Orlando Bloom plays the role of handsome blacksmith Will Turner. The film opens with the 10-year-old Will being pulled from the Caribbean Sea, drifting amidst the murdered crew and burning wreckage of a British ship attacked by pirates.

That day, aboard the H.M.S. Dauntless, Elizabeth takes from the unconscious Will a souvenir - a medallion bearing the skull of a pirate's Jolly Roger - hoping to save his life. This event sets the whole story in motion. Although quite straitlaced at first, "he really does develop," according to Bloom.

"He's very earnest, very true blue - then, without warning, he finds himself thrown into the middle of an exciting yet dangerous adventure. This is a coming of age story for Will."

"Jack and Will are definitely an odd couple," says the producer Jerry Bruckheimer. "But Will inadvertently learns a lot from spending time with a pirate. Despite Will's best efforts to adhere to the social class structure, he realizes that some rules are meant to be broken."