'Prom' Actor Thomas McDonell Joins Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's 'Dark Shadows'

McDonell, who is generating early buzz from "Prom," will play Depp's younger self in the movie, a big-screen take on the 1960s gothic vampire TV soap opera.

6:37 PM PDT 3/28/2011 by Borys Kit

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Thomas McDonell, who is generating early buzz off his work in Disney's upcoming Prom, has been cast as Johnny Depp's younger self in Tim Burton's Dark Shadows.

Warner Bros. is eyeing an April start for the movie, which is a big-screen take on the 1960s gothic vampire TV soap opera.

The movie has been casting up, with Michelle Pfeiffer, Jackie Earle Haley, Eva Green and Bella Heathcote already on board.

Depp will portray Barnabas Collins, a self-loathing vampire living in a Maine manor who is searching for his lost love. McDonell, who has already garnered comparisons as a "young Depp" in industry circles, will play the young Barnabas.