The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 375

"What's going on?"

Keira glanced curiously at the open door to Depp's room. Matthew paused beside her. "Keira," he asked, "that wasn't Depp just now, was it?"

"That guy looked like he was dressed as Jack Sparrow."

Having turned the corner first, Keira had seen it more clearly than Matthew. "Depp took off his costume and makeup a long time ago," she said.

Matthew heard the parrot squawk again. A knot of unease tightened in his stomach. "Keira," he said urgently, "call hotel security or the police. I'm going to go see what's happening."

Keira nodded quickly and pulled out her phone.

Matthew peered through the open door first. Seeing no one in the main room, he stepped inside just as another parrot squawk sounded. He moved toward the noise, heading for Depp's bedroom.

The bedroom door was also open. Matthew took a few steps forward and immediately saw the scene through the doorway: a man dressed as Jack Sparrow stood on the carpet, and facing him was Depp, clad in a loose bathrobe.

Matthew felt a wave of relief. He guessed it was probably just an obsessed Jack Sparrow fan who had snuck into the hotel to meet his idol. If that was the case, Depp shouldn't be in much danger. After all, genuinely dangerous fans were relatively rare.

Just then, the parrot cried out again.Matthew then realized that the Jack Sparrow impersonator had a toy parrot strapped to his left shoulder. When he squeezed it with his left hand, it let out a sound remarkably similar to a real parrot's squawk.

"Hey, man."

Following the squawk, Matthew heard Depp's voice. "How about you put away the knife?"

A knife?

Hearing that, Matthew quickly changed his vantage point. The Jack Sparrow figure stood with his back to the door, and clutched in his right hand, mostly obscured by his body, was a short, gleaming knife with its blade exposed.

A muscle in Matthew's jaw tightened. He glanced back toward the main door, wondering if Keira had managed to call the police.

"You're Johnny Depp!" came a rough English accent, clearly the voice of the fake Jack Sparrow. "I love you, pirate!"

Matthew moved silently, creeping closer to the bedroom. The floor was completely covered in a thick, soft carpet, muffling any sound of his approach.

Depp was clearly trying to talk his way out of the situation. "Thank you," he said calmly. "I'm glad you like my character."

The impersonator spoke again, his English rough and unpolished. "Come on, take off your clothes!"

Matthew almost snorted with laughter. Had this fake Jack Sparrow really snuck in here to assault the original?

Then again, he reflected, Captain Jack Sparrow's on-screen persona struck some viewers as homosexual, so it stood to reason he might attract a few... "special" fans.

The impersonator brandished the shiny knife, and Depp took another step backward.

"Faster!" the man demanded, his voice laced with excitement. "Take it off!"

While the fake Jack Sparrow was focused on Depp, Matthew slipped into the bedroom.

The intruder had his back to the door and didn't notice him, but Depp saw Matthew step into the room.

Depp took another step back, silently creating more distance from the fake Jack Sparrow.

Matthew took two strides forward, closing in on the fake Jack Sparrow until he was within perfect striking distance. Just then, as if sensing a presence behind him, the man suddenly spun around.

But before the impersonator could react, Matthew seized his wrist and twisted it viciously. The man yelped in pain and stumbled, the knife falling from his grasp onto the plush carpet. A moment later, Matthew's foot connected sharply with his face.

Matthew kicked the knife out of reach—noting its surprising weight—then pinned the man to the floor, twisting his arms behind his back and using his own body to hold him down, rendering him completely immobile.

"Depp!" Matthew shouted at his still-stunned friend. "Find something to tie this psycho up with!"

The man on the floor tried to struggle, but he couldn't move under Matthew's weight.

"Will this work?" Depp asked, holding out the sash from his robe.

Matthew glanced at it. "Yeah."

Matthew took the sash from Depp and securely bound the intruder's hands behind his back. Depp then produced a belt, which Matthew used to tie the man's legs together.

"Let me go!" the man screamed. "Let me go, you bastard!"

