'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' Cast, Plot & News: Johnny Depp Dresses as Jack Sparrow & Visits Children's Hospital

Johnny Depp has been in Australia for some months now to film the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. However, the actor recently took a break from work to surprise the children at a Queensland hospital. He went there dressed in his iconic character's costume.

At the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, the children were delighted to get a surprise visit from Captain Jack Sparrow and his mate, Scum. Depp was with co-star Stephen Graham when they decided to make "a real difference to sick kids and their families in hospital," according to Yahoo.

In his trademark pirate outfit, dreadlocks and eyeliner, Depp as Jack Sparrow, hugged the kids, posed for photos with them, their families and caretakers. He also handed out gold coins with pirate heads engraved on them, as Yahoo reported. Brisbane Times said that Depp spent at least an hour with the kids on level 11 of the hospital while a camera team from the media followed him around.

One child patient thought that his costume was "pretty cool." "He tied a knot in his hair to make a beard, that was my favourite part," said Max Bennet via ABC Australia. His mother, Rachel, said that "Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" star went to different rooms at the hospital, particularly taking time with children who were not able to get off their beds. As his people helped things move along, the actor would keep coming back. "He came on the condition that he wasn't pushed along and crowded by adults and he could spend as much time as he wanted with the kids." 

He apparently has done this before, according to an interview with E! Online. "Sometimes you go to kiddie hospitals. I'll just sneak in and go and surprise a bunch of kiddies through the different wards... It basically turns into a two-, three-hour improvisation and it's really fun. So I travel with Captain Jack," Depp shares.

When his daughter, Lily Rose, was younger, she was once confined to the hospital for E.coli food poisoning and kidney failure. This has prompted Depp's advocacy for hospital visits, Yahoo further reported.

Last May, Depp caused a different kind of disturbance in Australia when he was ordered to bring his Yorkshire Terriers back to the United States or run the risk of having them put down. He was told that he broke the country's quarantine laws, but the matter has since been settled now, pending fines and sanctions for the actor.