The “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise is one of the highest-grossing in the world. The sweeping tale featuring the swashbuckling pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and the ferocious undead pirate Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) has captivated viewers for decades. The film’s characters represented fun and freedom — it was a hit in the making — and still, Rush wasn’t convinced to join the cast.

To be fair, Rush hadn’t seen a good pirate movie in years when “Pirates of the Caribbean” was offered to him. His hesitation was understandable at the time, but his agent wouldn’t hear of it. The actor agreed that the film’s script was great, but he had commitments back in Australia — a collaboration with an old director friend to work on a theater production of “Waiting for Godot.”