The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been a major success for Disney, captivating audiences worldwide and amassing a dedicated fan base.
The films revolve around Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann, with a love triangle developing between them since the first installment, The Curse of the Black Pearl, released in 2003.
In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow and Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann shared a moment that left viewers swooning. However, Depp recently revealed in an interview that kissing an actress nearly 20 years his junior was incredibly awkward for him.
"Kissing someone you're not romantically involved with is always awkward," Depp confessed during a Vanity Fair interview. "But the fact that Keira is 20-something years younger than me made it infinitely more awkward. Nonetheless, she was a good sport about it, and we did what we had to do."
Depp further elaborated to TMZ, emphasizing the inherent discomfort of such scenes. He mentioned meeting Knightley when she was only 17 years old, adding, "Regardless of that, it's always awkward, so you just make light of it. She was a good sport, and we did what we had to do. That's the gig."
In contrast, Knightley did not find the kiss odd at all and even expressed excitement about it. In a past interview with TMZ, she gushed, "I couldn't ask for a better kissing scene with Johnny Depp, actually. I think my 14-year-old self was yelping with pleasure... It was fantastic! What more can a girl ask for? I've got Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, and I get to kiss both of them. It's wonderful!"
In the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Swann's heart belonged to Will Turner (played by Orlando Bloom). However, her interactions with Jack throughout the films often had a flirty undertone. In Dead Man's Chest, she kissed Jack to divert his attention temporarily so she could shackle him to the ship and abandon him. She later married Turner and had a child with him.
When asked about her preference between Depp and Bloom in terms of on-screen kisses, Knightley expressed a preference for Depp in an interview with InStyle, stating, "Johnny Depp certainly wasn't bad."
Knightley was only 17 when she starred in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and she was 21 when the sequel was released. In contrast, Depp was 42 during the release of the second film, highlighting the significant age difference between them.
Knightley did not appear in On Stranger Tides, the fourth film, and her character was replaced by Penelope Cruz's Angelica as Jack's love interest. However, both Knightley and Depp made a brief appearance together in the fifth installment, Dead Men Tell No Tales / Salazar's Revenge.
