even surprises me. I read/watched his interviews religiously when I was in high school, and he always came across as a very genuine, caring, family-oriented person. In one interview, he talked about how much more profound and moving it was when kids were excited to meet him as Jack Sparrow than when people fawned over meeting Johnny Depp. It was always very evident in his interviews that he's not a fan of fame, which was one of his reasons for moving out of the states. And yes, he is easily one of the best people ever!
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That should be one of the lists! ^^
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Admirable, Jack, a job well done for sure,mate. But in case you have a bit more time on your schedule, your shipwrecked crew along the Allegheny River here in Pennsylvania is in need of leadership...You see sir, our team, the baseball team, you know, "the Pittsburgh Pirates" ha've lost the last 17 years and are a bit tired of it you see... Perhaps you can steer the Black Pearl from the Atlantic to the Gulf Coast, up the Mississippi to the Ohio to the Allegheny River. Here, in the town called Pittsburgh, can again reclaim our glory. The team manager's position is open and I can't think of another that could restore the luster to the Jolly Roger. Until then, mate, I'm sure these "beatings will continue until morale improves" Your mate, Bootstrap
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That's not surprising. My best friend met him once because her friend's sister had a life-threatening illness and she wanted to meet him. But, he didn't show up just the once, he kept in touch with the family after that. My friend only met him the once though. He is just the coolest guy around, in pretty much every way. I don't find him attractive so much anymore, except in the Jack Sparrow drag, then he's still got it.
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IIRC, David Spade once gave some $60,000 to a fallen Scottsdale, AZ cop's family; and some $100K to the Phoenix PD for equipment. Gary Sinise has some below-the-radar fame as a big supporter of US troops. There are a lot of celebrities who are really good folks and don't say a damn word about it.
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Hey this is really cool. I've heard Denzel Washington does a lot of stuff for wounded veterans, and Christopher Reeves used to go to hospitals dressed as Superman to talk to kids. And then there are jackasses like the Kardashians or Sean Penn. Way to go Mr. Depp! Anytime you want to play Hunter S. Thompson again I'll gladly buy a ticket.
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Never thought a TR article would make me tear up, but here it is. Reminds me of something my grandfather told me about Frank Sinatra. Apparently when he was on tour, he'd have his limo stop at a hospital, go in completely unannounced and ask the receptionist how many patients were on a certain floor (he'd just pick it randomly). If the number was too low, he'd ask about another floor. When he got a number he liked, he'd take out his checkboook, sign it, and tell the receptionist that every patient on that floor's bills were paid. And he would fly into a rage if it was ever revealed that he did it. He wanted absolutely no credit for it. Sometimes the famous guys are good guys too.
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Sorry to seem like comic book shop guy. i still really think this is cool but, she's a little girl so writing to fictional characters doesn't make her a nerd. kids write letters to santa and stuff. now i shall go back to the comic book store where i can hurl insults, and not recieve them.
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Whats cool about this is,its not like it was some publicity stunt dreamed up by Disney...this is just the kind of person he is. Seeing the coverage of this story online has me grinning from ear to ear...I can only imagine how the kids felt. Its a nice story.
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There is actually video of this up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHiB0z2ulf8&feature=player_embedded
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JOHNNY DEP IS THE MOTHER FUCKING BEST YO. Among actors that is.
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J Depp gives us handsome weirdos a good name.
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Oh yeah, but when I show up at an elementary school dressed like a pirate and try to hug children, I get arrested. Damn you Johnny Depp!! :-)
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Depp is awesome. A little birdie told me that, every now and then, he will also play Cap'n Jack unannounced in the Halloween parade at Walt Disney World, just 'cause he wants to.
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So very, very, full of win. What a sweetheart.
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Earthworm Jim sent you a postcard?!
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It's not just a shoe. It's a shoe phone. ??? Maybe her first letter was to Maxwell Smart.
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Yes, the best part is that he doesn't blow his own whistle. I remember reading about Sean Penn going down to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina: he brought his own boat, plus a camera crew to document him "being a hero." Ugh.
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Sometimes people that are more well known have a lot more to go through when they want some alone time. Some people have to do more than just lock the house up to get peace. If I were him, I'd have an island too.
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That's pretty cool of Johnny Deep to do. Like seriously. taking time to go visit a fan, in full costume! Damn.
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That was a pretty cool thing for him to do. I know the kids will remember it forever!
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Makes me want to go see the shitty new pirates movie when it comes out.
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I noticed it too and thought the same thing. How odd...
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The little girl would be the nerd for writing to a fictional character which resulted in the visiting of said character at her school. What a nerd. I for one am proud of her nerdiness.
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I love the fact that you noticed that . . .
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So? One time Earthworm Jim sent me a postcard. And I'm totally normal.
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Inconceivable!
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Bun, Shoe, Knee, Door?... what the hell are these kids learning!?!
