It’s been sixteen years since we first met Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Barbossa as they all dealt with The Curse of the Black Pearl, the first of the iconic Pirates of the Caribbean films. To commemorate the legacy of the first installment of the film series, which ran from 2003 to 2017, World Film Geek has an exclusive interview with two co-stars of Curse of the Black Pearl.
Vince Lozano (left) played Jacoby, Barbossa’s right hand man who also fell upon the curse in the first film. Martin Klebba played Marty, one of Jack Sparrow’s crew who would go on to appear in three more installments of the series. World Film Geek talked to both Vince and Martin about making Curse of the Black Pearl and as to what they are up to these days.
Hard to believe it’s already been over 16 years since Curse of the Black Pearl. Time has really flown but the film still holds its own today.
Vince: I know! It’s been sixteen years now but it still feels like I just made the film yesterday!
Vince, what attracted you to take on the role of Jacoby, Barbossa’s right hand man?
Vince: Well, I got the script and I thought this was really cool because I would get to play a pirate. I would get to work with these great actors like Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush. And I felt like a kid going on to this major set of the film. I thought that was wonderful! As Jacoby, I had to wear this big long beard and I thought at first, it was really awesome.
Then, I realized it wasn’t as great because when you’re doing a movie, I had to constantly have the beard glued on my face every day and when you’re shooting for 15 hours, and then have to get the beard off then on the next day constantly, it is very painful. I ended up having irritated skin and all, but I wouldn’t take it back as I had such a fun time making the film.
Martin, what attracted you to take on the role of Marty, part of Captain Jack Sparrow’s crew?
Martin: I had just finished another movie where a friend of mine told me to meet George Martin Ruge, who was the stunt coordinator on Curse of the Black Pearl. Originally, I was going to just be a stunt performer, but they liked me so much they gave me a role. My original name was supposed to be “Dirk”, but Gore [Verbinski] kept saying, “Marty, do this. Marty do that”. So the name soon would stick and my character would be named Marty.
What was it like working with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, and Geoffrey Rush? Looks like from the onset photos, it looked a lot of fun.
Vince: They were so wonderful to work with. Johnny is one of the most approachable people to talk to. I had a blast not only working with him, but hanging out with him on the set. We even drank rum together (laughs). Geoffrey is the kind of guy who is not just down to earth, but has a very good heart. He noticed my skin being irritated from the beard and he actually helped take care of me. That’s what kind of guy he was.
Orlando is great as well, and we even got to cross swords and he’s really good. As for Keira, this was one of her first major roles and she was 17 when we started shooting and by the time we finished, she just turned 18. But, she was so nice to everyone on set and it is great to be a part of the beginning of her now successful career.
Martin: Johnny’s awesome! I had to so much fun working with him so much I mean, getting to do this three more times afterwards was just great! Orlando’s a man’s man. He had just come off The Lord of the Rings when he came onboard to do this.
Vince: That to me was excellent that he went from one franchise right to another and just gave it everything.
Martin: Geoffrey was a lot of fun as well. He would give us riddles when we weren’t shooting, and he is such a down to earth person like Johnny. Keira was so wonderful to work with. To see her then and now, I mean she is still very beautiful and she is an excellent actor.
Vince, I have to ask this, but for the skeleton curse sequences, were they all CGI or were they a mix of practical and CGI effects?
Vince: Well, we met with this one company called Gray Matter FX and they did full scans of our bodies. So, when you see us coming out of the water in the moon sequence, that’s our actual skeletons. I mean it was really cool! And you can tell which one is which, because if they didn’t do that, I mean all the skeletons would look the same (laughs). But, it was really cool, you can see which one is me, which one is Michael [Lane, who plays Monk] and so on. For that time and using CGI effects those were brilliant to do that.
Do either of you have an anecdote that happened during shooting where you felt “oh man, I can’t believe that happened” or think “that has to be the craziest thing I’ve seen”?
Vince: Man, craziest story. Hmmmm…I think it was when we did the scene where Keira jumped off the plank. That was her actually jumping off and not a stunt double. I thought that was really cool!
Martin: I think Vince can tell you, they nicknamed me Mr. Upchuck (Laughs).
Vince: Oh man! That’s right! (Laughs)
Martin: I’m not really good with the sea and for the first film, we shot on a boat in the seas and I was getting seasick constantly. So, I was either really sick or really dizzy from the Dramamine (laughs). But, thankfully for the other films I would be in, they would shoot on a set so it made things a bit easier for me.
What are you guys up to these days as I know both of you have been keeping busy.
Vince: Well, aside from doing conventions to commemorate Curse of the Black Pearl, this coming Saturday [October 19], we are doing a benefit poker tournament. The benefit is for ex-boxing champions who lost all their money and they need help getting back on their feet. We have some major celebrities coming to the tournament, such as Laila Ali, Floyd Mayweather Sr. [The tournament will be held at Vangard Studios 13309 Saticoy St. in North Hollywood from 5pm-11pm PST]
Martin: We also still keep in touch with some of the old Pirates crew, like Lee Arenberg [who plays Pintel] and those guys.
Vince: That’s the one thing I really loved about doing the film. We had this great camaradie with the guys on the set and after 16 years, we still keep in touch. And that means a lot! Marty and I are also close because we’re both dads and our kids are close in age. I’m still acting and also producing projects these days.
Martin: I’m still doing my thing too, acting and doing stunts.
That’s awesome! I hope the poker tournament is a hit this weekend and guys, it’s been a blast talking to you about Curse of the Black Pearl. You guys are awesome! I hope you continue your success!
Vince: Oh man, thank you so much!
Martin: Thanks so much! It’s been great talking to you!
A Special Thank you goes out to Dan Gibson of October Coast PR and to both Vince Lozano and Martin Klebba for making this interview possible. You can follow both Vince and Martin on Twitter.
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