Johnny Depp recently stepped in front of the cameras again, reprising the most iconic role of his career, but this time, it’s not for ratings or record-breaking box office revenue.
Last weekend, Johnny Depp appeared in a short video on the YouTube channel called “Kraken the Box,” which is operated by an 11-year-old boy who’s not sure how long he has left to live.
Depp appeared fully clad in the garb and make-up that work together to transform the actor into his alternate persona of Captain Jack Sparrow from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
“So, Capt. Kori, terribly sorry I missed out on this,” Depp begins in the video clip. “Meant to say it, forgot to say it, didn’t say it, gonna say it now. Saying it, I’ll say it. I hear tell of something they speak about in the ages of now called the ‘YouTube channel,’ which I don’t understand, but why not?”
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Depp was speaking to 11-year-old Kori, who lives in the United Kingdom and has undergone two separate heart transplants, neither of which has been successful. The brave young man has chosen not to pursue a third. Neither Kori nor his parents knows exactly how much time he has left. What Kori does know, though, is that he loves Captain Jack Sparrow and Disney’s pirate-themed films, and it was his wish to get to hear from Captain Jack and have the scurvy pirate follow his YouTube channel.
“I shall be glad to follow your YouTube channel and I shall tell all my friends to follow your YouTube channel,” Depp says in the clip.
The “Kraken the Box” YouTube account was just created on November 28, and since that time, Kori’s channel has amassed more than 184,000 subscribers, some of which are celebrities like Johnny Depp.
There’s no doubt that Depp’s appearance in a video on Kori’s channel has brought attention to the young boy’s channel and to his journey.
“I think it will make for a wonderful entertainment expertise momentary lapse of togetherness altogether in one space, but far apart, but then, at the same time, very close,” Depp said in the video, fully embodying the character Jack Sparrow as he acted inquisitive about, and confused by, the idea of “YouTube.” “Curious, enduring and strange.”
Among Kori’s followers on YouTube is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“I wish you the best of luck,” Depp said in the video in a heartfelt salute to the young hero. “I am your number one fan, Captain Kori. All the respect and love, mate.”
Kori’s mother, Pixi, says that Depp’s message to her son, which was arranged through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, was “amazing” and that it had truly lifted Kori’s spirits during this challenging season.
Kori was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which means that the left side of his heart was under-developed. After enduring multiple surgeries, he underwent his first heart transplant in 2018, but his body rejected the organ. In January 2021, the brave young boy underwent a second transplant. But following the many ordeals associated with another transplant, Kori’s body again rejected the transplanted heart.
Not only did Depp record the message for Kori for his YouTube Channel, but the Pirates of the Caribbean actor also thrilled Kori with a FaceTime call during which the uber-talented Depp again embodied Captain Jack in every way during his virtual exchange with him.
Watch the entire video message from Johnny Depp, aka Captain Jack Sparrow, to Kori here, and don’t forget to subscribe to Kori’s channel, “Kraken the Box.”
We wish Kori the very best. May God bless him and may all good things be his along his very brave journey.