Young patients at B.C. Children’s Hospital were given a surprise treat when Hollywood A-lister Johnny Depp paid them a visit this week.

Decked out as his swashbuckling “Pirates of the Caribbean” character Capt. Jack Sparrow, the actor spent several hours lifting young patients' spirits at the Vancouver hospital on Monday.

“Johnny Depp showed he has a heart of gold by spending more than five hours meeting one-on-one with every patient, from newborns to teens,” the hospital wrote on Instagram.

Depp donned full pirate costume and spoke to the children in full character while roaming the halls. He also posed for selfies and took part in foam-sword duels.

Logan Johnson-Lay, a 20-year-old relapsed cancer patient who was first diagnosed over a decade ago, served as the star's hospital tour guide for the entire visit. She said Depp did his best to make everyone he met feel special.

"He didn't just like slough you off, he took the time to engage with you," Johnson-Lay said. "It made me feel important."

Depp was also quick to plant kisses and offer hugs – a highlight Johnson-Lay said she won't soon forget.

"I definitely will remember that he kissed me," she said. "He's basically my boyfriend."

B.C. Children's Hospital told CTV News that Depp's people reached out and asked if staff would like him to make a visit. Deb Sweeney, chief strategy officer for the hospital, said the movie star's daughter spent time in a children's hospital years ago, and Depp never forgot the care she received.

"He wanted to give that back to us," Sweeney said.

Hospital officials hoped he might visit for a couple of hours, but were impressed to see Depp stick around until every child who wanted to meet him had a chance. During the meetings, Depp would whisper messages of encouragement into the young patients' ears, like "be brave" and "keep going,” Sweeney said.

Parent Jenna Montroy, whose three-year-old daughter Harlow has leukemia, described the event as "a day we will never forget."

"A wonderful ray of sunshine today," she wrote on Instagram. "So special and heartwarming to see my little baby smile."

Depp is in Vancouver shooting his new film "Richard Says Goodbye" and has been spotted in various locations across the city in the past month.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Nafeesa Karim  

Johnny Depp