Sergio Calderón, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Actor, Dead at 77

Pirates of the Caribbean actor Sergio Calderón has died. The actor, who appeared in the third installment of the popular Disney franchise and was also well-known for his roles in Men in Black and The Ruins, passed away Wednesday in a Los Angeles hospital of natural causes, a representative for Calderón confirmed. The rep told Entertainment Tonight in a statement, “We can confirm that Sergio passed away this morning. He was in the hospital previously with a bout of pneumonia, not sure that was the cause. He was surrounded by family at the time.” Calderón was 74.
 
Calderón was born on July 21, 1945, per The Hollywood Reporter, and moved from his home in a tropical village to Mexico City when he was 10, after which he studied at the Instituto Andrés Soler of the Asociación Nacional de Actores. The actor, who worked as an English teacher, made his onscreen debut in The Bridge in the Jungle, starring John Huston, in 1970. He went on to appear in a number of other titles throughout the ’70s, including The Revengers (1972) and The Children of Sánchez (1978) before earning his Screen Actors Guild card for appearing in the 1979 comedy The In-Laws, starring Peter Falk and Alan Arkin.

Throughout his decades-long career, Calderón became well-known for several of his roles. In 1997, he starred sci-fi comedy Men In Black. The actor appeared in the movie as José, the character whose head is displayed on the end of a sword held by Tommy Lee Jones’s character, K, by an alien crossing the US-Mexico border line. Just a decade later, Calderón appeared in the third installment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, starring as Pirate Lord, Captain Eduardo Villanueva of the Adriatic Sea. The actor shared several photos to social media of himself and franchise star Johnny Depp as well as Rolling Stones band member Keith Richards, who played the Pirate Lord of Madagascar and Depp’s father in the film.
 
Calderón also portrayed a Mexican revolutionary at the turn of the 20th century in Duck, You Sucker!, as well as a murderous Mexican chief of police opposite Albert Finney in John Huston’s Under the Volcano (1984). His other credits include The Ruins, Little Fockers, the FX series Better Things, and an episode of Peacock’s The Resort. Throughout his career, he worked with directors including Gore Verbinski, Barry Sonnenfeld, Sergio Leone, and John Houston.
 
Calderón is survived by his wife, Karen Dakin; children Patrick Calderón-Dakin and Johanna Calderón-Dakin, vice president of the PR firm The Mesulam Group; son-in-law Raaj; and grandchildren Krishnaavi, Emiliano and Victoria.