Lily-Rose Depp Says Edward Scissorhands ‘Traumatized’ Her as a Child: “Everyone Was Being So Mean to My Dad”

A Childhood Memory That Cut Deep

For many fans, Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands is a whimsical yet poignant classic—but for Lily-Rose Depp, it was a childhood viewing that left her in tears. At the UK premiere of her upcoming film Nosferatu on November 10, 2024, the 25-year-old actress revealed that seeing her father, Johnny Depp, in the 1990 fantasy-drama was an unexpectedly emotional experience.

Speaking to People on the red carpet, Lily-Rose admitted the film “traumatized” her as a young girl—not because of Edward’s eerie appearance, but because of the cruelty he faced. “I just remember being so confused and upset,” she recalled. “Everyone was being so mean to my dad.”

When Fiction Feels Personal

Edward Scissorhands marked one of Johnny Depp’s first major leading roles, portraying a gentle, misunderstood artificial man whose scissors-for-hands alienate him from a pastel-perfect suburb. While the film’s allegory of prejudice and otherness resonates with audiences worldwide, young Lily-Rose struggled to separate the character from her father. The rejection Edward faced on-screen felt like a personal attack, sparking confusion and protective instincts toward the man she knew off-camera.

Following in His Footsteps

Now an accomplished actress herself, Lily-Rose has stepped firmly into her own career, earning critical attention for performances in The King (2019), Wolf (2021), and Robert Eggers’ much-anticipated Nosferatu (2024), in which she stars alongside Nicholas Hoult and Bill Skarsgård. The gothic reimagining of the 1922 horror classic is already generating buzz for its haunting visuals and bold creative vision.

Her connection to her father’s work has always been strong. In a 2016 interview with Love Magazine, she credited Johnny Depp’s career as an inspiration for her own, a sentiment echoed in past conversations with The Independent. But her early reaction to Edward Scissorhands offers a more intimate glimpse into that bond—one where art, family, and emotion intertwined in ways only a child could feel so purely.

A Lesson in Empathy

For Lily-Rose, the experience wasn’t just about seeing her father on screen—it was an early lesson in empathy and the emotional impact of storytelling. What began as a family film night became a formative moment, shaping the way she approached her craft and connected with characters.

As Nosferatu prepares to take audiences into a dark, atmospheric world, her candid reflection serves as a reminder that even the most fantastical stories can leave a very real mark—especially when the person at the center of them is someone you love.