Yo ho ho and a bottle of… doubt?
Believe it or not, Orlando Bloom wasn’t exactly swinging from the rigging when he first heard about Pirates of the Caribbean. In fact, the whole idea sounded downright ridiculous.
“My agent said, ‘Disney wants to make a movie based on a theme park ride,’ and I was like, ‘This is crazy?’” Bloom recently recalled.
Let’s be honest—it did sound a bit bananas at the time. A swashbuckling adventure based on a Disneyland attraction? It could’ve gone straight to Davy Jones’ locker before it ever left the dock.
But fate—and one very persuasive co-star—had other plans.
Bloom was working on Ned Kelly in Australia when he shared his skepticism with none other than Geoffrey Rush, the man who would go on to play the devilish Captain Barbossa in the Pirates franchise. Rush must’ve sensed the gold buried in the script, because his pitch changed everything.
Geoffrey convinced Orlando to jump aboard, and the rest is blockbuster history.
“Geoffrey Rush says I owe him 10 percent,” Bloom joked.
Considering the Pirates series went on to rake in billions and launch Bloom into full-blown stardom, that might just be fair. Thanks to Rush’s pirate intuition, Bloom signed on as the dashing Will Turner, joined forces with Johnny Depp’s now-legendary Captain Jack Sparrow, and helped turn what seemed like a theme park gimmick into one of Disney’s most successful franchises.
And to think—it all started with one skeptical actor, one iconic ride, and one Oscar-winning pirate whispering, “Trust me, mate.”
So next time you queue up for a Pirates rewatch, raise a mug to Geoffrey Rush—because without him, Will Turner might’ve walked the plank before the first sword was drawn.
