Connection
William Turner
- Infos
- Photos
- Best films
If you like this character, let us know!
Real name Will
William "Will" Turner is a fictional character and the protagonist in the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films. He appears in The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and three of its sequels, Dead Man's Chest (2006), At World's End (2007), and Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is set for release in 2017. He is portrayed by Orlando Bloom (and as a child by Dylan Smith in the prologue of The Curse of the Black Pearl).
William Turner is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal, Jamaica. He secretly loves the governor's daughter, Elizabeth Swann (played by Keira Knightley), although he occupies a lower social class than she does. Will is an exceptional swordsman, although he lacks actual combat experience. Despite being mild mannered, Will is brave, as seen when he confronts notorious pirate Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp) in a sword fight and by his response to a pirate attack on Port Royal. He is loyal to those he cares about and would risk everything to protect them, especially Elizabeth Swann. This trait is seen throughout the films as Will's character develops more by his reaction to unforeseen circumstances rather than his personal ambition or deliberate choices.
Most likely he would have continued plying his trade, never presuming to rise above his current station, pining for the woman he believes he can never have. At his best, Will is clever, heroic, and courageous and never shirks responsibility or leaves an obligation unfulfilled. He can also be preoccupied and brooding and, early on, demonstrated rather simplistic and naïve views, although his character gradually matures and deepens into a more complex and worldly man as the films progress.
Biography
Early lifeWill is "Bootstrap" Bill Turner's only child. According to Jack Sparrow, Will strongly resembles his father, both in appearance and ability. However, his father was absent during his early childhood in England (he was born in Glasgow, Scotland but his mother moved him to England when he was young) and Will grew up believing him to be a merchant seaman. Following his mother's death, Will, then about twelve years old, emigrated to Port Royal, searching for his father, and, after being rescued from a shipwreck, was apprenticed to a blacksmith. The Black Pearl crew have been searching for the gold medallion that "Bootstrap" sent Will, which Captain Barbossa needs to break the curse.
The Curse of the Black Pearl
Will Turner is introduced to the story as a young boy who is rescued at sea by the British navy, the sole survivor of a pirate attack. Aboard the ship is Port Royal's new governor, Weatherby Swann, and his daughter Elizabeth, then aged twelve years. It was Elizabeth who spotted Will clinging to the floating wreckage, and he was placed under her care for the voyage's duration. Discovering a gold medallion around his neck, she hid it to prevent anyone from branding him a pirate.
Over the next eight years, Will and Elizabeth maintain a respectful friendship, although Will must conceal his true romantic feelings for her. He is now a blacksmith apprentice in Port Royal, and though it provides him a respectable occupation, it makes him unsuitable to court Elizabeth, even though she may (secretly) reciprocate his feelings. Another suitor, Commodore James Norrington, a man socially superior to Will in nearly every way, seems likely to win Elizabeth's hand. Meanwhile, Will has developed into a master craftsman of fine swords, although it is his oft-drunken master who usually claims credit for Will's exquisite workmanship. Will is also an exceptional, self-taught swordsman. The DVD commentary states that he is the best among the characters in the film, including Barbossa, Norrington, and Jack Sparrow. Will lacks practical fighting experience, however. When Sparrow outwits Will in a sword fight, Will claims Jack "cheated" by ignoring the "rules of engagement," and would have killed Sparrow in a fair fight. Sparrow retorts, "That's not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it." He impresses upon the naïve young man that the only rules that matter are, "What a man can do, and what a man can't do." It is a lesson Will is unlikely to forget.
Initially, Will is depicted as an honorable, but rather simple, character whose actions are primarily driven by emotions rather than intellect, particularly when someone he cares about is threatened. However, as he matures throughout the trilogy, he is increasingly guided by logic and experience and gradually realizes that the lines between what is right and what is lawful are often obscured. Will is always motivated by love and loyalty to protect friends and family. For now, however, he appears to follow the convention that obeying rules, working hard, and knowing one's station in life will result in fair treatment and a secure livelihood, even if there is little opportunity for social advancement. It is a fateful twist of irony that Will, a peaceful and law-abiding man, learns that his father was the pirate Bootstrap Bill Turner, who served aboard the Black Pearl when it was commanded by Captain Jack Sparrow. Despite Sparrow's comments that Bootstrap was "a good man," Will remains deeply conflicted over his new-found lineage. Will learns that when First Mate Barbossa and the crew mutinied and marooned Sparrow, only Bootstrap defended him, infuriated by Barbossa's betrayal. Bootstrap was tied to a cannon and thrown overboard after it was learned he sent a gold medallion to Will so the crew would remain under an ancient Aztec curse as punishment for betraying Sparrow. To break the curse, the last medallion and Turner's blood must be returned to the Aztec chest.
