Lily-Rose Depp’s Childhood Trauma: Edward Scissorhands and the Cruelty of Kindness
Lily-Rose Depp, while forging her own successful acting career separate from her father Johnny Depp’s legacy, recently revealed a surprising childhood memory. At the age of three, a viewing of her father’s 1990 film *Edward Scissorhands* left a lasting impact, not because of fear, but because of empathy.
Specifically, the scene depicting Edward’s rejection by the community he had served deeply affected the young Lily-Rose. She recalled feeling “traumatized” by the cruelty shown towards Edward, emphasizing that her distress stemmed not from finding the character scary, but from witnessing the unfair treatment he endured. This early exposure to the film’s themes resonated deeply, leaving a lasting, if unusual, childhood memory. “I remember being petrified by that, which is weird, because I don’t have many memories from when I was that young…It’s a difficult childhood memory,” she shared with *Harper’s Bazaar*.
This experience sparked an unexpected comparison for Depp, who linked Edward’s plight to that of Count Orlok in *Nosferatu*. While acknowledging Edward’s inherently good nature and Orlok’s villainous role, she admitted to feeling a degree of empathy for the latter, questioning whether this perspective was unusual.
The interview also touched upon the enduring partnership between her father and director Tim Burton, a collaboration that began with *Edward Scissorhands*. Depp noted potential parallels between her own career path and her father’s, acknowledging the influence of her environment while emphasizing their distinct acting styles.
Despite both appearing in Kevin Smith’s *Tusk* and *Yoga Hosers*, a father-daughter onscreen pairing remains elusive. Until then, fans can revisit *Nosferatu* or continue hoping for Johnny Depp’s return to the *Pirates of the Caribbean* franchise.