Was Michael Jackson almost Edward Scissorhands? Johnny Depp claims he beat him to the role

11 June 2024, 13:41

Depp claims the King of Pop was in talks for the famous role in 1990.

Michael Jackson was once in the running to play Edward Scissorhands in Tim Burton's 1990 movie, Johnny Depp has claimed.

The actor, 61, said the King of Pop had contacted Tim Burton about playing the role, before Johnny Depp was ultimately awarded the part.

• Michael Jackson: Jon Bon Jovi recalls his bizarre first meeting with the King of Pop
• The moment Michael Jackson did his first moonwalk on TV and changed music history forever
• Michael Jackson biopic: Jaafar Jackson is the spitting image of the King of Pop in first photo

Speaking about the movie, Johnny added that Tom Hanks and even Tom Cruise almost got the part, adding Cruise: “was not far away from actually playing Edward Scissorhands — true story."

In an interview for a yet-unnamed docuseries about the career of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp recalls feeling "pigeonholed" as a teen idol from 21 Jump Street and that he "had to fight it".

Desperate to be cast in John Waters’ 1990 classic Cry Baby, Depp claims that during his time on 21 Jump Street, he "was probably doing my best for probably the last two years to get fired…"

• When Johnny Depp starred in stunning sign language video for Paul McCartney's beautiful 'My Valentine'
• Rare footage of Michael Jackson practising iconic 'Billie Jean' routine in 1983 is incredible
• Michael Jackson's best albums ever, ranked in order of greatness

Adding: "I knew how important the choice to make Cry-Baby with John Waters was, which gave me the opportunity to make fun of this arena I’d been placed in."

After landing the lead in Cry-Baby, Depp laid his sights on Caroline Thompson’s script for Edward Scissorhands, saying that playing the title role in the movie felt like where he needed to be.

The role "passed through everything, anything, solid and went to the very core of whatever I am," Depp said.

"The writing was beautiful. The character was beautiful. What I suppose [attracted] me emotionally was that Edward was me. It’s exactly what I should be doing."

• Johnny Depp brings back Captain Jack Sparrow for terminally ill British boy
• Michael Jackson's mind-blowing last performance 48 hours before his death
• 'Whatzupwitu': When Michael Jackson teamed up with Eddie Murphy on ill-fated forgotten song

Depp's agent set him up for an audition with Tim Burton, who fresh off his success with 1988's Beetlejuice, had a host of A-listers – including Michael Jackson – vying for the part.

"He’s never going to cast me when everyone in Hollywood is after the part," Depp recalls thinking.

MJ the Musical: Michael Jackson star Myles Frost teaches us how to moonwalk!

"Tim’s really juggling because he’s getting hit by his agent, the studio, everybody. So I called my agent after reading the script and said, 'Please cancel the meeting, I’m not going.' She said, 'Are you f---ing nuts?'"

Depp said he "finally gave in" and met with Burton, landing himself not only the lead role in Edward Scissorhands, but continued to be a muse for Burton for many years to come.

Tim Burton films starring Depp in the lead role include 1994's Ed Wood, 1999's Sleepy Hollow, 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and 2007's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Luckily for Depp, beating Michael Jackson to the role cemented his position as Hollywood royalty.