Lily-Rose Depp claims watching father Johnny Depp's Edward Scissorhands was a "difficult childhood memory" that left her traumatized

Lily-Rose Depp recently opened up about being "traumatized" after her father Johnny Depp played the titular role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). During an interview with Harper's Bazaar UK on Thursday, January 2, 2024, she said that how people reacted to Edward in the film left a lasting impact on her.

She shared that the movie's ending, where townspeople chased him away, was one of the difficult memories from her childhood. Lily mentioned:

"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."

While Edward's humanoid appearance, wild hair, and scissors for hands would scare most of the kids at the time, the younger Depp revealed that her fear was because of an entirely different reason. She explained that her parents allowed her to watch the Tim Burton-directed film when she was three years old, then explained her trauma from his father's character in the movie, saying:

"I was traumatized by it. Not because I thought he was scary, but because everyone was being so mean to him and I got really upset."

Lily-Rose Depp went on to compare Johnny Depp's Edward Scissorhands to the iconic vampire Count Orlok, played by Bill Skarsgård, in her latest film Nosferatu. She said that they are opposite of each other—Edward being a good guy, while Count Orlok is a bad one—but admitted that she felt "a little bit of empathy" for the vampire character.

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Lily-Rose Depp says she's drawn to darker, deeper characters as an actress

Elsewhere in her interview with Harper's Bazaar UK, Lily-Rose Depp shared her penchant for complex and darker characters as an actress. She was asked if the fascination for supernatural and gore runs in the family since Johnny Depp has had a long partnership with Tim Burton for Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd, and The Corpse Bride. She responded:

"Sure, I guess you could say so. We're very different actors, but of course you're the product of your environment, and it's a world I've always been very interested in."

Lily further explained her enjoyment in exploring her gothic instincts, saying:

"I'm interested in the darker underbelly of things. As an actor, you hope that your role will be as meaty as can be, so you have as much to dive into as possible."

Speaking of gothic and dark projects, Lily-Rose Depp mentioned that Nosferatu fit the bill. Talking about the film, Depp stated:

"[It] was banned in some countries because people found it so scary. Which is really cool."

She added that when she first finished watching the movie, she was ecstatic that it got the job done—make people feel something, even if it's a feeling of disgust. Lily-Rose Depp said this about her reaction after seeing the film:

"Oh my God! It's not just scary, it's gross, it's revolting. It's palpably effective."

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Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter in Robert Eggers-directed film Nosferatu that hit theaters on December 25, 2024. Ellen is a married woman who becomes the center of Count Orlo's infatuation. He gets obsessed with tasting Ellen's blood and their connection is an integral part of the movie.