MEET THE CAST

Part 1 of 2

JOHNNY DEPP reprises his Academy Award® and two-time Golden Globe®-nominated role of Captain Jack Sparrow in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END. Depp received Academy Award®, Golden Globe®, British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations and a Screen Actors Guild Award® for his portrayal of Captain Jack in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” and another Golden Globe® nomination for “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”

Depp has earned both critical and popular acclaim for his unique work in a variety of memorable feature films. Most recently, he collaborated with director Tim Burton for the fourth and fifth times on “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” for which Depp received a Golden Globe® nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, and “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride,” which received a 2005 Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Film. Based on the beloved Roald Dahl classic, Depp portrayed eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which opened to impressive critical and box-office success internationally.

For “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride,” Depp loaned his voice to the lead character of Victor Van Dort in the wildly imaginative film, which was one of last year’s most celebrated releases. In a striking contrast, Depp also recently starred opposite John Malkovich and Samantha Morton in Laurence Dunmore’s “The Libertine” as 17th-century womanizing poet John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester. Depp recently completed filming the title role in “Sweeney Todd,” again directed by Tim Burton from Stephen Sondheim’s famed musical about the exploits of “the demon barber of Fleet Street.”

Depp received an Academy Award® nomination, Golden Globe® nomination, Screen Actors Guild Award® nomination and BAFTA nomination for his role as J.M. Barrie in Mark Forster’s “Finding Neverland,” in which he starred opposite Kate Winslet and Freddie Highmore. Depp’s other screen credits include David Koepp’s “Secret Window,” Robert Rodriguez’s “Once Upon A Time in Mexico,” Albert and Allen Hughes’ “From Hell,” Ted Demme’s “Blow,” Lasse Hallstrom’s romantic comedy “Chocolat,” Julian Schnabel’s “Before Night Falls,” Sally Potter’s “The Man Who Cried,” Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow,” Roman Polanski’s “The Ninth Gate” and Terry Gilliam’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”

Hailed as the best actor of his generation for his performance in Mike Newell’s “Donnie Brasco” with Al Pacino, Depp has also starred in Jim Jarmusch’s “Dead Man” and in Jeremy Leven’s “Don Juan DeMarco” in which he starred as a man convinced he is the world’s greatest lover, opposite legendary actors Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway. It was his compelling performance in the title role of Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands” that established Depp as one of Hollywood’s most-sought-after talents and earned him a Best Actor Golden Globe® nomination.

He was honored with a second Golden Globe® nomination for his work in the offbeat love story “Benny & Joon,” directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. Depp reunited with Burton for the critically acclaimed “Ed Wood,” for which his performance garnered him his third Best Actor Golden Globe® nomination.

Other films include Lasse Hallstrom’s “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” Emir Kusturica’s “Arizona Dream” and John Badham’s “Nick of Time.” Depp began his career as a musician, joining a rock group named “Kids,” which eventually took him to Los Angeles. When the band broke up, he turned to acting and earned his first major acting job in “Nightmare on Elm Street.”

He went on to earn roles in several films, including Oliver Stone’s Academy Award®-winning “Platoon.” Depp then won the role that would prove to be his breakthrough, as undercover detective Tom Hanson on the popular Fox television show “21 Jump Street.” He starred on the series for four seasons before segueing to the big screen in the lead role of John Waters’ “Cry-Baby.” Depp starred and made his feature directorial debut opposite Marlon Brando in “The Brave,” a film based on the novel by Gregory McDonald. Depp co-wrote the screenplay with his brother D.P. Depp.

ORLANDO BLOOM reprises his role as Will Turner opposite Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END. Bloom first captivated both audiences and filmmakers with his portrayal of Legolas in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy—“The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King.” He was seen starring in Frank E. Flowers’ independent ensemble “Haven,” which he also executive produced. Having worked with Ridley Scott on “Black Hawk Down,” Bloom reteamed with Scott to star in his epic drama about the Crusades, “Kingdom of Heaven.”

He followed that with his first contemporary American role opposite Kirsten Dunst in Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown.” Other film credits include “Ned Kelly” opposite Heath Ledger and Wolfgang Petersen’s “Troy,” opposite Brad Pitt and Eric Bana.