Matthew ignored his shouts and went to examine the knife. As he picked it up, he realized it was an aluminum prop, much like the ones the crew used on set.

Still, it was made of metal and had a sharp enough point to punch a hole in someone.

"You okay?" Matthew asked, turning to Depp.

"Yeah," Depp said, his face pale and visibly shaken. "It's a good thing you showed up when you did, or I would have been in serious trouble."

He glanced at the man trussed up on the floor, ignoring his yelling, then looked back at Matthew. "The world has gone completely insane."

Matthew shook his head. "It has been for a long time."

It was a good thing no one was hurt.

Depp asked, "Should we call the police?"

Matthew thought of Keira waiting outside. "I told Keira to notify the hotel," he replied. "I'm sure she's called the police by now."

Right on cue, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the doorway, followed by a voice with a distinct Dominican accent. "Mr. Depp? Mr. Horner?"

"We're in here!" Matthew called out immediately. "We're fine!"

A moment later, three hotel security guards rushed into the bedroom, stopping in shock at the sight of the bound man and the knife on the floor.

Keira entered behind them. Her gaze landed on the fake Jack Sparrow on the floor before she moved quietly to Matthew's side and took his hand. "I called the police," she whispered.

She felt safer now that Matthew was with her. Then she turned to Depp. "Are you okay?"

Depp nodded. "I am now. Thank goodness for Matthew."

He walked over to his dressing area. "I'm going to get changed."

While Depp went to change, Matthew briefly explained the situation to the hotel's security personnel. They quickly notified the hotel manager. Before long, the Santo Domingo police arrived, followed by Gore Verbinski and several key members of the film crew who were also staying at the hotel. Having heard the news, they all hurried to the room.

As the parties involved, Matthew and Depp gave their statements right there in the hotel room. Depp also informed his agent and agency, and the production team promptly passed the news on to Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney Pictures.

Depp was inevitably in a state of shock after the incident. Considering that, and on top of the local unrest that had occurred during the day, Gore Verbinski simply canceled the next two days of filming for the three main leads—Matthew, Depp, and Keira.

The authorities in Santo Domingo took the matter very seriously. By dawn, the police had sorted out the details of the incident and updated the production team.

The situation wasn't complicated at all. The man who had broken into Depp's room dressed as Jack Sparrow was a janitor who worked on another floor of the hotel. He was a homosexual with an obsession for Depp, and he had prepared the costume and stolen a room key to sneak in at night when he thought no one would be around.

In response, the hotel apologized profusely to Depp and Matthew for its negligence. Management waived all the actors' expenses for their stay, offered Depp a complimentary lifetime membership, and guaranteed the highest level of security for the duration of their time there.

****

The following day, Depp's agent flew in from Los Angeles. The very first thing he did after arriving at the hotel was to approach Matthew and express his gratitude.

Afterward, he held a confidential meeting with the production team and hotel management on Depp's behalf. Matthew had no idea what terms were settled, but in the end, Depp continued to stay at the hotel and took no legal action against them.

At the same time, the agent also brought Depp's personal bodyguard from Los Angeles to Santo Domingo.

After two major incidents in a row, Jerry Bruckheimer himself hurried from Los Angeles to Santo Domingo to personally oversee the set and bolster the production's security. The local authorities also gave the crew increased attention, and a police detachment was always on hand to protect them during filming.

Helen called Matthew, but he persuaded her not to fly out. With filming paused, there wasn't anything for him to do, and she was busy in Los Angeles managing the various aspects of his fan club and charity foundation, so there was no reason for her to make the trip.

Shooting in the Dominican Republic continued until the end of July, and all scenes were successfully completed except for the originally planned sequence involving the cannibals and Jack Sparrow.

Before August arrived, Matthew, Depp, and Keira were the first actors to head back to Los Angeles. Matthew then took a temporary leave from the Pirates of the Caribbean set to focus on a project that had been in the works for more than a year.

The film 300*, helmed by Zack Snyder, was finally about to enter pre-production.