Even though Will is a model citizen and despises pirates, he feels justified in resorting to piracy and forming an alliance with Jack Sparrow if it is to save Elizabeth. After commandeering a navy ship and recruiting a crew in Tortuga, Will and Sparrow sail to Isla de Muerta where Barbossa has taken Elizabeth. Unknown to Will, Sparrow intends to use him to bargain back the Black Pearl. When Will learns his role in lifting the curse, he barters himself to Barbossa to free Elizabeth and the crew, although Barbossa tricks him. In the end, Sparrow and Will succeed in lifting the curse; Sparrow kills Barbossa, and the pirate crew is defeated. At Sparrow's execution in Port Royal, Will, believing Sparrow deserves to live, declares his love for Elizabeth before attempting to rescue Sparrow from the gallows. They are quickly subdued by redcoats, but Will refuses to abandon Sparrow. Elizabeth intervenes and saves Will by declaring her love for him and vouches for Sparrow. Will is pardoned while Sparrow escapes by falling off the rampart and into the bay where the Black Pearl awaits.
Dead Man's Chest
Will returns with the other main characters from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. In this film, his appearance has become more pirate-like, reminiscent of Errol Flynn's swashbuckler movie characters, and reflects Will's evolution from naïve boy to world-wise man. For aiding Jack Sparrow's escape, Will and Elizabeth are arrested just prior to their wedding ceremony by Lord Cutler Beckett, a man made wealthy and powerful by profits from the East India Trading Co. Beckett threatens Will and Elizabeth with execution for aiding Captain Jack Sparrow's escape, but offers clemency if Will can find Sparrow's compass. Beckett also possesses a Letter of Marque with which he intends to recruit Jack as a privateer.
To save Elizabeth, Will hunts for Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl. He finds the crew captive on Pelegosto, a cannibal-inhabited island. They escape, and are unexpectedly reunited with Pintel and Ragetti. Jack agrees to give Will his compass if he helps him find a key, though he has no idea what it unlocks. Jack seeks out Tia Dalma, a voodoo priestess who takes a particular interest in Will, proclaiming he has a "touch of destiny." Dalma says the key is to the Dead Man's Chest containing the heart of Davy Jones. The crew searches for Jones, and Will soon finds himself stranded on a wrecked vessel that Jack deviously claimed was Jones' ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman. When the real Flying Dutchman suddenly arrives, Jack attempts to barter Will to Davy Jones to repay his blood debt, but Jones refuses, saying one soul is unequal to another. Instead, he keeps Will as a "good faith" payment and demands an additional 99 souls. Otherwise, Jack must surrender or face the Kraken. Sparrow had once struck a bargain with Davy Jones to raise the Black Pearl from the ocean bottom and to make Jack captain for 13 years. Sparrow would then serve aboard the Dutchman for a century.
Will, now an indentured sailor aboard Jones' ghost ship, meets "Bootstrap" Bill Turner, the father Will once searched for. When Will challenges Davy Jones to Liar's Dice, betting his soul against the key to the Dead Man's Chest, Bootstrap joins in and purposely loses to save his son from eternal enslavement. With Bootstrap's help, Will steals the key and escapes in a longboat, vowing to one day free his father. A passing ship rescues Will, but Jones' summons the Kraken to destroy it. Will survives and stows back aboard the Dutchman, now headed for Isla Cruces where the Dead Man's Chest containing Jones' heart is buried.
On Isla Cruces, Will is reunited with Elizabeth, who has escaped jail and joined Jack Sparrow's crew. Also present are Sparrow and former-Commodore James Norrington, also a member of Jack's crew. They locate the chest, and, key in hand, Will intends to stab the heart to kill Davy Jones. But he finds himself at the tip of Jack's sword and caught in a triple threat duel between himself, Sparrow, and Norrington, all claiming the heart. Norrington ultimately steals it and the Letters of Marque, escaping just as Davy Jones' crew attack.
The Black Pearl flees, outrunning the Flying Dutchman, but Davy Jones again summons the Kraken. Drawing on his previous experience fighting the monster, Will leads the crew in temporarily fending it off, gaining enough time to abandon ship. When Elizabeth realizes that Sparrow is the Kraken's sole prey, she distracts him with a passionate kiss while handcuffing him to the mast. Unknown to her, Will witnesses this and believes Elizabeth now loves Sparrow. From the longboat, the crew watches the Kraken drag the Pearl and Sparrow to Davy Jones' Locker.
