newsmakers

October 9, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

newsmakers

Depp visits school dressed as pirate

LONDON

Shiver me timbers! Actor Johnny Depp shocked a London school by answering a pupil’s fan letter and visiting classes dressed as his character from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie series, teachers said Friday.

Depp, 47, responded after 9-year-old Beatrice Delap sent a letter pleading for help in leading a mutiny against her teachers at Meridian Primary School in Greenwich, a district in southeastern London.

Dressed as his character Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp performed pirate songs and dances for the pupils during the visit with four other cast members Wednesday.

The actor is filming “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” at the nearby Old Naval College, an opulent 17th-century seafaring center designed by architect Christopher Wren — whose other works include London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral.

In her letter to Depp, Beatrice wrote: “We are a bunch of budding young pirates and we’re having trouble mutinying against the teachers! We’d love it if you could come and help!”