Johnny Depp names the three major stars he beat to ‘Edward Scissorhands’ role
Even though he was already a known quantity at the time thanks to his role in a popular TV series, it’s not a stretch to suggest playing the lead in Edward Scissorhands was a pivotal moment for Johnny Depp in trying to steer as far away from his heartthrob image as possible.
Playing Tom Hanson in the first four seasons of undercover procedural 21 Jump Street turned him into a teen idol, but that wasn’t the career he envisioned for himself. In fact, the actor became so disenfranchised with the part that he convinced the producers to let him out of his contract.
That was just one of the reasons why 1990 was a make-or-break year for Depp, the other two being his first-ever leading role in a feature released in April of that year when he headlined John Waters’ Cry-Baby, with Edward Scissorhands premiering eight months later.
Burton’s romantic fantasy recouped its production budget four times over at the box office, became an instant cult favourite, and landed Depp on the shortlist at the Golden Globes for ‘Best Actor – Musical or Comedy’, but he was far from the only person in the running for the title role.
Per People, Depp informed Tara Wood that not only was Michael Jackson interested in the role, but so was Tom Hanks. However, the producers favoured Tom Cruise above all others, with the Pirates of the Caribbean frontman admitting the latter “was not far away from actually playing Edward Scissorhands.”
Depp was always at the forefront of Burton’s thinking, but Cruise was inarguably a bigger draw and more recognisable star, even if he ultimately did a stellar job of blowing his own chances when he kept asking about the mechanics of the character, specifically how on earth Edward was able to go to the bathroom given his signature appendages.
The star recalled thinking that his soon-to-be regular collaborator was “never going to cast me when everyone in Hollywood is after the part,” a not-unreasonable assumption when Gary Oldman turned it down, while various other names under consideration, including Robert Downey Jr, John Cusack, and Jim Carrey.
Casting Edward Scissorhands was a long and arduous process that drew many more names than Depp into its orbit, but looking at the performance he gave and the praise the film received, it’s impossible to imagine anybody else bringing the character to life in quite the same way.
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed Depp is set to star in Terry Gilliam’s new movie, The Carnival at the End of Days. The duo first worked together in 1998 on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, with the actor playing Raoul Duke, a fictionalised version of Hunter S. Thompson. They reunited again for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in 2009.
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