Sweeney Todd: the most mortifying role of Johnny Depp’s career
Few actors have enjoyed a career as varied as Johnny Depp. From cult films and gothic romances to blockbusters, animated classics, and his fair share of flops, Depp’s filmography is as eclectic as it is expansive. Despite the fluctuating nature of audience reactions, he has remained steadfast, charting his own course and defying the weight of expectation.
While Depp’s cultural value has undoubtedly diminished over the past few years, he cannot be faulted for professionally refusing to be pigeonholed—despite the claims of always playing himself—and pushing himself into new realms.
While a master at playing colourful madcap characters, such as Raoul Duke – the fictional version of Hunter S Thompson – in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka, he’s also delivered many performances outside of this area. These include George Jung in Blow and even mobster Whitey Bulger in Black Mass. It’s because of such a willingness to shake things up and his general success in doing so that he’s deemed one of his generation’s most accomplished actors.
This spirit has also seen Depp try his hand at musicals, a format that many contemporary actors would spurn for evident reasons. Although many actors are taught how to sing in drama school, due to the format’s outlandish and wholly unbelievable trappings, which appear as a vestige of a bygone era, many now prefer to ignore it. In contrast, during the golden era of cinema, it was the only route to the top of Hollywood, the breeding ground of stars. There would be no Orson Welles without it.
Depp’s first full foray into the musical came in the form of Tim Burton’s 2007 adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s stage musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The film tells the melodramatic tale of the titular Victorian barber and serial killer, whom Depp plays. An acclaimed moment, it is often overlooked in Depp and Burton’s oeuvres, which is probably to do with the format.
It might have been a success, but when speaking to IGN in 2008, Depp revealed that playing Sweeney Todd was the most “mortifying” role of his career, as he was petrified of singing in public.
“I actually did do a musical many years ago with John Waters called Cry-Baby, but technically, it was only half me – it wasn’t me singing. Tim’s the only person brave enough to actually let me try to sing,” he explained. “It was the first time I’d ever sung – I’d never even sung in the shower; I’m too mortified. But once I got over the initial fear, it was kind of enjoyable. Sondheim’s melodies and lyrics are a real pleasure to tromp around in; it’s really beautiful stuff. Would I ever do it again? No, I doubt it.”
Depp recalled that when he and Burton had their first conversations about making Sweeney Todd, they agreed that half of the job would be done before they’d even stepped on to the set, with the songs already recorded in a studio. All it would take was for him to lip-sync. However, it didn’t turn out that way.
It soon became clear that the only way to make the songs authentic was for the actors to “belt it out again” on set. He described this as “extremely mortifying” due to the close proximity to everyone else, which made him feel “like an idiot” for bursting into song while they stood there. Things took an unexpected turn, though, and it became oddly liberating for Depp to sing in front of people, which had long been his worst nightmare.
