This December marks the 35th anniversary of one of the most peculiar movies ever made. Tim Burton’s Gothic romantic fantasy film, “Edward Scissorhands,” was released on December 7, 1990, earning modest financial success and huge critical acclaim.
There’s a debate around whether or not it’s a Christmas movie, but it certainly has some festive scenes. That, combined with its release date, and it’s perfect for talking about at this time of year.
With that in mind, what better time to take a look at how the core cast looked then, compared to how they look in their most recent photographs? Let’s take a look at the “Edward Scissorhands” cast then and now…
Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands)
27-year-old Johnny Depp led the cast of “Edward Scissorhands” as the titular unfinished artificial humanoid. Depp had been acting for around six years at the time of the movie’s release, and it was only his fifth theatrical credit.
GettyPer IMDb, the majority of Depp’s early career had been spent as a television actor, with 80 episodes of “21 Jump Street” to his name (he played Officer Tom Hanson in the popular police procedural drama series).
The only movies he’d been in were 1984’s supernatural slasher “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” 1985’s adventure comedy “Private Resort,” 1986’s gritty war film “Platoon,” and 1990’s teen musical rom-com “Cry-Baby.”
Now 62, Depp has long been one of the biggest draws in Hollywood, with a plethora of blockbuster films to his name.
Some of his notable movie credits include 1993’s coming-of-age drama “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” 1997’s crime drama “Donnie Brasco,” 1998’s black comedy adventure flick “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” 1999’s Gothic horror “Sleepy Hollow,” all five installments in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise (2003-2017), 2005’s musical fantasy movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” 2007’s Gothic musical slasher “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” 2010’s Gothic dark fantasy adventure “Alice in Wonderland,” 2013’s Western action film “The Lone Ranger,” 2018’s animated mystery comedy “Sherlock Gnomes,” and 2018’s fantasy adventure “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.”
GettyWinona Ryder (Kim Boggs)
Winona Ryder was just 19 when “Edward Scissorhands” released. In the movie, she played Kim Boggs, the teenage girl with whom Edward falls in love.
GettyDespite her young age, Ryder had already appeared in seven films before “Edward Scissorhands” — most of which were highly memorable. Per IMDb, they were 1986’s coming-of-age romantic sports movie “Lucas,” 1987’s coming-of-age drama “Square Dance,” 1988’s Gothic comedy horror “Beetlejuice,” 1988’s drama movie “1969,” 1989’s satirical teen black comedy crime movie “Heathers,” 1989’s biographical drama “Great Balls of Fire!,” and 1990’s comedy-drama “Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael.”
Ryder is now 54 and is currently best known to modern audiences for playing Joyce Byers in Netflix’s brilliant horror mystery series “Stranger Things.”
However, she’s added significantly to her movie filmography since her turn in “Edward Scissorhands.” Her notable credits now include 1990’s family comedy-drama “Mermaids,” 1992’s Gothic horror “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” 1994’s coming-of-age historical drama “Little Women,” 1997’s sci-fi horror “Alien Resurrection,” 1999’s biographical drama “Girl, Interrupted,” 2002’s comedy movie “Mr. Deeds,” 2006’s animated sci-fi thriller “A Scanner Darkly,” 2010’s psychological horror thriller “Black Swan,” and 2024’s horror comedy sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
GettyDianne Wiest (Peg Boggs)
Dianne Wiest was 42 when she played Peg Boggs, a door-to-door Avon saleswoman and Kim’s mother, in “Edward Scissorhands.” In the film, it’s Peg who discovers Edward living alone in a decrepit Gothic mansion and brings him to suburbia.
At the time, Wiest had a successful career in film, television, and on stage behind her. Her most notable movie credits back then included 1984’s musical drama “Footloose,” 1986’s comedy-drama “Hannah and Her Sisters,” 1987’s horror comedy “The Lost Boys,” 1988’s drama film “Bright Lights, Big City,” and 1989’s coming-of-age comedy-drama “Parenthood.” (per IMDb).
GettyWiest is now 77 and her back catalogue of film performances has increased substantially.
Some of the movies she’s appeared in since “Edward Scissorhands” include 1996’s comedy “The Birdcage,” 1998’s romantic fantasy film “Practical Magic,” 1998’s neo-Western drama “The Horse Whisperer,” 2005’s animated sci-fi comedy “Robots,” 2007’s romantic comedy-drama “Dan in Real Life,” 2011’s observational comedy “The Big Year,” and 2015’s comedy “Sisters.”
Next year, she will return to her role as Aunt Bridget “Jet” Owens for “Practical Magic 2.”
GettyKathy Baker (Joyce Monroe)
Kathy Bates played Joyce Monroe in “Edward Scissorhands.” Joyce was one of the Boggs’ neighbors who tried to seduce Edward, then accused him of forcing himself on her when he rejected her advances. Baker was 40 when the film released.
