Shiver me timbers, it's hard to fathom that the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise first sailed into cinemas back in 2003.

Inspired by the iconic Disney theme park ride, The Curse of the Black Pearl launched a swashbuckling blockbuster series that has counted five movies. Along the way, the films brought together rising stars, prestige actors, comic favourites and even rock royalty.

With the franchise taking more than $4.5 billion (£3.4bn) worldwide, click or scroll on to find out which cast members have bagged the biggest bounty.

All dollar values in US dollars

Several Pirates of the Caribbean cast members lack reliable public net worth estimates.

Among the better-known names are comic Omid Djalili, who popped up in 2007's At World's End, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey (pictured) aka the mermaid Syrena in 2011's On Stranger Tides, and Brenton Thwaites, who played Henry Turner in 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales.

At $1 million (£756k) each, the lowest Celebrity Net Worth estimates for Pirates cast members belong to Kaya Scodelario (pictured), who played Carina Smyth in Dead Men Tell No Tales, Kevin McNally, who featured throughout the franchise as Jack Sparrow’s loyal first mate Joshamee Gibbs, and Golshifteh Farahani, who appeared as sea witch Shansa.

Lee Arenberg, best known to fans as Pintel, follows at $2 million (£1.5m), while David Wenham and Sam Claflin round out this tier at $3 million (£2.3m) apiece.

The most surprising entry in this group is Jacob Elordi. Dead Men Tell No Tales gave the now A-list star his first Hollywood role as an extra, playing an uncredited British soldier. Elordi has joked that viewers should “look for a tall guy in a red coat” in the background.

Jack Davenport, who played Commodore James Norrington, also falls in this bracket. Ditto Mackenzie Crook, best known as Gareth in the UK version of The Office. He took on the role of wooden-eyed pirate Ragetti.

Naomie Harris, who appeared as Tia Dalma/Calypso, is also worth $4 million (£3m).

Tom Hollander played icy East India Trading Company villain Lord Cutler Beckett in Dead Man’s Chest and At World's End. The acclaimed British actor has also starred in Rev, The White Lotus and Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, but his name still causes mix-ups with Spider-Man star Tom Holland.

Hollander once revealed he felt flush after earning $40,000 (£30k) for a BBC job, only to open a Marvel bonus slip meant for Holland, who shared the same agent. Staring at him was a seven-figure sum, reportedly at least 30 times more than his own payday.

The late Richard Griffiths made a brief but grand appearance in On Stranger Tides as King George II, who summons Jack Sparrow to St James's Palace in the race to find the Fountain of Youth.

The British character actor was already a screen favourite on the back of roles including Monty in Withnail and I and Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films. He was also a major stage force, winning Tony and Olivier awards for The History Boys.

Griffiths was worth an estimated $5 million (£3.8m) when he died in 2013.

In On Stranger Tides, Roger Allam stepped into the shoes of Prime Minister Henry Pelham, one of King George II's advisers.

Screen audiences may know the British actor from The Queen, V for Vendetta and long-running detective drama Endeavour, where he played DI Fred Thursday. Allam is also a major stage figure, having originated the role of Inspector Javert in the original London production of Les Misérables and won multiple Olivier Awards.

Before surfacing in On Stranger Tides as deadly mermaid Tamara, Gemma Ward had already made waves as one of the fashion world's biggest names. Ranking among the highest-paid models by the late noughties, Ward scored multiple Vogue covers, landed major campaigns and walked runways for Chanel, Prada, Dior and other high-end houses.

Ward has also flexed her acting chops in the likes of 2008's The Black Balloon, which won her critical plaudits, not to mention fellow Aussie Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby.

Graham showed up in the Pirates franchise as scrappy pirate Scrum, appearing in On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales.

From This Is England to his turn as Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire, Graham was long-admired by critics but still oddly under the radar internationally. That all changed last year when the British actor reached a new level of fame following the incredible success of Netflix's Adolescence, the hard-hitting miniseries he co-created and starred in.

A familiar face in Jack Sparrow's crew, Martin Klebba portrayed Marty across four Pirates films, with On Stranger Tides the sole movie he didn't feature in.

After making his screen debut in 2001 in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, the Michigan-born actor and stuntman has enjoyed a long screen career, with credits spanning Hancock, Scrubs, Bones and Little People, Big World.

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Hidden beneath one of the franchise's most elaborate digital creations, Bill Nighy played tragic sea monster Davy Jones in Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, later making a cameo return in Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The British star has packed his career with everything from Love Actually and Shaun of the Dead to State of Play and 2022's Living, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

As fearsome pirate Blackbeard in On Stranger Tides, Ian McShane brought serious menace to the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The veteran actor had long been famous in the UK as star of the BBC show Lovejoy and was known to US audiences as saloon owner Al Swearengen in Deadwood.

McShane later added Game of Thrones to his TV credits, along with film roles in Sexy Beast and the John Wick franchise.

Another esteemed British actor who featured in Game of Thrones and the Pirates movies, Jonathan Pryce played Elizabeth Swann's anxious father, Governor Weatherby Swann, across the first three films.

Outside of the franchise, the Welsh star picked up an Oscar nomination for The Two Popes and later appeared as Prince Philip in The Crown. His theatre career is just as impressive, with major West End and Broadway success including as The Engineer in Miss Saigon.

