Tim Burton Initially Refused to Cast Helena Bonham Carter in This Film
Actor Helena Bonham Carter worked with her ex-husband Tim Burton on a number of films. But there was one movie where Burton wasn’t too keen on casting his former spouse like he did for other features.
Tim Burton wanted to work with actors other than Helena Bonham Carter for ‘Dark Shadows’
Burton and Carter collaborated frequently after meeting each other for Planet of the Apes. The 2001 sci-fi feature not only started the tradition of the pair working together. It also sparked a long relationship between the two. Some of the films they worked on since getting together were Sweeney Todd and Corpse Bride.
But 2012’s Dark Shadow was a feature that Burton was initially against casting Carter in. The movie was a more contemporary take on the television series of the same name, which Burton grew up a fan of. Carter was under the impression that she’d be playing the witch in the movie. But Burton would soon tell her that she might not have been in the film at all.
“It was kind of worrying when I read it, because there’s a sexy witch part. At the beginning of the film, before casting, Tim said, ‘I think we should take a break, because you get to work with all these other directors and I never get to work with other actors.’ I said, ‘Fine, absolutely understand it. Let’s just be grown-up about it,’” Carter once recalled to Interview.
But Carter would end up in Dark Shadows after all. However, Dark Shadows producer Dick Zanuck informed the actor that she’d be playing a character that was different than the witch she initially had in mind.
“So Dick comes up to me and says, ‘Have you read it?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, but [Tim Burton] doesn’t want me to be in it.’ He said, ‘No, no. You’re the doctor . . . ‘ I said, ‘Angélique, the sexy witch, right?’ He said, ‘No, not Angélique. You’re Dr. Hoffman.’ Doctor Hoffman! An alcoholic psychiatrist,” Carter remembered.
Helena Bonham Carter revealed what it was like working with Tim Burton on set
Carter might’ve known Burton better than most actors he’s worked with given their marriage. The Crown star asserted that working alongside Burton could be difficult due to the pressures that came with filmmaking. But she also enjoyed watching Burton when he was in his element.
‘He is very stressed. Directors are. The stress level—it’s a battle. I mean everything that can go wrong goes wrong. But then again, what’s great about working with Tim—when you’re involved with him—is that I get to see that on set, he’s having fun. But if I didn’t get to go on set, I’d think he was suicidal for six months,” she said.
She also quipped that watching him at work compensates for what he didn’t bring to the table while at home.
“It’s a really good thing. It’s very healthy to do, every so often. Because, otherwise . . . He can’t really cook, but he’s really good at film directing,” Carter said.
“And I think, ‘Oh, why do you work with him again?’ But it makes sense for me. I’ve got two children with the man. It doesn’t make any sense to be going around the other side of the world and doing some other thing,” she added.
Helena Bonham Carter felt working with Tim Burton made her cool
According to Carter, Burton might’ve also helped the actor’s public image. Much earlier in her career, Carter felt she was often painted as uncool by the media. But being with the Edward Scissorhands director changed that.
”Being called mystical is nice. But I think we have also had a hell of a lot of other things said about us like messy, badly dressed, that sort of thing. I remember they put me on a cover once and there was this whole article about how uncool and unhip I was,” she once said according to Contact Music. ”But that was before I met Tim. Obviously now he has showered me with coolness. Together we are the ‘slightly bonkers couple.’”
