Exclusive Sunday Mercury interview with Pirates of The Caribbean star

Jan 10 2009 By Roz Laws

arch-enemy of Galvin (Philip Glenister).

Off screen, Kevin is old friends with Philip, having played his boss in Life On Mars and a detective trying to bring him to justice in last year’s heist movie Tuesday.

They were also both in a 1991 episode of Minder, during which an unusual financial transaction took place.

“I sold Phil a suit for £100,” reveals Kevin. “It was a really good suit that had only been worn once by a famous tennis player!

“I’d been given it by a woman who did an advertising shoot with Stefan Edberg.”

To turn him into a Demons monster took four hours every day. Still, Kevin was fortunate to avoid too much time in make-up while making of the three Pirates Of The Caribbean films. He sported a bushy beard and sideburns as Captain Jack Sparrow’s first mate Joshamee Gibbs, but the facial fuzz was all his own.

“When I made Curse Of The Black Pearl six years ago, I had to decide whether to look like an idiot with silly sideburns for the next three years or go through the bore of having them stuck on.

“I regretted it ever time I went out in the evening, but in the morning everyone else was in make-up for hours getting contact lenses and false noses.

“And false sideburns would have to be forever touched up as the glue melted in the heat, so I think I made the right decision.

“I had to keep my look in breaks between filming, though, which meant being pointed at by children thrilled to find a real pirate in Marks and Spencers.

“Making the films was 90 per cent boredom and 10 per cent excitement and terror, especially as I’m not the best sailor.

“It’s an experience I wouldn’t swap for the world. The cast bonded more than in most films as we spent so much time together out at sea. We couldn’t go back to our trailers, we were on ships for 18 hours with nowhere to go.

“Johnny Depp is a lovely man, and so is Jeffrey Rush – he gave us each a black pearl as a souvenir.

“In retrospect, I should have kept a prop, but Disney is so possessive and