“A lot of people think that he (Sweeney) is mean and dark and evil from start to finish,” Hess said. He hoped to see the movie before he arrived in Pittsburgh. Now that he’s immersed again in the demanding role, he doesn’t believe that seeing Depp in the film will affect his on-stage performances. “What if I love what he (Depp) does? I’m going to end up being Johnny Depp out there (on stage).” Hess, who was a standby for the Sweeney and Judge Turpin roles in the Tony Award winning revival, had only played Sweeney fulltime since previews began in September.ĭuring his layoff, he thought about seeing the movie, then changed his mind.
Purposely not, he said, because he was sidelined from late November through December by a vocal cord problem and ankle surgery. Hess has never met Depp whose portrayal of Sweeney has garnered him an Oscar nomination, but the actor did come to see the Broadway revival during its 2005 to 2006 run on Broadway.Īnd as of that Friday afternoon 10 days ago, Hess hadn’t seen the film, which was released in December. “My friend Johnny,” Hess began, then stopped in mid-sentence. Jack Sparrow of “Pirates of the Caribbean” film fame.
“A lot of people have come to see the show and they’ve talked about the movie and vice versa,” said Hess, who, come Tuesday, will be on stage at Heinz Hall when this revival of “Sweeney Todd” begins its one-week engagement in Pittsburgh.Ĭhances are that much of the ado about the R-rated film has to do with its dark and quirky leading man, Johnny Depp, i.e. “It creates a lot more buzz and interest and excitement,” Hess said 10 days ago while talking on a cell phone from a hotel lobby in Dallas, just hours before he’d be on stage portraying Sweeney Todd, the wronged barber gone mad in the national tour of Sondheim’s acclaimed 1979 musical. PITTSBURGH -Actor David Hess is thrilled that director Tim Burton’s film “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” has garnered raves from movie critics, composer Stephen Sondheim’s admirers, and My Space’s fair young females.
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