Spanish Oscar winner Javier Bardem joined the franchise in Dead Men Tell No Tales as vengeful ghost captain Armando Salazar, the pirate hunter determined to destroy Jack Sparrow. His wife Penélope Cruz had already graced the series as Angelica in On Stranger Tides, while Bardem himself had once been considered for the role of Blackbeard before Ian McShane was cast.

Away from the high seas, Bardem has built a formidable screen career in both Europe and the US, with No Country for Old Men, Skyfall and Dune among his biggest Hollywood gigs.

Captain Hector Barbossa became one of the franchise's great survivors, and Geoffrey Rush played him across all five Pirates movies. As one of the few performers to win the acting Triple Crown of an Oscar, Emmy and Tony, the Australian thespian brought serious prestige to Jack Sparrow's chaotic world.

This was reflected in his pay, which reportedly amounted to around $5 million (£3.8m) per movie.

Fresh from breaking through as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings, Orlando Bloom secured another career-defining franchise role as heroic blacksmith Will Turner in The Curse of the Black Pearl. The English actor returned for Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, with a later comeback in Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Bloom's early-2000s run made him one of Hollywood's most bankable young stars, though he reportedly earned just $175,000 (£132k) for all three Lord of the Rings movies. His later CV includes Troy, Kingdom of Heaven and fantasy series Carnival Row.

Pictured here with Bloom and Johnny Depp, Stellan Skarsgård brought tragic weight to Bootstrap Bill Turner, Will Turner's cursed father, in Dead Man's Chest and At World's End.

Moving effortlessly between arthouse dramas and Hollywood franchises, the Swedish actor has one of the most varied careers in the acting world, with roles in Breaking the Waves, Good Will Hunting, Mama Mia! and Marvel blockbusters.

The Pirates movies made Keira Knightley a global star, but she later complained the franchise helped create a perception that she was a "terrible actress". She's probably never complained about the pay, though.

Knightley reportedly earned $5 million (£3.8m) for At World's End, and $4 million (£3m) for her fleeting non-speaking cameo in Dead Men Tell No Tales. Away from Elizabeth Swann, she has more than proved her acting ability, garnering Oscar nominations for Pride & Prejudice and The Imitation Game.

Long before Avatar and Marvel made her box-office dynamite, Zoe Saldaña appeared in The Curse of the Black Pearl as Anamaria, the tough pirate who slaps Jack Sparrow for stealing her boat. It was only a small role, but her career since has been gigantic.

Saldaña's movies have reportedly grossed more than $15.5 billion (£11.7bn) worldwide, with the cherry on the cake her Best Supporting Actress win for 2024's Emilia Pérez.

Already namechecked earlier through husband Javier Bardem's Pirates link, Penélope Cruz joined the franchise first, bringing A-list glamour to On Stranger Tides as Angelica, Blackbeard's daughter and Jack Sparrow's former flame.

Back on dry land, Cruz was already one of world cinema's most celebrated actresses, with major Pedro Almodóvar collaborations including Volver, All About My Mother and Broken Embraces. She also became the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar, for Vicky Cristina Barcelona back in 2009.

No Pirates payday comes close to Johnny Depp's. The franchise lynchpin, Captain Jack Sparrow made him one of Hollywood's highest-paid stars, with ScreenRant putting his five-film haul at $265 million (£199.9m) and Celebrity Net Worth stating he earned more than $300 million (£226.3m) from the franchise overall.

That helps explain why his current estimate remains huge despite years of costly turmoil, including his divorce battle with Amber Heard and other hugely expensive legal fights.

By the time Chow Yun-Fat joined Pirates, he was already one of Hong Kong cinema's defining stars. The actor became a household name across Asia with The Bund, then built an international reputation through John Woo classics including A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled.

Western audiences later embraced him in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Then At World's End cast him as Sao Feng, the feared Pirate Lord of Singapore.

Chow is famously frugal and has said he plans to give his fortune to charity. Living off a monthly budget of only $100 (£76) reportedly, he had a Nokia flip phone for 17 years, eschew limos for public transport and dines out on cheap street food.

Rock royalty entered the Pirates universe when Keith Richards appeared as Captain Edward Teague, Jack Sparrow's father, in At World's End, later returning for On Stranger Tides. The casting was a gloriously meta moment, since Johnny Depp had famously channelled the Rolling Stones guitarist when creating Jack's slurred voice, swagger and outlaw energy.

Richards' fortune stems from six decades with the band, which has sold more than 200 million records and created some of rock's most famous songs, from Satisfaction to Paint It Black.

The richest Pirates cast member by far is Paul McCartney, whose cameo in Dead Men Tell No Tales makes this ranking end on a surreal note. The Beatles legend appeared as Uncle Jack, Jack Sparrow's long-lost relative, after Keith Richards was unavailable to reprise Captain Teague. Depp reportedly texted McCartney, who agreed to join the film as a friendly favour, and the pair shaped the scene together.

The cameo was tiny, but McCartney's fortune is anything but: Celebrity Net Worth pegs it at $1.2 billion (£907m), thanks to the Beatles, Wings, solo tours and decades of publishing income.

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