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the best the best THE BEST!
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How is this nerdy? it's awesome, but he's an actor who gets paid millions of dollars to dress up like a pirate. It's not cos-play, it's cos-business as the monarch would say.
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I love a good Malapropism!
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AAWWWWWwww! :D
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I used to drive by where they were filming in the diner for "Benny and Joon" and one day they were out back eating lunch. I recognized Depp by his outfit (local media had been showing clips of them filming in the park). I tooted the horn and he looked up and totally smiled at me as I drove by. I almost drove off the road because of the swoon that came upon me. True story.
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What a lovely start to my day. Seeing ordinary people being nicer than required is inspiring enough, seeing arguably the most famous actor of his generation do the same is mind-blowing. Good Show, Sir! P.S. Why isn't this under the Impressive Acts of Nerdery tag?
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Do you mean Philanthropist? Because: Phil·is·tine (fl-stn, f-lstn, -tn) n. 1. A member of an Aegean people who settled ancient Philistia around the 12th century b.c. 2. a. A smug, ignorant, especially middle-class person who is regarded as being indifferent or antagonistic to artistic and cultural values. b. One who lacks knowledge in a specific area. I don't think that word means what you think it means...
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That is really, really awesome. More people should take a page out of the Johnny Depp playbook.
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I suppose so, but how is that any different from Spider-Man coming to your birthday party or your parents telling you about Santa Claus?If anything, when she tells friends and family that Jack Sparrow came to her school, it won't have been a guy in a Jack Sparrow costume: Jack Sparrow actually DID come to her school.
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That's what your mom tells everyone. ;) Zing!
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I have to agree, I hate almost everything he has done in recent memory, and the fact that I really think he believes he is a pirate, but anything like this makes up for the suckage.
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Of course. My bad. I stand corrected, Doctor! But even your Mom will agree that Beatrice, budding pirate and supplier of rum to movie stars, is a pretty badass nine year old!
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So in summary, then, we're still awesome? I'm cool with that.
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The best charity is unannounced. Classy!
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Doesn't get much more homegrown than Kentucky...
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Class act. Wish more people were like this.
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I wish more celebrities were like Depp. Very, very cool.
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eh, it'll do -bust a move- XD
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not only is he nerdy enough to cosplay, he's also nice enough to be a goddamn philistine. dammit, some guys got all the luck!
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My wife worked at Disneyland during both premiere parties for Pirates 1 & 2. She was the chef for the cast of the show and she said Johnny was super nice to all the staff and her.
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I'M the coolest kid in Britan! My mother says so.
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This act alone explains why Johnny Depp is the coolest human on the planet. Reading to little kids in the hospital while dressed as Captain Jack is simply the frosting on this cupcake of awesomeness. Plus, that little girl is officially the coolest kid in Britain!
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this is sweet and all but this will certain fuck with a childs sense of reality. She wrote to a fictional character and the fictional character showed up!
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Every now and then you read about Depp doing some awesome thing like this. Sometimes it seems like he's lost touch with reality as a celeb (read the vanity fair puff piece about his own private island) but he always does some really touching thing to make up for it.
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Johnny Depp wins. Nothing we ever do will be as cool or good as what he's done.
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I propose a BREAKDANCE CONTEST! *turns cap backwards, pops collar*
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Not a big fan of his, but that's a pretty awesome thing to do. Props, Depp.
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so, an evil clone to herr doktor...time to break out the dual-saber then. -readies dual light saber-
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That's awesome; Great actor, great person.
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I heard about this in the paper. This is why he is such an awesome guy and why he is set apart from other celebrities. he doesn't so nice things because he has to, he does them because he wants to. He knows when to reward good deeds or how to cheer people up. More people need to follow that guys example, Depp is just that freakin awesome and cool. Why don't Pixar and him team up? They could achieve world peace just by being nice.
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I seem to remember reading that when he was reading in the hospital he paid to have his costume shipped from Disney out of his own pocket.
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<i>** crosses arms in front of chest, turns his back on Dr. Smashy **</i>
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Someday we'll come up with a homegrown answer to Johnny Depp, mark my words.
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Johnny Depp is Freaking Awesome!! Now I wish more celebs were like him...
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I have to say, I'm curious who the chap is dressed like a pirate/cowboy behind him in that photo. Fellow crewmember along for the ride? Security decided to cosplay with him for the kids? Were the teachers scheduled to do cosplay that day in school (thus explaining the context of the girl's letter)?
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In the PS she also adds that they have lots of rum. Johnny Depp is love.
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Not only the best, but still smokin' hot at 47.
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IGNORE ME!!!!
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Wow, I was told seconds ago by my friend about this only to find it here. Yeah, he's awesome! I could totally go to the set if I wanted. WHO'S AWESOME NOW, YANKS?!
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Wow, I was told seconds ago by my friend about this only to find it here. Yeah, he's awesome!
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