Johnny Depp earned a very comfortable paycheck for appearing in one of his earlier films, despite only saying 150 words.
In his time, Depp has starred as some undoubtedly sensational characters - he’s played the drunken pirate Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and the uncomfortable Willy Wonka in the 2005 reboot of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Elsewhere, he’s voiced Victor Van Dort in Time Burton’s Corpse Bride and also starred as the Mad Hatter in 2010’s Alice in Wonderland.
But it’s actually another Burton masterpiece that earned Depp perhaps one of his easiest paychecks to date.
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In 1990, Depp portrayed the enigmatic and enchanting title character Edward Scissorhands.
Edward is a synthetic outcast who is taken in by a suburban Avon salesperson (Dianne Wiest). While in her home, he falls in love with her teen daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder - Depp's then-girlfriend).
We won’t spoil any more it if you haven’t seen it - however, it isn’t the happiest of endings for our gentle hero.
The classic film is the first time that Burton and Depp collaborated, and is also the movie that cemented the ‘Burtonesque style’ the gothic director has become known for.
Since starring, Depp’s performance as Edward has been lauded as ‘awe-inspiring’ and ‘courageous’ by critics. However, he isn’t applauded because of his script-reading abilities.
In fact, throughout the whole of Edward Scissorhands, Depp only says 150 words.
And seeing as the movie grossed $86 million USD worldwide, Depp got paid a pretty fortune to star in a movie and say just under 200 words. Not a bad deal, right?
Of the character’s muteness, co-writer Caroline Thompson told Insider that Edward was written as 'just a pair of eyes in terms of emotion'.
She also applauded Depp’s portrayal of the difficult character, telling the publication that he 'delivered a beautiful, beautiful performance'.
In more recent news, Depp hasn’t starred in a movie since he won his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard last year.
However, he’s due to make his theatrical return in the forthcoming historical drama, Jeanne du Barry, marking his comeback to the big screen and his first acting credits since playing W. Eugene Smith in 2020’s Minamata.
Depp may also have another familiar film in the works. In February, Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Deadline that he believes Depp can ‘bounce back’ into Hollywood.
“He’s just so good at what he does and actors recover from things like this," Bruckheimer said.
“He’s a good individual and he’s a caring individual. He’s somebody that you can rely on and he’s just terrific.”
Last year, Bruckheimer told The Hollywood Reporter that he 'would love to have him in the [new Pirates of the Caribbean movie]'.
“He’s a friend, a terrific actor and it’s unfortunate that personal lives creep into everything we do.”
Topics: Johnny Depp, Celebrity, TV and Film
Ella Scott