Bloom was born in Canterbury, England. He joined the National Youth Theatre in London and gained a scholarship to train with the British American Drama Academy. On completion of his scholarship, Bloom made his feature-film debut in the BBC’s “Wilde,” starring Jude Law. He was then accepted to Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In his four years there, he performed in several productions, including “Little Me,” “A Month in the Country,” “Peer Gynt,” “Mephisto” and “Twelfth Night.” Upon graduation, a then-unknown Bloom was cast in the role that would launch his career.

The relatively brief but remarkable career of 22-year-old KEIRA KNIGHTLEY (Elizabeth Swann) has now culminated with 2005 Academy Award® and Golden Globe® nominations as Best Actress for her luminous, internationally acclaimed performance as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright’s screen adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice.”

The celebrated body of work already amassed by Knightley at her tender age has demonstrated not only extraordinary versatility, but also an artistically adventurous spirit in selecting a wide range of projects in diverse genres.

Knightley first made headlines in Gurinder Chadha’s sleeper hit, “Bend It Like Beckham,” as teenage soccer player Jules Paxton opposite Parminder K. Nagra. She was then selected by director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer to portray Elizabeth Swann opposite Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner and Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbossa in the 2003 worldwide blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” Demonstrating equal amounts of beauty and backbone as an aristocratic young woman swept into a fantastical adventure, Knightley is again portraying Elizabeth in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END.

After wrapping “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” she went straight into production on another epic Jerry Bruckheimer Films production, “King Arthur,” in which she portrayed Guinevere. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film also starred Clive Owen as Arthur.

Released in November 2003, Knightley appeared in Richard Curtis’ “Love, Actually” as part of an impressive ensemble cast that included Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson. In addition to “Pride & Prejudice”—in which she starred with Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Judi Dench and Donald Sutherland—2005 also saw Knightley starring as controversial model-turned-bounty-hunter Domino Harvey in Tony Scott’s innovative action drama, “Domino.”

In 2006, Knightley traveled to Western Europe, during a break in the filming of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END, to star for director Francois Girard (“The Red Violin”) in his film adaptation of Alessandro Baricco’s best-selling novel, “Silk.”

The romantic drama also stars Michael Pitt, Alfred Molina and Koji Yakusho. This was immediately followed by her starring role in “Atonement” for her “Pride & Prejudice” director, Joe Wright. Chanel also announced in April 2006 that Knightley would be the new face of its Coco Mademoiselle fragrance. Making her professional acting debut at the age of seven on British television in “Royal Celebration,” some of Knightley’s early credits include the features “A Village Affair,” “Innocent Lies” and “Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace,” as well as performances in the TV series “The Bill,” the television movies “Treasure Seekers,” “Coming Home,” and Walt Disney’s “Princess of Thieves” (starring as Robin Hood’s daughter Gwyn) and the miniseries “Oliver Twist” and “Doctor Zhivago,” in which she portrayed Lara Antipova in the adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s classic novel.

Her other feature films have included “The Hole,” “Pure” and “The Jacket,” a thriller in which she starred opposite Adrien Brody. The daughter of playwright Sharman Macdonald and actor Will Knightley, she was born in Teddington, Middlesex, England. Knightley currently makes her home in London.

GEOFFREY RUSH (Captain Barbossa), one of today’s most respected actors, started his career in Australian theatre, and has since appeared in over 70 theatrical productions and more than 20 feature films. Following his surprise last-minute appearance in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” Rush now returns full-fledged in AT WORLD’S END.

Rush won an Emmy®, Golden Globe® and Screen Actors Guild Award® for his captivating performance in HBO Films’ “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers,” in which he portrayed the title character.

He was seen in the Academy Award®-nominated film “Munich,” working under the direction of Steven Spielberg, and recently filmed Universal Pictures’ “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.” Rush caught the eye of many for his starring role in Scott Hicks’ feature film “Shine,” which garnered him an Academy Award® for Best Actor as piano prodigy David Helfgott.

He also won a Golden Globe®, Screen Actors Guild®, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Film Critics Circle of Australia, Broadcast Film Critics, AFI and New York and Los Angeles Film Critics’ awards for the film. Rush also received an Academy Award® nomination for his performance in Philip Kaufman’s “Quills” and an Academy Award® nomination and a Golden Globe® nomination for “Shakespeare in Love.”

