The Wicked Alan Rickman Joins Tim Burton & "Sweeney Todd"

by | January 9, 2007 | Comments

…and the cast for Tim Burton‘s "Sweeney Todd" adaptation just keeps getting cooler and cooler. The always-cool character actor known as Alan Rickman has just signed on to play opposite Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mr. Rickman recently signed on to play Judge Turpin in the big-screen version of Stephen Sondheim‘s classic dark comedy musical. Production on "Sweeney Todd" begins next month in London.

As you could no doubt guess, Judge Turpin is the villain of the piece. He unjustly locks our hero (Mr. Depp) away, only to earn a decidedly dark flavor of vengeance when his enemy gets out of jail.

Alan Rickman is probably best known for his recent work in the "Harry Potter" films, but to a slightly older generation of movie freaks, he’ll always been the nefarious Hans Gruber from the original "Die Hard."