Johnny Depp is one of the most well-known actors of his generation. However, he himself had little confidence in himself, especially in the past, which is why he was surprised when he managed to land a coveted role.
Which role is it? During his career, Johnny Depp has played many different roles, just think of Captain Jack Sparrow, the Mad Hatter, or Willy Wonka. Often, they are quirky, eccentric characters.
Some of these roles Depp played in films by Tim Burton, with whom he has collaborated eight times. The stories that the director focuses on often tell of outsiders with a penchant for eccentricity – perfect for Johnny Depp.
One of his most famous roles is that of the title character in Edward Scissorhands. The film, which was released in 1990, tells the story of Edward, a human who was assembled by a scientist and who has scissors instead of hands.
The film is a successful mix of tragicomedy and fantasy and resonated well with the audience. On IMDb, it has a rating of 7.9 based on 526,020 ratings.
Today, it is hard to imagine anyone other than Johnny Depp in the lead role. However, initially, other actors were considered for it.
Johnny Depp stood out against big names
Who was supposed to play Edward? Several big Hollywood stars were in the running for the role. According to people.com, Depp says that Tom Cruise was very close to getting the role. Tom Hanks and even the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, also auditioned for it.
Johnny Depp received the script and read it. He was immediately thrilled and says today that it corresponded exactly to what he was:
The text was beautiful. The character was beautiful. I think what attracted me emotionally was that Edward was me. It is exactly what I should do.
Johnny Depp via people.com
In the early 90s, Depp had the image of a teen idol attached to him, and he wanted to change that. The dark role of Edward seemed to offer an opportunity to do so. However, there was a problem for him:
Tim Burton was just on his way to becoming a directing star. He had directed Beetlejuice and Batman and celebrated successes, even if the film about DC’s dark hero was not understood by everyone. Then Edward Scissorhands was on his agenda. Johnny Depp thought Burton would not cast him at all since “everyone in Hollywood is after the role.”
Depp also had little confidence in his own abilities and even wanted to cancel the meeting with Burton. His agent reportedly asked in disbelief, “Are you crazy?”
How did the story end? In the end, Depp was persuaded to give the meeting a chance. It went so well that Tim Burton agreed to cast him for the role.
It was worth it: the film was made, and Johnny Depp experienced his first major success. He received a Golden Globe nomination and went on to make seven more films with Tim Burton in the following years. Among them was Ed Wood, a lesser-known film by the director, which managed to win some Oscars.
What the film would have looked like with Tom Cruise or Michael Jackson in the lead role can only be speculated. Ultimately, the character and Johnny Depp fit perfectly together and gave the actor the opportunity to express his eccentricity on screen. Have you developed an interest in films with him? On MeinMMO, we have 7 creepy recommendations for you – not only recommended at Halloween.
