Johnny Depp Reveals This Movie Star Almost Played Iconic Character Edward Scissorhands; Recalls Trouncing Tom Hanks For Breakout Role
In the 1990 dark fantasy, Johnny Depp played an artificial man named Edward who had scissor blades instead of hands and endeared himself to fans across the world.
Johnny Depp Opens Up About Playing Iconic Character Edward Scissorhands ( Photo Credit – Wikimedia )
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Johnny Depp is a movie star in the true sense of the word. His iconic status as a Hollywood star was cemented with his breakout role as Edward Scissorhands in Tim Burton’s 1990 gothic fantasy film.
In the dark fantasy, Depp played an artificial man named Edward who had scissor blades instead of hands and endeared himself to fans across the world. The movie’s success turned Depp into Burton’s muse, with the director casting him in several fantasy movies, including the cult classic Sleepy Hollow, Dark Shadows, and Sweeney Todd.
However, Depp recently revealed that the movie that spurred the artistic collaboration between Burton and him could have gone to these A-listers. In a new docuseries on Tim Burton, Depp recalled trouncing some of the biggest names in Hollywood for his breakout role in Edward Scissorhands.
Johnny Depp says he beat Tom Hanks and Michael Jackson for the Edward Scissorhands role
Depp said he beat Tom Hanks and Michael Jackson for the role. This is not the first time the actor has recalled the Tom Hanks Story. In a 1999 interview with Charlie Rose, the star confessed he suffered from Imposter syndrome after the success of Tim Burton Movies and spent the first two weeks of Ed Wood, Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow fearing he would be fired.
Johnny Depp explained that his fear stemmed from an incident while shooting Edward Scissorhands. He recalled discovering Hanks was being considered for the role while shooting the movie and being convinced that The “You’ve Got Mail” star would replace him.
Johnny Depp reveals this movie star came close to playing Edward Scissorhands
In the Tim Burton Documentary, Johnny Depp revealed that Tom Cruise “was not far away from actually playing Edward Scissorhands—true story.”
Caroline Thompson, the scriptwriter for the cult film, shared how Tom Cruise lost the role after meeting with Tim Burton and asking him a question.
Thompson recalled, “In his interview with Tim, he asked how Edward went to the bathroom. If you start asking those questions, the whole thing falls apart. You can’t ask questions like that. If you ask questions like that, you’re f***ed. You’ve missed the metaphor; you’ve missed the point.”
Despite the competition, Depp ultimately landed the role; the rest is Iconic history.
