Johnny Depp Surprises Kids at Hospital with Visit Dressed as Jack Sparrow ArticlePure

Johnny Depp made a surprise special visit while attending the San Sebastián Film Festival.

Dressed as his Pirates of the Caribbean character Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp visited the children of the Donostia University Hospital in San Sebastián, Spain, on Thursday, Sept. 26, according to the hospital’s social media. The 61-year-old actor is in Spain for the San Sebastián Film Festival, and during his time away from the event, he slipped into his old costume. 

At the hospital, Depp spoke and played with patients admitted to the Pediatrics and Oncology ward. While there, he laughed with the children and never broke character, the local newspaper El Diario Vasco reports.

The hospital posted photos of the actor’s visit on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“From all the staff of the Donostia University Hospital, we would like to express our infinite gratitude to Johnny Depp for his time, his support and his energy, as well as to @sansebastianfes for having facilitated this visit,” the hospital’s post read.

Depp has previously visited hospitals’ children’s wards as Jack Sparrow around the world, from Vancouver, Paris, London, and Brisbane, Australia, to several cities in the U.S., per El Diario Vasco.

Depp starred in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise alongside Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley in The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and At World’s End (2007). He also starred in the following two films, On Stranger Tides (2011) and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).

The franchise began with the romance between Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swan (Knightley). They become caught up in larger conflicts between Jack Sparrow, various pirate groups and factions associated with the British Empire.

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Depp’s visit follows the debut of Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness, a new film he directed, at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain. During a Sept. 24 press conference, Depp explained how he personally related to the film’s subject, Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani.

“Each has their story. Sure, we can say that I’ve been through a number of things here and there. But, you know, I’m alright,” he said with a laugh in a video from the conference shared on Instagram by The Hollywood Reporter.

“I think we’ve all been through a number of things, ultimately. Maybe yours wasn’t, didn’t turn into a soap opera, televised, in fact,” he added, seemingly referring his 2022 Virginia defamation trial with Amber Heard, which had its proceedings live-streamed to millions each day.

After the trial, Heard, 38, paid Depp $1 million in a settlement to conclude the defamation lawsuit after a jury sided mostly with Depp. She now lives a quiet life in Madrid with her 3-year-old daughter.

Meanwhile, Depp has remained busy. After the San Sebastian Film Festival, he will open an immersive and experiential exhibition called A Bunch of Stuff in New York City on Friday, Oct. 4.