For a while there, it felt like director Tim Burton simply wouldn’t make a movie without Johnny Depp’s involvement. The collaboration between the two has been going on for more than 22 years, and apparently, it’s because the two share a similar trait.
Burton recently sat down with Deadline and talked about why he feels such a kinship with the actor. The two first collaborated on the cult classic Edward Scissorhands in 1990 and made seven more movies together after that, including Ed Wood, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sleepy Hollow, Alice in Wonderland, and Dark Shadows.
Dark Shadows came out in 2012 and marked the last collaboration between the two – so far.
Burton said he simply vibed with Depp and that was that.
“I first met him when I did Edward Scissorhands. He was a bit similar to me, kind of suburban, white trash, whatever – we connected on some kind of level.” When you have that kind of connection with someone, you just go with it, the director explained.
“It wasn’t even a verbal understanding, it was just somebody I could feel liked to do characters, who was interested in acting for the art of it and not so much for the business of it. He was somebody who would play Scissorhands or Edward [in Edward Wood] and all these different things.”
It’s Depp’s acting ability that really sold Burton, who said he appreciated the actor’s range.
“That’s always exciting to see someone play different things rather than being one thing from one film to another and his transformation from film to film has always excited me.”
Of course, Depp and Burton’s collaborative partnership dried up around the time Depp of Depp’s divorce from Amber Heard, but since he has loyal fans sticking with him after the trial, anything is possible. In fact, some fans wanted Depp to play Gomez in the Burton Addams Family remake, Wednesday, but that went to Luis Gomez.
We’ll keep you posted on any developments between Depp and Burton.