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Gary Oldman Almost Played This Iconic ’90s Movie Role<\/a> originally appeared on Parade<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n British actor Gary Oldman is prolific\u2014there’s no question about it. With hit films under his belt like Sid & Nancy<\/em>, JFK<\/em>, and Dracula<\/em>, he’s one of the highest grossing actors of all time<\/a>. For the last few years, Oldman has starred in the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses<\/em>.<\/p>\n But in a new interview, Oldman revealed that he was considered for the starring role in an iconic ’90s film.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfac <\/strong>SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox<\/strong><\/a> \ud83c\udfac<\/strong><\/p>\n Oldman told The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/em> that he was on the short list for the titular role in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands<\/em>. “My agent thought I had a really good chance of getting it…” the Air Force One<\/em> star said. “They sent the script over, and I basically said, ‘I don\u2019t get it.'” Honestly, totally valid response.<\/p>\n “You have to remember at this point in time you\u2019re not looking at Tim Burton\u2019s whole body of work,” Oldman went on to explain. Context, after all, is always key. “I read this quirky, strange little script, and I didn\u2019t get it.”<\/p>\n So Oldman passed on the role, which, of course, ended up going to Johnny Depp. But once The Fifth Element <\/em>star saw the movie in theaters, the light bulb went off over his head. “With that opening shot \u2014 all those brightly colored houses, and then the camera pans up to the castle-like thing on the hill \u2014 within two minutes I went, ‘I get it!'”<\/p>\n It’s interesting to think about how it would have altered the course of history if Oldman played Edward Scissorhands <\/em>instead of Depp. It was the film that kicked off Depp and Burton’s longstanding working relationship. Would we have ever gotten Sweeney Todd<\/em>, Sleepy Hollow<\/em>, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em>? Or would they all have starred Oldman?<\/p>\n