In a surprising turn of events, Hollywood star Tom Cruise was once considered for the role of Edward Scissorhands before Johnny Depp took on the iconic character. However, Cruise refused to take on the role until all his queries were answered. Unable to clear his doubts, the Mission Impossible star eventually moved on and missed out on the opportunity to embody one of the most iconic roles in the history of cinema.
Why Did Tom Cruise Refuse to Work on Edward Scissorhands?
Edward Scissorhands isn’t a typical movie character, that’s for sure. Although the mystique and mystery surrounding the character intrigued people when they first saw Johnny Depp on screen, Tom Cruise couldn’t fathom how to deal with it all. Initially, when approached for the role, Cruise had some doubts that he would have liked to be cleared.
Unfortunately, for the character, that ambiguity was required to be left untouched. Someone who would understand the essence of the character would have to accept all its elements without proper reasoning. Thus, the reproducer and the screenplay writer of the movie, Caroline Thompson, revealed to Dazed Digital in 2015 stating,
“[Cruise] wanted to know how Edward went to the bathroom,—He was asking the kind of questions about the character that can’t be asked for this character! Part of the delicacy of the story was not answering questions like, ‘How does he go to the bathroom? How did he live without eating all those years?’ Tom Cruise was certainly unwilling to be in the movie without those questions being answered.”
The creators deliberately chose to keep questions like these open-ended, considering them as the forbidden territory. Ensuring the movie’s success hinged on the audience’s ability to set aside their logical reasoning and embrace ambiguity.
Johnny Depp Was Worried of Getting Fired on Set
Playing Edward Scissorhands wasn’t an easy task, even for the legendary Johnny Depp. Although he got along well with the entire cast and crew, he wasn’t initially satisfied with his performance. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Depp stated,
“I can remember when we were doing Scissorhands we were living in this sort of resort, some kind of country club thing, and there was a knock on the door one afternoon while everybody was off rehearsing, There were two young girls at the door and I thought, ‘Oh, they found me and maybe they want me to sign something, I don’t know.’ “
He then continued,
“So, I opened the door and said, ‘How do you do?’ and they said, ‘Hi. Is Tom Hanks here? Does he live here?’ I said, ‘What? No. Not yet.’ And I was convinced that Hanks would be replacing me. I was convinced. It was one of the most frightening moments in my career.”
After this hilarious incident, the actor was convinced Hanks was replacing him, but things worked out for him in the end. Now, the actor is synonymous with the role, thanks to his exceptional acting skills.
Edward Scissorhands is currently available on Max to stream.