Will, Elizabeth, and the crew seek refuge with Tia Dalma. As they mourn their captain, Will is particularly despondent, though not only about Elizabeth and Jack. Tia understands his despair—with the Black Pearl Will could defeat Davy Jones and free his father. Gibbs proposes a toast to their fallen captain, to which Will glumly raises his mug. Seeing Elizabeth's teary face and believing she loves Sparrow, he nobly tries comforting her. "If there was anything that could be done..." Tia Dalma interrupts, asking would he be willing, would they all be willing, to travel to World's End to bring back Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl. All say "aye", including Will, who sees a revived opportunity to obtain the Black Pearl and rescue Bootstrap. Tia Dalma says they will need a captain who knows those waters. To everyone's astonishment, a resurrected Captain Barbossa descends the stairs.
At World's End
Will is next seen in Singapore with Elizabeth, Barbossa, Tia Dalma, and the Black Pearl crew. They are there to bargain with Sao Feng, the Pirate Lord of the South China Sea for the navigational charts leading to World's End and Davy Jones' Locker. Will already attempted to steal the charts from Sao Feng's uncle, but was captured. Ostensibly, the group's mission is to rescue Jack Sparrow from the Locker, but, like the others, Will has a secret motive: to retrieve the Black Pearl and free his father from Davy Jones. When Mercer and the East India Trading Company soldiers attack Sao Feng's bathhouse, Feng strikes a secret bargain with Will—Jack Sparrow in exchange for the Black Pearl. Will and the others journey to World's End on Feng's ship, sailing over an enormous waterfall into Jones' Locker. There, they find a delusional Jack aboard the Pearl. After some convincing, Jack sets sail with them, although he and Barbossa dispute who is captain. Will learns that Elizabeth sacrificed Jack to the Kraken. And though he now understands why Elizabeth has been so distant and despondent, she believes that her unrelenting guilt over causing Sparrow's doom is her burden alone to bear. Will tells her their relationship will not endure if they lack trust in one another and make their choices alone.
Will has also made choices alone, however, and secretly collaborated with Feng to commandeer the Black Pearl, although Will's motive is to save his father. But Sao Feng betrays Will in lieu of another bargain with Lord Beckett, though Beckett double-crosses him. Feng then offers Barbossa the Black Pearl in exchange for Elizabeth, who he mistakenly believes is the sea goddess, Calypso. Elizabeth may understand Will's underlying motives, but she is stunned that he bartered Jack Sparrow to Sao Feng to achieve his goal. Ignoring Will, she agrees to Feng's terms in exchange for the crew's safety. Jack tosses Will in the brig, but he soon escapes. Still plotting to obtain the Pearl, Will leaves a trail for Lord Beckett to follow to Shipwreck Cove, the Brethren Court stronghold. Jack catches him, but surprisingly hands Will his magical compass before pushing him overboard, apparently intending for Beckett to find them. Clinging to a floating barrel, Will drifts helplessly towards Beckett's ship, Endeavour.
Will is reunited with Elizabeth, who was named captain and pirate lord by the mortally wounded Sao Feng, after Will is exchanged for Jack during parley with Beckett and Davy Jones. Elizabeth tells Will she now understands the burden he bears, but having been aboard the Dutchman, she believes Bootstrap can no longer be saved, although Will disagrees. During the maelstrom battle, Will again proposes to Elizabeth, convincing her this may be their only opportunity to wed. Knowing that she truly loves Will and wants to be with him, Elizabeth calls on Barbossa to immediately marry them; they exchange vows amid the fighting and share their final kiss before destiny claims Will. Unknown to them, Jack has escaped the Dutchman's brig.
Destiny
After a climactic showdown with Jack atop the Flying Dutchman's mast, Davy Jones duels with Elizabeth. Will rushes to her defense, only to lose his weapon in the unharmable body of Jones, who, ironically, now wields the same sword Will crafted for Commodore Norrington in Curse of the Black Pearl. Jones presses the blade to Will's chest and asks menacingly, "Do you fear death?" Jack attempts to intervene, but Jones mortally stabs Will with the blade made by him in the Curse of the Black Pearl. Jack, who now possesses Jones' heart, sacrifices his bid for immortality to instead save Will, guiding Will's hand to stab the heart, killing Jones. Just as Will dies, Bootstrap carves out his son's heart and places it in the Dead Man's Chest. Will is resurrected into the Flying Dutchman's immortal captain, fulfilling his destiny to free the Dutchman crew from Davy Jones' cruelty. Now under Will's command, the Flying Dutchman resurfaces, and the crew has reverted to human form. Will commands the Dutchman against the Endeavour and the combined firepower of the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman destroy the Endeavour, killing Cutler Beckett. The remaining armada retreats without a fight.
