Johnny Depp to blame for Winona Ryder missing the biggest role of her career?

[ad_1]

Johnny Depp’s appeal to let the studio of The Godfather: Part III know that Winona Ryder was too ill to work caused him to lose the role in the film.

By Sckylar Gibby-Brown | Posted 26 minutes ago

In 1990, Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder starred together in Edward Scissorhands and became one of Hollywood’s greatest romance novels. However, according to a 1990 Vanity Fair feature film, it was largely due to a phone call from Johnny Depp that Winona Ryder lost her chance to star in the biggest movie at that point in her young career. Godfather: Part III with Al Pacino, though Depp has the best intentions in mind for Ryder to lose the role. Depp called the film’s studio to report that Ryder was too sick to work.

Paramount Pictures had lobbied director Francis Ford Coppola to make a third Godfather movie for years, but the director insisted on postponing the film, at least until his finances could no longer afford it and he need the check. The third film in the trilogy takes place years after the previous film and largely focuses on Michael Corleone’s daughter, Mary. Coppola considered many high-profile actresses at the time for the role, including Madonna and Julia Roberts, before deciding he needed a younger actress to fill the role and officially cast then-girlfriend Johnny Depps, Winona Ryder.

Ryder had already starred in a handful of films at the time, including Beetlejuice and Heathers in 1988, but her role as Depps’ love interest for Tim Burtons Edward Scissorhands propelled the young actress into the attention span of many elite Hollywood directors and producers. Playing Mary in a sequel to a film as big as The Godfather was sure to spur Ryders career growth even faster, so naturally she accepted the role, and Johnny Depp accompanied Winona Ryder to Rome to film the film.

Winona Ryder and Cher in Mermaids (1990)

Johnny Depp was already on his way to becoming a prolific actor, having starred in several feature films and playing lead character Officer Tom Hanson on TVs 21 Jump Street, but Winona Ryders’ career was just beginning. Ryder arrived on the set of The Godfather: Part III immediately after finishing work on Mermaids, directed by Richard Benjamin, a film that would be one of five projects she worked on that year. The film crew walked the actress through fittings to prepare her for filming the next day, and many would later say they noticed something about Welcome Home star Roxy Carmichael. , although they said nothing at the time.

The next day, Ryder never showed up for her call, leaving Coppola and the team to wait for Johnny Depp to phone and declare that Winona Ryder would not be working that day, as she was not feeling well. Coppola sent doctors to examine the actress, who determined that Ryder was suffering from a nervous breakdown, likely due to overwork, and that she would not be mentally fit to continue the film. Sadly, Ryder had to step back from the production to focus on her mental health, but the actress had a strong support group to help her through her crisis, including Depp and her parents.

While it was because of Johnny Depps’ phone call that Winona Ryder lost her role in The Godfather: Part III, the actor probably made the right call for his girlfriend’s sanity. Coppola was able to recast the role, giving the role of Mary to his daughter, Sofia Coppola, and the film was released to generally positive reviews.

[ad_2]