Summary Tim Burton’s unique style and close relationships with actors result in extraordinary performances and completely original films.
Deep Roy’s role as the Oompa Loompas in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” showcased his talent after years of minor roles.
Helena Bonham Carter’s collaboration with Burton, particularly as Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd,” stands out as some of her best work.
Tim Burton is an outstanding director capable of getting the best performances out of his actors and crafting beautifully unique stories. Burton is known for his dark gothic style, which is combined with quirky and bizarre imagery that enriches the story and combines to create something completely unique and original with each new release. Burton also cultivates incredibly close relationships with the actors he works with that result in them coming back and working with him on many other projects through the years.
This ability to connect with his actors and develop trust and friendship can also lead to the actors delivering some of their absolute best work under his guiding hand. Burton has a knack for sharing his vision with his performers and helping them to take an idea to its absolute extreme to become a fully realized and layered performance. In addition, the stories he creates also allow the actors space to explore unique and dynamic performances that they don’t usually get to experience in more typical films, which all combine to create something spectacular.
8 Deep Roy As The Oompa Loompas
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory In this movie based on the Roald Dahl novel, Charlie Bucket’s life changes forever when he finds a Golden Ticket, allowing him to tour the famous Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory along with four other contest winners.
Deep Roy was an actor in Hollywood for many decades before he worked on Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005. At 17, he began to pick up acting credits for TV and film, and went on to quickly land roles in much larger projects like Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back and Flash Gordon, but many of these performances were uncredited, or very minor. While Deep Roy continued to get a lot of work in Hollywood, he never got to shine in a role until he was cast as the Oompa Loompa’s for Burton’s modern retelling.
7 Helena Bonham Carter As Mrs. Lovett
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2007)
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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd is a musical horror movie based on the stage play of the same name. Johnny Depp stars as the titular barber, who teams up with baker Nellie Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) to seek revenge against those who wronged him. The cast also includes Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton were romantic partners for many years, as well as collaborators on Burton’s films, where Carter would frequently be cast in a leading role. In 2007, halfway through Burton and Carter’s marriage, the couple worked together with Johnny Depp to create the incredible film adaptation of the stage show, Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. Carter has had dozens of incredible roles over her career, but playing Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd certainly stands out as one of her very best. The character is complex, conflicted, and completely in love with Mr. Todd.
Related All 7 Tim Burton Movies Based On Books, Ranked Several of eccentric film director Tim Burton’s movies were based on books, this is a run-through of all of them, ranked from worst to best.
6 Danny DeVito As The Penguin
Batman Returns (1992)
Batman Returns Batman Returns sees the return of Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne after his victory over the Joker. This time, the Dark Knight faces a new threat in the form of The Penguin, an outcast who wants revenge on Gotham City. Featuring Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot, Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman, and Christopher Walken as Max Schreck, Batman Returns is Tim Burton’s second and final movie based on the iconic DC comics character.
Danny DeVito is a talented actor who falls into a pattern of playing mostly comedy roles, but he is much more versatile and capable than these roles may show. DeVito also has a serious talent for playing a twisted villain with a dark and grotesque side, who is willing to selfishly harm others for his own gain. In Burton’s Batman Returns, DeVito plays Penguin, a man who grew up without parents and was taken in and raised by circus animals. The character is dark and twisted, and full of anger and frustration, which DeVito delivers perfectly.
5 Ewan McGregor As Edward Bloom
Big Fish (2003)
Ewan McGregor has appeared in many impressive films, but the spectacle that is Big Fish stands out as one of his absolute best. McGregor plays the young Ed Bloom, who lives out the experiences that are being recounted while the older Edward Bloom lies on his deathbed. The story is grandiose and fantastical, and it’s full of imaginative beauty and symbolism, which is reflected in the performances by McGregor as the leading man. McGregor gets to run wild and play a character that is exceptional in many ways, as he explores life and makes a name for himself.
4 Paul Reubens As Pee-Wee Herman
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
Paul Reubens became famous for one major role, which he then played in multiple sequels, as Pee-wee Herman. However, while Reubens had a clearly defined vision for the character and wrote the story, Burton’s work as the director of the first movie, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, brought the project from an SNL sketch caricature to a fully fleshed-out movie with an entire imaginative world to be explored. Pee-wee is incredibly unique, and it required a unique touch from a visionary director to fully realize its potential in a film that had just as much character as Pee-wee.
3 Chris Sarandon & Danny Elfman As Jack Skellington
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
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The Nightmare Before Christmas Henry Selick directs The Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion fairytale from the mind of Tim Burton. Jack Skellington is the king of Halloween and one of Halloweentown’s most beloved citizens, but he longs for something more. When he stumbles across a magical door that leads him to discover Christmas, he makes it his mission to replace Santa Claus and bring festive cheer to his perpetually spooky hamlet.
Jack Skellington is, without question, one of the most iconic characters in any Burton film, and that is largely down to the performance of the two actors who voiced him. Chris Sarandon became the spoken voice of Jack, while the composer, Danny Elfman, became his singing voice. Tim Burton was not the director of the film, but as the writer and originator of the concept, he did have significant involvement and was able to impart his influence to Elfman in recording the songs. Together, Sarandon and Elfman perfectly capture the Pumpkin King in this iconic role.
Related 9 Movies That People Mistakenly Think Tim Burton Directed Tim Burton has one of the most distinctive styles of any major Hollywood filmmaker, and these movies are often mistaken as part of his filmography.
2 Michael Keaton As Betelgeuse
Beetlejuice (1988)
Beetlejuice Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Douglas as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
Beetlejuice is one of Burton’s most popular films, which is set to receive a sequel where Michael Keaton will return as the powerful Betelgeuse. Michael Keaton is incredible in this role as he completely embodies the poltergeist and is unrecognizable from his more grounded roles. Between the gruff voice, physical acting, and how convincingly he plays the character, the performance is transformative. Even if the make-up was removed, Keaton’s acting would still provide a scary, unsettling performance that was perfect for the character and inspired a musical.
1 Johnny Depp As Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
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Edward Scissorhands From director Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands follows the titular character, an artificial human created by an inventor, who has scissor blades instead of fingers. After his creator’s death, Edward is taken in by a normal suburban family and becomes attracted to the family’s teenage daughter, Kim Boggs. Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder star as Edward and Kim.
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton have had an incredible partnership over the many decades of working together. Burton regularly casts Depp as the star of his films, and they appear to possess similar styles and senses of humor. Depp is an incredible actor, capable of transforming himself for different roles, while Burton creates wildly imaginative characters. As a result, the pair have created incredible films together, with one stand out being Edward Scissorhands. Despite Edward being largely mute and on the edge of humanity, Depp’s performance and Tim Burton’s vision create one of the most powerful films from them both.