Will is now a psychopomp, bound to sail the Netherworld, ferrying souls to the other side. The Dutchman crew, no longer cursed, have reverted to human form and bestow their loyalty on Captain Turner. Will is allowed one day ashore before beginning his ten-year duty in the Netherworld aboard the Dutchman. Elizabeth, a mortal, is unable to accompany Will, though "Bootstrap" Bill chooses to remain with his son, despite Will freeing him. Will spends his one day with Elizabeth on an island where they consummate their marriage. Before returning to the Dutchman at sunset, he entrusts the Dead Man's Chest containing his beating heart to her care. The Flying Dutchman disappears from the horizon amid the Green Flash.
Will returns ten years later to Elizabeth and their son, at the end of At World's End.
There is some controversy over Will's final fate. A leaflet inside the special edition 2-Disc DVD states that the captain of the Flying Dutchman is eternally bound to the ship, and may only step on land once every ten years. But since then, video commentary and blog posts by the writers have stated that as Elizabeth remained faithful to Will until he returned to this world, unlike what Calypso did for Davy Jones, he is free of his duty and lives out the rest of his life with Elizabeth and their son. The former is more likely, since by the time of the events of Dead Men Tell No Tales, his son is attempting to free him from the curse of the Flying Dutchman.
Dead Men Tell No Tales
Orlando Bloom will reprise his role as Will Turner in the fifth film, coming July 7, 2017.
Best films
(2006)
(2007)
(2017)
(2003)Played by the actors
Filmography of William Turner (4 films)
Add to a movie list, 2h9Directed by Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
Origin USA
Genres Fantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Pirate films, Children's films
Actors Johnny Depp, Kaya Scodelario, Orlando Bloom, Brenton Thwaites, Javier Bardem, Kevin McNally
Rating65%
Captain Jack Sparrow is pursued by an old enemy, Captain Salazar, who along with his crew of ghost pirates has escaped from the Devil's Triangle and is determined to kill every pirate at sea. Jack seeks the Trident of Poseidon, which grants its possessor total control over the seas to use against Salazar.
, 2h48Directed by Gore Verbinski
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Fantastic, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Fantasy, Swashbuckler, Action, Adventure
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Pirate films, Children's films
Actors Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander
Rating71%
To control the oceans, Lord Cutler Beckett executes anyone associated with piracy and uses Davy Jones to destroy pirate ships. Condemned prisoners sing “Hoist the Colours” to compel the nine Pirate Lords to convene at Shipwreck Cove to hold the Brethren Court. However, Captain Jack Sparrow, one of the Lords, never named a successor. Captain Barbossa, along with Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Tia Dalma, and the crew of the Black Pearl, plot to rescue Jack from Davy Jones’ Locker. Travelling to Singapore, the crew meet Sao Feng who owns navigational charts to the Locker. Beckett’s soldiers invade, but the crew escape, Feng and Turner making a deal to give Jack to Feng so he in turn can use the Pearl to rescue his father Bootstrap Bill from the Flying Dutchman. The crew successfully rescue Jack, but find themselves trapped in the Locker, encountering dead souls, including Elizabeth’s murdered father Governor Swann. They learn the Dutchman must have a captain, and their heart must be cut out to captain the vessel.
, 2h30Directed by Gore Verbinski
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Fantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Swashbuckler, Action, Adventure
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Pirate films, Children's films, L'Or
Actors Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgård, Bill Nighy, Jack Davenport
Rating73%
The wedding of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann is crashed by Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company, who has arrest warrants for the couple along with Commodore James Norrington, for allowing Captain Jack Sparrow to escape custody. Norrington resigned after his crew died in a typhoon. Elizabeth is imprisoned, but Beckett promises to free her if Will tracks down Jack and brings him his magic compass which points to whatever the holder wants most. Shortly after, Governor Swann tries to escape Port Royal with Elizabeth but is captured. Elizabeth negotiates with Beckett to let her escape to find the compass herself.
, 2h22Directed by Gore Verbinski
Origin USA
Genres Fantastic, Fantasy, Swashbuckler, Action, Adventure
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Pirate films, Children's films, L'Or
Actors Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce
Rating78%
Sailing to Port Royal, Governor Weatherby Swann, his daughter Elizabeth, and Lieutenant James Norrington encounter a burning shipwreck and recover a young boy Will Turner. Elizabeth hides a golden medallion owned by Will, and sees a ghost ship vanishing into the fog. Eight years on, Norrington is promoted to the rank of Commodore and proposes to Elizabeth, but her tight corset causes her to faint and fall into the sea. She is rescued by Captain Jack Sparrow, who Norrington identifies as a pirate who intends on commandeering a ship. Jack attempts to escape but runs into Will, now a blacksmith and a talented swordsman. They engage in a sword fight but Jack is captured by Norrington’s men and imprisoned.