Johnny Depp: Not enthusiastic about 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4'

Johnny Depp: Not enthusiastic about 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4'

On Friday Hollywood was shocked by the sudden dismissal of Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook but no one may have taken it harder than actor Johnny Depp.

Speaking to a famous newspaper late at night in London, Johnny Depp said that Cook's departure had created "a fissure, a crack in my enthusiasm at the moment" for the project.

Johnny Depp, who currently appeared at the first official Disney convention, D23 Expo, to support both his role as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" and the new "Pirates" movie, credited Cook with standing by his interpretation of the character Captain Jack Sparrow when others at the studio were questioning his direction.

Johnny Depp told a newspaper, "He's instantly trustworthy. And you generally don't meet people at the studios you trust. He's a rare beast."

The actor also said that he presently has a potential deal in place for "Pirates 4" and whether he moves forward or not will depend on how good the script is, but was presently "shocked and sad" over the day's events.

Being a lifelong employee at Disney, Cook started his career with the company in 1971 when he started as a monorail operator. By 2002, then CEO Michael Eisner made him chairman of the studio, one of the most senior positions in the company.  Unfortunately, the studio side of the operation -- his responsibility -- lost $12 million in the third quarter due to financial disappointments such as "Bedtime Stories" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic." Current CEO Bob Iger blamed the losses on the quality of the overall slate in a conference call with Wall Street investors. However no one in the industry truly believed that Cook could loose his job.