Q&A with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton

Q: What drew you to Sweeney Todd?

TIM BURTON: I was actually involved with this about 10 years ago, maybe even longer. I liked the story and the drama and emotion of it. But then it went away. I always think there’s a weird subconscious reason for everything. Recently, weirdly, I looked at a drawing I did and realised that it looked like Johnny. And I just thought, “Wow!” And then I don’t know how many years ago …

JOHNNY DEPP: Five, six years ago, I guess …

TB: I sent him the CD [of the musical]. And then Johnny was like,“Great, great, great.” And everybody was, “Yeah, great.” And then it was, “Um, can he sing?” Nobody knew. I didn’t know. That’s the joke of the whole thing and in a way, that’s the surreal nature of Hollywood. You have to love it for that because on paper it’s like the worst idea of all time (laughs).

Q: Johnny, there’s a whole mythology around the character, about whether he was based on someone real. Did you use any of that?

JD: I read all that stuff and there was part of me that wanted him to be a real guy. But it’s not the case. And, essentially, you read all of that stuff so you can throw it away, so you can be aware of it and toss it. Basically, the character came from conversations with Tim.

TB: He is the old horror-movie actor.

JD: These horror-movie actors kept coming to mind, these iconic figures, and that’s where Sweeney Todd lives.

TB: You see Peter Lorre in Mad Love or Boris Karloff or Lon Chaney, all those old classic monsters … it’s an image and we just felt like that was what this character is about. You could see him in a wax museum. It’s a certain look, a certain feel, and it’s always exciting.

Q: Johnny, when Tim first mentioned the prospect of singing on film to you, did you get the idea immediately?

JD: Oh, yeah! But I didn’t know if I was going to be able to actually sing. I wasn’t sure.

TB: I haven’t got a huge knowledge of musicals, but I do know that this is a very hard musical and what I love about it is the fact that Johnny and everybody in it isn’t a singer. There’s one actress who is a singer, but nobody else has sung in their lives.

JD: (Laughing) It’s going to be great!

TB: I think it brings an interesting tone to it.

JD: Everybody was great — Helena [Bonham Carter] was unbelievable, Sacha [Baron Cohen] was great. He can sing.

TB: Alan Rickman — great ... It’s exciting to hear a duet between Johnny and Alan Rickman. It’s just surreal. I mean, who would ever think about that?

JD: And it’s also really cool because Alan and I did a duet before we ever met!

Q: So you recorded the music first so that you had it to play back on set?

TB: Yeah, and that was an aspect of it that was really fun. It was like making a silent movie and having music on the set. It was fascinating for me to watch the actors ... You just move differently when you are hearing music. I would consider doing it even when I wasn’t making a musical now, because it’s fascinating.

Q: Johnny, did you sing along with yourself again when you were doing a take?

JD: Unfortunately, yes (laughs).

Q: How extensive was Stephen Sondheim’s involvement in the film?

TB: He’s a really smart, talented person and he’s been very respectful of the process. Like me, he loved the idea of Johnny but he had never heard him sing. I think he’s a movie fan, so I think he understands that there’s a difference between what you might do on stage versus a movie.

Q: Sweeney Todd is a very dark character, to state the obvious, but there’s also humour and pathos to him, isn’t there?

JD: He’s misunderstood (laughs).

TB: It’s a tragic love story.

JD: He’s actually horribly misunderstood because really he’s a very sweet guy.

TB: He’s a damaged individual.

JD: He’s basically been dead since his life was taken away from him all those years before.

TB: : He’s Dead Man Walking …

JD: It’s the only reason he has continued breathing, to wreak vengeance!

TB: There’s something very real about it, too. Obviously, it’s fantasy and he looks strange and all of that, but what I love about it is there’s something very primal and just real about the character.


*The Times*