PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN - DEPP KEEPS SPARROW SEXUALLY AMBIGUOUS

JOHNNY DEEP is keen to keep his PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN character CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW's sexual orientation ambiguous, because he is convinced real pirates dabbled with both sexes. The CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY heart-throb was inspired after reading historical study SODOMY AND THE PIRATE TRADITION by BARRY R BURG, which argues homosexuality was rampant among seafarers in the 17th century Caribbean. Depp says, "I liked the idea of (Jack) being ambiguous because women were thought to be bad luck on ships and these pirates would go out for years at a time. "So, you know, there is a possibility that one thing might lead to another. You're lonely. You have an extra ration of rum."