If I Had a Dollar for Every Time Johnny Depp Was in a Tim Burton Movie…

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Ignacio Weil

Entertainment - October 3rd 2025, 20:00 GMT+2

Cropped johnny depp Alice Through the Looking Glass 2016 — Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) – Mad Hatter

The Mad Hatter returns for another spin through Wonderland, but this time Tim Burton stepped back into a producer role instead of directing. That didn’t stop Depp from pouring every ounce of whimsy and melancholy into his tea-soaked, hat-tossing performance. He plays the Hatter like a character caught between a fairytale and a nervous breakdown, which, honestly, feels about right. With time itself becoming the villain, the movie leans heavily into kaleidoscopic visuals and chaotic spectacle. Love it or side-eye it, it still feels like part of the Depp–Burton family tree, even if Burton was technically just behind the curtain. | © Walt Disney Pictures

Cropped johnny depp Dark Shadows 2012 — Dark Shadows (2012) – Barnabas Collins

Imagine waking up after two hundred years underground only to find disco balls and polyester waiting for you – Barnabas Collins did not sign up for that. Depp leans into the melodrama with pale cheeks, sharp fangs, and a voice that sounds like it escaped a gothic soap opera. The film itself is a carnival of witches, curses, and family dysfunction, all wrapped in Burton’s love for the macabre. Barnabas is tragic one minute and absurd the next, sipping blood in the least subtle way possible. It’s campy, it’s creepy, and it’s very much Depp living his best undead life. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

Cropped johnny depp Alice in Wonderland 2010 — Alice in Wonderland (2010) – Mad Hatter

Burton’s first dive into Wonderland gave us a Mad Hatter with orange hair, mismatched eyes, and a flair for dramatic monologues. Depp plays him as if sadness and silliness had a tea party and decided never to leave. One second he’s whispering with brokenhearted intensity, the next he’s breaking into a bizarre jig. The film’s CGI world is chaotic, but the Hatter manages to stand out as its emotional anchor. Love him or loathe him, Depp makes the Hatter unforgettable, and honestly, who else could have pulled it off with that much weird sincerity? | © Walt Disney Pictures

Cropped johnny depp Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2007 — Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) – Sweeney Todd

London has never looked darker than in Burton’s tale of a barber with revenge in his heart and a razor in his hand. Depp prowls through the soot and shadows with a voice that cuts almost as sharply as his blades. Every song feels like an open wound, raw and brimming with fury. His partnership with Mrs. Lovett turns murder into a grotesque business plan, equal parts horrifying and absurd. The result is a musical drenched in blood, grief, and Burton’s unmistakable gothic flair. | © DreamWorks Pictures

Cropped johnny depp Corpse Bride 2005 — Corpse Bride (2005) – Victor Van Dort

Stop-motion meets gothic romance, and Depp provides the nervous stammers of Victor Van Dort, a groom who accidentally marries the dead. His voice acting gives Victor a sweet awkwardness that makes his supernatural dilemma oddly relatable. Between skeleton bands and candlelit ballrooms, the story manages to be both eerie and tender. Burton’s handcrafted visuals give every frame a textured beauty that CGI just can’t match. It’s darkly funny, faintly tragic, and unmistakably part of the Burton–Depp universe. | © Laika Entertainment

Cropped johnny depp Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 2005 — Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Willy Wonka

Stepping into Burton’s chocolate dream feels like wandering through a sugar-coated fever dream, and Depp’s Wonka only adds to the strangeness. With a pageboy haircut and an unsettling smile, his take on the chocolatier is more reclusive rock star than kindly candy man. The children’s disasters are as colorful as the factory itself, each one swallowed up by Wonka’s dark sense of justice. Depp keeps him teetering between genius and unnerving oddball, the kind of host who makes you laugh and squirm at the same time. It’s a twisted spin on Dahl, but undeniably Burton in every swirl of candy glass. | © Village Roadshow Pictures

Cropped johnny depp Sleepy Hollow 1999 — Sleepy Hollow (1999) – Ichabod Crane

Fog-drenched woods, a galloping horse without a head, and Depp’s jittery Ichabod stumbling through it all – it’s pure Burton gothic. This Ichabod isn’t fearless; he faints, panics, and winces his way through the mystery, which only makes him more human. Every autopsy, gadget, and notebook sketch reminds you he’s desperate to explain the unexplainable. The visuals are drenched in black and silver, as if the whole town has been dipped in moonlight. What emerges is a ghost story that’s equal parts chilling and oddly funny in its awkwardness. | © Paramount Pictures

Cropped johnny depp Ed Wood 1994 — Ed Wood (1994) – Ed Wood

Optimism practically bursts out of Depp’s Ed Wood, even when his films are collapsing around him. He charges through Hollywood with wild ideas, angora sweaters, and boundless enthusiasm, convinced every flop is actually brilliance. Burton treats the story like a love letter to misfits, embracing Wood’s flaws as proof of his devotion to cinema. The black-and-white photography pulls you straight into 1950s B-movie energy, campy yet heartfelt. It’s silly, touching, and a reminder that failure can still leave a legacy. | © Touchstone Pictures

Cropped johnny depp Edward Scissorhands — Edward Scissorhands (1990) – Edward Scissorhands

A gothic castle looms over pastel suburbia, and out of it steps Edward, scissors for hands and innocence in his eyes. Depp turns him into a living poem – awkward, tender, and heartbreakingly misunderstood. The neighborhood’s curiosity curdles into fear, leaving Edward caught between wonder and rejection. Burton paints the contrast vividly: hedge sculptures and ice carvings versus angry mobs with torches. It’s both fairy tale and tragedy, the kind of story that lingers long after the credits fade. | © Twentieth Century Fox

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Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are one of Hollywood’s most iconic actor-director duos. From gothic fairy tales to quirky comedies, their collaborations have left an unmistakable mark on modern cinema. Over the years, Burton has cast Depp in a string of unforgettable roles – often eccentric, sometimes dark, but always memorable. Whether it’s the scissor-handed outcast, the peculiar chocolatier, or the mad hatter himself, Depp has become a staple in Burton’s unique storytelling style.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at just how often Johnny Depp has appeared in Tim Burton movies, why their creative partnership works so well, and which performances stand out the most. But of course, they are not the only famous director/actor duo...