In “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Sweeney Todd’s real name is Benjamin Barker. He adopts the darker alias after returning to London to seek revenge against Judge Turpin.
The 2007 film begins with Barker’s return from exile, accompanied by the young sailor Anthony Hope. Years earlier, Turpin had falsely convicted Barker and sent him to Australia so he could pursue Barker’s wife, Lucy. After learning that Lucy is believed to be dead and that Turpin has taken custody of their daughter Johanna, Barker reopens his old barber shop under the name Sweeney Todd.
Benjamin Barker and Sweeney Todd are therefore the same character, not separate men. Beadle Bamford is Turpin’s henchman, Anthony Hope is the sailor who loves Johanna, and Judge Turpin is the principal source of Barker’s suffering. Tim Burton’s film adapts Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s stage musical, which itself drew on earlier Victorian Sweeney Todd tales. Johnny Depp plays Barker/Todd, while Helena Bonham Carter plays Mrs. Lovett.