Johnny Depp's back as the loveable rogue Captain Jack Sparrow in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'. He tells how much he loves donning the pirate gear and how the family keep him grounded.

Did you think the first 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film was going to be such a huge hit?
I had gotten used to the idea of never having a successful film myself, I was pretty comfy in that, so it was a terrific shock for me. I'm still babbling about it.

It's an enormous surprise as well, the fact that people took the character in and really supported me. At a certain point some of the better-dressed people at Disney were having a difficult time with my interpretation of the character, so the fact that audiences came in and supported me was a win-win situation for me.

With 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' being filmed back to back, is it hard keeping a grip on Jack Sparrow's character development?
I kind of reckon he's fully developed. I feel like he's arrived, and had arrived on the first one. I don't know, that whole idea of 'the arc of the character' and stuff like that - bollocks! The guy is, and just sort of moves forward, basically.

Did you always have it in the back of your mind that there would be a sequel? Would you like to do more 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films?
As long as there's a good script there I think you're OK. As long as the story's there, as long as all the elements are there – why not? I'd be happy to keep going. I just very selfishly enjoy playing the character. I really love playing the guy - because it's fun, nothing more. It's not like an evil moment when you go in a back room and start counting money, it's never been about that for me. I just purely enjoy playing the character. So if these guys wanted to continue on, I'd stay on the ride for sure. It felt totally normal to me, the idea of a sequel, in fact I was looking forward to it: just to be able to put the gear back on and be Jack again.

How does it feel to have created such a unique character as Jack Sparrow?
It feels very good to have taken part in the construction of this guy: this entity that is Jack Sparrow. It was great fun, and it was great fun being in trouble for having created it. It felt good to have the 'suits' come down on me - because it worked. Even at that early stage when we were a month or so into shooting and they were really nervous, I felt like I'd accomplished something because it affected them to that degree. And I believed in him. So it felt good then, and it still feels good.

How did you perfect the amazing? Jack Sparrow walk?
Jack's body language, in fact, came from extreme heat. I thought, being out on the open seas for long periods of time, he would be subjected to the elements, so I locked myself in a sauna for a long period of time – by the way I don't recommend that to anyone! So what happens when you lock yourself in a very, very hot place, you get very, very uncomfortable and it starts to affect the way you move and that's sort of how Jack's movement was born.

Did you want to be a pirate when you were a kid?
I can very clearly remember wanting to be a pirate – absolutely. It feels like that still exists for a lot of people, it must have something to do with the idea of freedom, total freedom. Everybody wants to be that free, everybody would love to be totally irreverent and not have to answer to anyone!

Do your children enjoy what you do?
They've had a lot to do with it. They haven't seen the latest movie yet – I thought the responsible thing to do was to check it out first, and I've come to the conclusion that they'll be OK seeing it. The thing is with my kids when we sit down and play Barbies – I can freely admit that we play Barbies! – I like assuming characters and, as an actor, it's a great way to experiment with voices. I'd start to assume a character with a Barbie and my daughter would say, 'Papa, can you just do your regular voice?' And there was one time when she was taken aback, when I was trying to find the voice of Willy Wonka and she stopped me and said, 'What's that, who's that? I like that.'

Are there any of your previous characters that you would like to revisit?
I always felt that a sequel to 'Edward Scissorhands' would have been a good idea. I really felt like we hadn't explored all the possibilities with that character, there was more to do. Obviously 20th Century Fox felt differently - I think it might have had something to do with money!

There's always a certain point that arrives when the clock starts ticking and you're going to have to say goodbye to a character and - though it sounds horribly silly for a middle-aged man to admit - you go through a bizarre kind of decompression where you miss these guys because you know you're never going to see them again in that sort of capacity. You don't get to play them again, so you do miss them. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to Jack Sparrow!

How do you think you've changed in the past 10 years? People have said you're more grounded now.
Where do I begin? Having kids was a huge change for me. Becoming a father. But I think more than changing, I feel like I've been revealed to myself, I kind of found out who I was.

When you meet your child for the first time and you're looking at this angel, you start realising what an idiot you've been for so many years and how much time you've wasted. As far as being feet-on-the-ground, once again my kids and Vanessa have given me a proper foundation. A sense of home that I never had in my life, a real sense of a place to be.

And where would you like to be in 10 years' time?
Hanging out with my kids... Somewhere phones don't ring and there's a lot of sun. I think that would be fine.