Rush’s other film credits include “Candy,” “Intolerable Cruelty,” “Finding Nemo,” “Ned Kelly,” “Lantana,” “Frida,” “The Tailor of Panama,” “House on Haunted Hill,” “Mystery Men,” “Elizabeth,” “Les Miserables,” “A Little Bit of Soul,” “Children of the Revolution,” “On Our Selection,” “Twelfth Night,” “Oscar and Lucinda” and “Starstruck.” Rush received a degree in English at the University of Queensland before continuing at the Jacques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement and Theatre in Paris. Returning to Australia, he starred in the theatre production “King Lear” and appeared alongside Mel Gibson in “Waiting for Godot.”

He was a principal member of Jim Sharman’s pioneering Lighthouse Ensemble in the early 1980s, playing leading roles in numerous classics. His work on stage garnered many accolades, including the Sydney Critics Circle Award for Most Outstanding Performance, the Variety Club Award for Best Actor and the 1990 Victorian Green Room Award for his lauded performance in Neil Armfield’s “The Diary of a Madman.”

He also received Best Actor nominations in the Sydney Critics Circle Awards for his starring roles in Gogol’s “The Government Inspector,” Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” and Mamet’s “Oleanna.” In 1994, he received the prestigious Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award for his work in theatre. Rush resides in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife, Jane, and their two children.

STELLAN SKARSGÅRD (Bootstrap Bill) became a familiar figure to audiences around the world after playing opposite Emily Watson in Lars von Trier’s “Breaking the Waves.” But Skarsgård’s career stretches back more than 30 years, with numerous brilliant performances in a wide range of films, theatre and television roles.

As a teenager in his native Sweden, Skarsgård was the star of the 1968 TV series “Bombi Bitt och jag,” and was a practiced TV, film and stage actor while still in his early 20s. With Hans Alfredson’s “The Simple-Minded Murderer,” the Gothenburg-born Skarsgård’s fame spread far beyond Scandinavia. His role as a naïf driven to violence by the cruelty of others won Skarsgård the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear Award.

Through more than 60 films since, Skarsgård has proven himself a remarkably versatile actor. In between starring as the Swedish superagent Carl Hamilton in Pelle Berglund’s “Code Name Coq Rouge” and “The Democratic Terrorist,” Skarsgård played the title role in Kjell Grede’s “Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg,” the true story of the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews from Auschwitz.

His other credits in notable Scandinavian films have included Alfredson’s “P&B,” Bo Widerberg’s “The Serpent’s Way Up the Naked Rock,” Kjell-Ake Andersson’s “Friends,” Grede’s “Hip Hip Hurrah!,” Carl Gustaf Nykvist’s “The Women on the Roof,” Sven Nykvist’s “The Ox” (Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Language Film), Ake Sandgren’s “The Slingshot,” Hans Petter Moland’s “Zero Kelvin” and “Aberdeen” and Erik Skjoldvjaerg’s “Insomnia.”

Skarsgård’s reputation began winning him roles in the United States and throughout the world, with key performances in such films as John McTiernan’s “The Hunt for Red October,” Carroll Ballard’s “Wind,” Peter Antonijevic’s “Savior,” Udayan Prasad’s “My Son the Fanatic,” Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad,” Gus Van Sant’s “Good Will Hunting,” John Frankenheimer’s “Ronin,” Renny Harlin’s “Deep Blue Sea,” Jonathan Nossiter’s “Signs and Wonders,” Mike Figgis’ “Time Code,” Istvan Szabo’s “Taking Sides” and Matt Dillon’s “City of Ghosts.”

Following their collaboration on “Breaking the Waves,” which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, Skarsgård once again starred for Lars von Trier in “Dogville.” Most recently, Skarsgård has been seen in Jerry Bruckheimer’s production of “King Arthur” opposite Clive Owen and Keira Knightley, as Father Merrin in Renny Harlin’s “Exorcist: The Beginning” and in Sturla Gunnarsson’s “Beowulf & Grendel,” filmed in Iceland. Concurrently with filming “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” Skarsgård was also traveling to Spain to star in the title role of Milos Forman’s “Goya’s Ghosts” as the legendary Spanish artist Francisco Goya. He then followed with a role in “Waz.” Currently, Skarsgård is preparing for his next film, “Mamma Mia.”