GettyPer IMDb, Baker’s movie credits at the time included 1983’s epic historical drama “The Right Stuff,” 1986’s crime drama “A Killing Affair,” 1987’s crime thriller “Street Smart,” and 1989’s romantic drama “Jacknife.”
Baker is now 75 and has appeared in many more movies since her role in “Edward Scissorhands.”
Some of the credits to her name now include 1992’s comedy-drama “Article 99,” 1992’s neo-noir thriller “Jennifer 8,” 1999’s drama “The Cider House Rules,” 2003’s war drama “Cold Mountain,” 2004’s fantasy rom-com “13 Going on 30,” 2006’s political drama “All the King’s Men,” 2008’s romantic drama “Last Chance Harvey,” 2011’s psychological thriller “Take Shelter,” 2011’s Christian sports drama “Seven Days in Utopia,” 2013’s biographical drama “Saving Mr. Banks,” and 2015’s romantic fantasy film “The Age of Adaline.”
GettyAnthony Michael Hall (Jim)
Anthony Michael Hall played Jim, Kim’s boyfriend who becomes jealous of her relationship with the titular character, in “Edward Scissorhands.” He was 22 when the film released in theaters.
Hall had been something of an 80s teen icon before he appeared in the film, with credits including 1983’s comedy road movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” 1984’s coming-of-age teen comedy “Sixteen Candles,” 1985’s coming-of-age comedy-drama “The Breakfast Club,” and 1985’s teen sci-fi fantasy movie “Weird Science” (per IMDb).
Hall is now 57 and continues to act both in movies and on television.
His notable film credits now include 1993’s comedy-drama “Six Degrees of Separation,” 1994’s comedy “Hail Caesar,” 1997’s teen comedy “Trojan War,” 2001’s mystery drama “The Caveman’s Valentine,” 2001’s surreal black comedy “Freddy Got Fingered,” 2008’s superhero movie “The Dark Knight,” 2014’s biographical sports thriller “Foxcatcher,” 2017’s satirical war comedy “War Machine,” and 2021’s slasher horror sequel “Halloween Kills.”
GettyAlan Arkin (Bill Boggs)
Alan Arkin was 56 when he played Bill Boggs — Peg’s husband and Kim’s father — in “Edward Scissorhands.”
Arkin’s acting career had started in the 1950s, with a role in 1957’s drama musical “Calypso Heat Wave.” Between that and “Edward Scissorhands,” his credits included 1966’s comedy film “The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming,” 1967’s psychological home invasion thriller “Wait Until Dark,” 1968’s comedy “Inspector Clouseau,” 1969’s comedy-drama “Popi,” 1970’s satirical war comedy “Catch-22,” 1982’s animated fantasy adventure “The Last Unicorn,” and 1983’s superhero musical comedy “The Return of Captain Invincible” (per IMDb).
GettyArkin’s movie credits after “Edward Scissorhands” were plentiful. They included 1991’s superhero movie “The Rocketeer,” 1992’s dark drama “Glengarry Glen Ross,” 1997’s action-comedy thriller “Grosse Pointe Blank,” 1997’s dystopian sci-fi flick “Gattaca,” 2008’s comedy-drama “Marley & Me,” 2012’s political espionage drama thriller “Argo,” 2019’s fantasy period adventure “Dumbo,” and 2022’s animated comedy “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
Sadly, Arkin passed away on June 29, 2023, at the age of 89. The cause of death was specified as being heart problems, which he had suffered from for much of his later life.
May the hugely respected Alan Arkin rest in peace.
GettyVincent Price (The Inventor)
Legendary actor Vincent Price was 79 when “Edward Scissorhands” was released. He played the inventor who created the eponymous character.
Price had an incredible career spanning over half a century. Per IMDb, a large number of his most famous roles came in horror movies and included the likes of 1940’s sci-fi horror “The Invisible Man Returns,” 1948’s horror comedy “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” 1953’s mystery horror “House of Wax,” 1958’s sci-fi horror “The Fly,” 1959’s supernatural horror “House on Haunted Hill,” 1960’s Gothic horror “House of Usher,” 1963’s Gothic horror “The Raven,” 1965’s horror “The Tomb of Ligeia,” 1970’s sci-fi horror “Scream and Scream Again,” 1971’s comedy horror “The Abominable Dr. Phibes,” 1973’s horror comedy “Theatre of Blood,” 1984’s comedy horror “Bloodbath at the House of Death,” and 1988’s zombie buddy cop comedy “Dead Heat.”
“Edward Scissorhands” was Price’s final role, and very few images of him exist after it. Sadly, he died at the age of 82 on October 25, 1993, less than three years after the movie hit theaters. His cause of death was listed as lung cancer.
May the dearly-departed Vincent Price rest in peace.
GettyHappy 35th Birthday to the fantastic “Edward Scissorhands” — a quirky and impactful film that will undoubtedly never be forgotten.
