Hector Barbossa is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. Barbossa is portrayed by Australian actor Geoffrey Rush in all the films. Barbossa was first introduced in the series as the main antagonist of the first film, and pirate captain of the Black Pearl after committing mutiny against the ship's former captain, Jack Sparrow, in the series' first installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Having met his demise in the climax of the film, his character is revealed to have been resurrected at the end of Dead Man's Chest, becoming a supporting protagonist in At World's End. In the third film, it is revealed that Barbossa is also one of the nine pirate lords as pirate lord of the Caspian Sea territory. In the fourth film, On Stranger Tides, he has become a privateer in the King's Navy and is ordered to be Jack's guide on an expedition for the Fountain of Youth.

Barbossa's first name, "Hector," was revealed in a director's commentary on the Curse of the Black Pearl DVD, but was not revealed by any of the characters until the third film of the series. (When they rescue Jack Sparrow, and Barbossa greets him, Sparrow says: "Ah, Hector! It's been too long! Hasn't it?") It was revealed that costar Johnny Depp played a decisive part in providing the name. His last name is both a pun on the surname of Portuguese origin "Barbosa" and is based on Hayreddin Barbarossa, the Ottoman privateer who is also known as Hızır Reis and Redbeard; the word is a combination of the Italian words barba (beard) and rossa (red). The word "barbossa" in Italian could barely be translated as "beard of bones", which is very consistent with his once skeletal look.^{[citation needed]}

Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting (from four nominations), three British Academy Film Awards (from five nominations), two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He is the foundation President of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. He is the 2012 Australian of the Year.

Rush was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, to Merle (née Kiehne), a department store sales assistant, and Roy Baden Rush, an accountant for the Royal Australian Air Force. His parents divorced when he was five and his mother subsequently took him to live with her parents in suburban Brisbane. Before he began his acting career, Rush attended Everton Park State High School. He also has an arts degree from the University of Queensland. While at university, he was talent-spotted by Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) in Brisbane. Rush began his career with QTC in 1971, appearing in 17 productions.

Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series created by screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, portrayed by Johnny Depp. He is first introduced in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). He later appears in the sequels Dead Man's Chest (2006), At World's End (2007), and On Stranger Tides (2011). Jack Sparrow was originally conceived as a supporting character. He was brought to life by the actor Johnny Depp, who based his characterization on The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and cartoon character Pepé Le Pew. He tends to become rather frustrated whenever someone pronounces his name without the term "Captain".

The series Pirates of the Caribbean was inspired by a Disney theme park ride, and in 2006, when the ride was revamped, the character of Jack Sparrow was introduced to it. Jack Sparrow is also the subject of a children's book series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow, which chronicles his teenage years and the character has also appeared in numerous video games.