Gary Oldman Almost Played This Iconic '90s Movie Role

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Gary Oldman Almost Played This Iconic '90s Movie Role originally appeared on Parade.

British actor Gary Oldman is prolific—there's no question about it. With hit films under his belt like Sid & Nancy, JFK, and Dracula, he's one of the highest grossing actors of all time. For the last few years, Oldman has starred in the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses.

But in a new interview, Oldman revealed that he was considered for the starring role in an iconic '90s film.

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Oldman told The Hollywood Reporter that he was on the short list for the titular role in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. "My agent thought I had a really good chance of getting it..." the Air Force One star said. "They sent the script over, and I basically said, 'I don’t get it.'" Honestly, totally valid response.

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"You have to remember at this point in time you’re not looking at Tim Burton’s whole body of work," Oldman went on to explain. Context, after all, is always key. "I read this quirky, strange little script, and I didn’t get it."

So Oldman passed on the role, which, of course, ended up going to Johnny Depp. But once The Fifth Element star saw the movie in theaters, the light bulb went off over his head. "With that opening shot — all those brightly colored houses, and then the camera pans up to the castle-like thing on the hill — within two minutes I went, 'I get it!'"

It's interesting to think about how it would have altered the course of history if Oldman played Edward Scissorhands instead of Depp. It was the film that kicked off Depp and Burton's longstanding working relationship. Would we have ever gotten Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Or would they all have starred Oldman?

Gary Oldman Almost Played This Iconic '90s Movie Role first appeared on Parade on Aug 18, 2025

This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 18, 2025, where it first appeared.