Best Pirate

[Coastie04]

I was just wondering what circumstances would create the perfect pirate. Needless to say, pirates had countless reasons for hoistin' the black flag, but I'm lookin' more fer th' personality the perfect pirate would have.

Personally, I'd have to say that Doc Holliday had a perfect personality. I know, he's a bit dusty fer pyracy, but had he known how to sail, we may well be sayin' his flag were th' best. My reasoning: He started out very bright and held a PhD in dentistry. However, turberculosis got the better of 'im, so he moved out west. There, he began a fine career o' drinkin', gamblin', 'nd gunfightin'. Due to his illness, he had a deathwish that, combined with intellect, made him fierce in battle. He could also hold 'is grog as good as any. Pretty much, he knew he had a short time to live and had as much fun as possible gamblin', drinkin', and womanizin', all the while makin' a name fer 'imself as a cold-blooded murderer. Add some salt t' that, an' ye got yerself a legendary pyrate.

Coastie04

[captweaver65]

there are so many factors that could lead to the perfect pirate.first of all they must have a sociopathic personality to disreguard the feelings and the normal moral convictions that most people have-then a high intelligence would be very helpful because the perfect pirate would need to be able to master the intricacies of sailing and navigation as well as being able to manipulate others into seeing things thier way-natural charisma is a very good thing-of course you gotta be able to hold yer grog.

Capt Weaver

[Dorian Lasseter]

The Perfect Pyrate....

Lookin' at histry' we see lots o' pyrates who were quite good at the sweet trade, some that weren't....

If we look at who was, I'd say Mr. Teach was one of the best, most effective Pyrates;

'E could fight like a bear, takin' lots o' punishment an' givin' plenty back.

'E struck fear inta th' hearts o' his prey, thus, makin' 'is capturin' of 'em easier.

'E had the charisma ta whip 'is men in to a frenzy, yet keep control of 'em.

'E was almost always full o' grog, yet kept 'is head. (well, until the end)

'E had the intellegence to use many tactics to win the day.

'E had many other pyratical gifts as well....

[Capt. Westyn Elizabeth Roberts]

Jack Nicholson...plays psycho parts, smart, likes wenching (I've heard).

Tim Curry...also plays psycho, smart villains. Already has the British accent, so we know he's on the right side. Played Long John Silver in "The Muppets Treasure Island." Also played on stage as the Pirate King in "The Pirates of Penzance." And, recently did a role as a pirate lost in the modern world called "Pirates of the Plain."

Michael Wincott (aka, the bad guy on "The Crow", Rochefort on WD's "The Three Musketeers"). He's got a voice that sounds like he just sucked down a fifth of flaming rum, and he looks unnaturally good in 16th century garb, a cavalier hat and an eyepatch. Has a brutal quality about him.

Sir Ian McKellen (Magneto, "XMen", "XMen2". Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Hamlet in an older version of the same name. Bad guys on several movies.) He's tall, British, intelligent, resourceful...and if he had that magnetic power while a pirate, he could just steal away all the swords and guns without a battle! He could also pull all of the nails out of the other ships and capture a few pirates with hooks!

James Earl Jones (voice of "Darth Vader", Lenny in "Of Mice and Men", King in "Coming to America", voice of Mufasa in WD's "The Lion King"). He's big, gruff, and just his voice would make all of his foes run away crying for their Mommies!

That's my list of actors...

Capt. WE Roberts

[JoshuaRed]

Well now let's see here....actor-wise I think the perfect on-screen pirates would be:

Robert Carlyle (Full Monty, Angela's Ashes, Plunkett & Maclane) as a wily Calico Jack type.

Gary Oldman was born to play Capt. Morgan, in a Braveheart-level epic, imo. He's not only one of the greatest living actors, he's got the range and physical ability to play several decades of Morgan's life.

The perfect secondary character pirate would be played by Vinnie Jones (aka Bullet Tooth Tony in Snatch). He's the real deal.

In real life, a perfect pirate would have had the leadership and discipline abilities of a Capt. Roberts, been a master of propoganda/image manipulation like Blackbeard, and been as gung-ho & ambitious as Capt. Morgan.

[Capt. Flint]

To follow in your line of thinking Coastie; i think Wyatt Earp would have been one heck of a pirate. But, in reality, I think the perfect pirates have allready lived. They were hard drinking, hard living, ruthless and dangerous. They lived a short reckless life and are now the cast of songs and stories that have been turned into legends. These true pirates of history lived a very short time as pirates, and yet, to this day their names are better known than many others who went on to do greater and more prominent things in history. Simply ask people you know who is Blackbeard thenask them who is Mary Pickersgill.; or how about Calico Jack, then ask who was General Lincoln of the Revolutinary war. I love the role playing, but, I find the loss of true history sad. Just a thought...... The Capt.

[CaptCat]

Sir Ian McKellen (Magneto, "XMen", "XMen2". Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Hamlet in an older version of the same name. Bad guys on several movies.) He's tall, British, intelligent, resourceful...and if he had that magnetic power while a pirate, he could just steal away all the swords and guns without a battle! He could also pull all of the nails out of the other ships and capture a few pirates with hooks!

I love Sir Ian McKellen, whose portrayal of Magneto is impressive and whose portrayal of Gandalf is nearly perfect... but when you mention him in the context of piracy I begin to think of his character Chauvelin in the 1982 movie The Scarlet Pimpernel.

You can see photos here:

Chauvelin

The Final Fencing Duel

Bested by a fop in a fencing match! I think McKellen should have won.