Johnny Depp to Robert Pattinson: "I'm the Alpha Vampire"

USMagazine, Friday, May 11, 2012, 10:20am (PDT)

Move over Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Robert Pattinson -- there's a new vampire in town!

Johnny Depp is taking on the role of a vampire in his latest Tim Burton film, Dark Shadows, and he doesn't feel the least bit threatened by 25-year-old Twilight vampire heartthrob Pattinson.

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"There’s room for two vampires on this block -- as long as he remembers I am the Alpha Vampire," Depp, 48, told Us Weekly on Wednesday at the London premiere of Dark Shadows.

The actor, who has played many different characters in films, was especially excited to play vampire Barnabas Collins, based on the '60s TV soap.

"I think there are still more boxes to be ticked," Depp told reporters of characters he'd still like to portray. "But this was a big one for me."

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How did his eighth collaboration with Burton come about?

"It came about in such a casual way," Depp explained. "We were doing Sweeney Todd at the time and I just sort of mentioned to Tim that we should [make] a vampire film some day and then we both got on the subject Dark Shadows, which we've both been fans of as kids… One thing lead to another [after] a coupe of years and then bang."

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And Depp loved his character so much, that he snagged some of his wardrobe! "Yeah, a few fell off the truck for sure," he said with a laugh.

Dark Shadows is in theaters now.

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Johnny Depp to Robert Pattinson: "I'm the Alpha Vampire"