Papa is a Rolling Stone: Keith Richards cast in Pirates
Rock legend Keith Richards will make his acting debut playing Johnny Depp's father in the Pirates of the Caribbean: Treasures of the Lost Abyss. The second movie spin-off from the Disney theme park ride, Treasures of the Abyss, starts shooting next February with Gore Verbinski again in the director's chair.
Depp was Oscar-nominated for his role in the original Pirates of the Caribbean, playing buccaneer skipper Jack Sparrow. At the time the actor admitted that he based Sparrow's stoned delivery, dry wit and dandy air on the Rolling Stones guitarist.
"I sort of thought [that] pirates would be the rock-and-roll stars of the 18th-century," he explained. "And the greatest rock-and-roll star of all time is Keith Richards. Hands down."
Richards' long-time cohort Mick Jagger has frequently juggled music and film projects, acting in numerous movies and producing the second world war thriller Enigma in 2000. By contrast, the Stones guitarist has thus far steered clear of Hollywood - although the Internet Movie Database does credit him with acting in an obscure 1994 picture, Rebirth of the Babymaker.
Released last year, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl starred Depp as a buccaneer who helps a pair of young lovers (Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley) defeat a mutinous fellow pirate (Geoffrey Rush). A runaway success, the film wound up making over $600m (£327m) at the worldwide box-office.