On television, Skarsgård has starred in Ingmar Bergman’s “School for Wives” and Bo Widerberg’s “The Wild Duck” and in the U.S., “Noon Wine” for PBS, “The Harlan County War” for Showtime and “Helen of Troy” for the USA Network. He is also one of Sweden’s most celebrated stage actors, having spent 16 years at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm working with such directors as Ingmar Bergman, Alf Sjoberg and Per Verner-Carlsson. BILL NIGHY (Davy Jones) was born in Caterham, Surrey, in 1949 and trained for the stage at the Guildford School of Acting. He made his professional stage debut at Newbury’s Watermill Theatre and subsequently gained experience at regional theatres like the Edinburgh Traverse, the Chester Gateway and the Liverpool Everyman.

He made his first appearance in London in “Comings and Goings” at the Hampstead Theatre in November 1978. Bill has regularly appeared at the National Theatre in a succession of new plays by leading British writers. In 1993, he starred as an ambitious academic in Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” in a production by Trevor Nunn. Seven years later, he won enormous critical acclaim for his performance as psychiatrist Dr. Robert Smith in “Blue/Orange,” written by Joe Penhall and directed by Roger Michell. For Nicholas de Jongh in the Evening Standard, it was a “knockout performance.”

It was a performance that also brought Nighy a Best Actor nomination in the prestigious Olivier Awards. Bill was also seen as Trigorin in a National Theatre production of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” opposite Judi Dench as Arkadina. Mr. Nighy had previously worked with Dame Judi on “Absolute Hell” (BBC) and they were recently reunited for the critically acclaimed “Notes on a Scandal,” which also stars Cate Blanchett and is directed by Richard Eyre.

Bill’s long list of television credits includes virtually every major drama series on British TV, but it was his work on “The Men’s Room” (BBC) in 1991 that brought him particular attention. More recently, he won a BAFTA Best Actor Award and a Royal Television Society Best Actor Award for his performance as a newspaper editor in the cult series “State of Play.”

He has also starred in two television films for writer/director Stephen Poliakoff in “The Lost Prince,” for which he won a Golden Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and the extraordinary “Gideon’s Daughter.” Referring to Mr. Nighy’s work in “Gideon’s Daughter,” the New York Herald news commented that “he dazzles with his subtlety…There ought to be a prize for him for making it look so real.”

His playing of Lawrence, a middle-aged Treasury official rejuvenated by love in “The Girl in the Cafe,” won him a Golden Globe®Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries and widespread praise from critics. For Entertainment Weekly, Mr. Nighy was “effortlessly charming” and Alessandra Stanley wrote in the New York Times that “The cause is just, but Bill Nighy’s performance is reason enough to sign up.” “The Constant Gardener” won Bill Best Supporting Actor at the British Independent Film Awards in 2005.

But it was “Still Crazy” and his performance as ageing rock vocalist Ray Simms that established Bill’s cinema profile and which won him the Peter Sellers Award for Best Comedy Performance, given by the London Evening Standard. Bill landed a second Peter Sellers Award for his unforgettably washed-up pop star Billy Mack in “Love, Actually,” an enormously popular performance that also won him a London Film Critics Award and a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA. Other cinema credits include “Underworld,” “Underworld: Evolution,” “Shaun of the Dead,” and “Enduring Love.”

In 2003, Bill won four Best Supporting Actor awards from the L.A. Film Critics Association for his performances in “AKA,” “Lawless Heart,” “I Capture the Castle,” and “Love, Actually.” His stellar performance as pirate captain Davy Jones—half-squid, half-human—in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” will be reprised with the 2007 release of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END. Bill is currently performing on Broadway in David Hare’s theater production “The Vertical Hour.”

He stars along side Julianne Moore in this story of an American war correspondent that is challenged about her beliefs and culture after meeting an Englishman whose way of life comes as a surprise. The Observer stated that Bill “gave one of the most remarkable performances ever seen on a New York stage.” Projects for 2007 include “Easy Virtue” where Bill will star opposite Renee Zellweger. This film takes place in the 1920s and follows the complicated experience of meeting new in-laws after an American woman marries an Englishman on the spur of the moment in France. Bill also has a cameo appearance in “Hot Fuzz,” a film from the makers of “Shaun of the Dead.”

Part 2: Continued on next page...