British actor turned down Casino Royale role for `Pirates` movie

It is not many people who can say they turned down the new James Bond film because they were working with Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp.

But Winston Ellis, 41, who was born and brought up in Reading, is one such person.

He stars in one of the summer’s most eagerly awaited releases, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which premiers next Monday - reports Get Reading.

The film, the squeal to 2003’s hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, also features Hollywood’s Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, who is also from Berkshire.

Mr Ellis, who lived at Norris Road in Earley before becoming a film star, has only recently finished filming the movie in Barbados.

“I was in South Africa filming an advert for cornflakes when my agent rang me to say they wanted me,” he said.

Discuss this news here...