Captain Hector Barbossa, usually shortened to Captain Barbossa or simply Barbossa, is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series played by actor Geoffrey Rush. He was the undead captain of the Black Pearl, and commanded its crew of similarly cursed pirates. His last name is both a pun on the Spanish/Portuguese surname "Barbosa" and is based on Aruj, the dreaded pirate also known as Redbeard and Barbossa's name is probably based on the two privateers, The Barbarossa brothers.