Geoffrey Rush is a man whose presence in a major motion picture immediately conjures up respect and elevates the project to a certain level of respectability attendant to his myriad achievements. The Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning actor has been a staple of the massively popular Pirates of the Caribbean series since The Black Pearl first set sail back in 2003. As Captain Hector Barbossa, he has struck fear into the hearts of men and delighted audiences all over the world, but what was Rush’s favorite part of playing the iconic villain?  Our intrepid reporter Hector Navarro charted a course for a recent press day in Los Angeles where he asked the Pirates of the Caribbean star in person. Apparently, it seems Rush’s favorite part was working with the two monkeys Pablo and Chiquita, who played Jack the Monkey in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and would exhale their cute, little “hot peanut breath” on Rush all day long.

Apart from on-set monkey business, we discussed exactly what audiences can expect from the fifth installment in Pirates of the Caribbean with stars Kaya Scodelario (“Carina Smyth”) and Javier Bardem (“Captain Salazar”). With Bardem, we learned about the intense makeup process the actor underwent to transform into the undead pirate hunter Captain Salazar, while Scodelario told us about what she admired most about the woman of science she portrays in the film.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales opens on May 26, 2017. Read our review right here!

Image: Disney

Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).