The cameo took on a deeply poignant meaning because Jonathan Frid passed away on , at the age of 87. His death occurred just weeks before the film's official release in May 2012, making the Dark Shadows movie his final acting credit .
“That’s the secret,” he whispered to Depp. “The fangs are easy. It’s the tears they can’t see that are hard.” jonathan frid cameo dark shadows movie
In the scene, Johnny Depp (playing the new Barnabas) is introduced to a guest played by Frid. Depp’s Barnabas is momentarily stunned, staring at the man as if looking in a mirror. Frid’s character simply greets him with a polite, "My name is Barnabas Collins," to which Depp replies, "That is a magnificent name." The moment served as a symbolic passing of the baton from the original dark shadow to the new one. The cameo took on a deeply poignant meaning
After his day was done, Jonathan Frid put on his coat, nodded to Johnny Depp, and walked off the set. The assistant director rushed to hold an umbrella for him. Frid waved it away. “The fangs are easy
The set of Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows was a glorious contradiction. Outside, it was a grey, drizzly English day on a backlot built to look like 1972 Maine. Inside the foyer of the grand, decaying Collinwood manor, it was all howling wind machines, fog machines, and the electric hum of ego.