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Since his debut as an actor back in 1984 withA Nightmare on Elm Street, Johnny Depp has come a long way to become one of the most reputed and truly successful celebrities in the entertainment industry. Although he is now regarded as one of the highest-paid actors of all time, that wasn’t always the case, especially when he was in his late 20s.
However, everything changed as soon as he bagged the role of Edward in Tim Burton’s 1990 masterpieceEdward Scissorhands, for which he got paid $14,889 for every word he spoke in the film. Not only this, but that was also the time when Johnny Depp beat Tom Cruise to bag the role at the age of 27!
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Johnny Depp Earned A Whopping $14,889 Per Word ForEdwards Scissorhands (1990)
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While Johnny Depp is used to huge paydays like the $90 million per piece he earned for his five films from thePirates of the Caribbeanmovie series now that he has become incredibly famous, his starting paychecks weren’t that great–especially when he was a 27-year-old struggling actor.
But then cameTim Burton‘sEdward Scissorhandson his hands. In this, he played a humanoid named Edward, who had giant scissor blades for his hands. After his creator disowns him, he gets adopted by a suburban family, from where he starts to experience human emotions like love and care for other human beings all the while struggling to come to terms with his own true condition.
For this film, which is regarded as one of the greatest movies under theCharlie and the Chocolate Factorystar’s belt, Depp earned a whopping $14,889 for every word that he spoke on-screen, totaling which results in a stunning $3 million payday for the incredible actor.
Although this is an absolutely blown-out figure as compared toJohnny Depp‘s other following works and their paychecks, like his $66,606 per word for Burton’sAlice in Wonderlandwhich resulted in a total earnings of around $44 million, that figure still ranks as a huge one for someone who had barely been in the industry.
Also Read:“What do you need more for?”: Johnny Depp Claimed He Couldn’t Wait to ‘Getting Old’ After Bashing A-Listers for Ruining Hollywood
Johnny Depp Beat Tom Cruise To BagEdward Scissorhands
Though Johnny Depp ended up bagging the superhit film later, the studio’s initial choice for playing Edwards inEdward ScissorhandswasTom Cruise. Even though this went against the filmmaker’s wishes, who wantedThe Touristactor right from the beginning, Tim Burton still went ahead to discuss with theMission: Impossibleactor the prospect of the film.
That’s where everything went wrong. During that meeting, Cruise asked some really incessant questions regarding the logistics of the story, like how Edward must eat his food if his hands are made of giant scissor blades, which was completely unrelated to the plot of the film.
If that wasn’t enough, theTop Gunactor further wanted the director to change the melancholic ending of the story to a happier one. That was a big turnoff for Burton since he felt that Tom Cruise fundamentally misunderstood the delicacy of the subject and the essence of the tragic story of Edward Scissorhands.
In comparison, Tim Burton felt that Johnny Depp, on the other hand, would do a better job in developing the character through his sensibility of Edward and the similar sense of humor that he shared with him. Thus, theJeane du Barryactor was brought in, andEdward Scissorhandsended up becoming an impeccable masterpiece loved by fans worldwide.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
