Royal Scottish Academy Student is Johanna in Sweeney Todd

Irish student Jayne Wisener has landed the dream role of Johnny Depp's daughter in the upcoming movie of the Sondheim musical, "Sweeney Todd". Though not widely broadcast, the casting was reported in the Irish press at the end of December and a spokesperson for Warner Bros. confirmed that the 19 year old second year student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow had been cast.

Jayne, from Ballycairn in Coleraine, Ireland, began acting at the age of five, encouraged by her great-aunt and drama coach, Heather Wisener. A former pupil of DH Christie Memorial Primary School and Coleraine High School, Jayne became involved with local music and drama groups from an early age and received private singing lessons from vocal coach, Peter Wilson, who describes her as ""one of the most promising students [whom I] have ever worked with". In 2005 she represented Antrim in the "Rose of Tralee" competition and recently performed on stage with The National Theatre of Scotland. She was spotted by Sweeney Todd casting director Jeremy James Taylor during a performance of "West Side Story" with Music Theatre 4 Youth (MT4Uth) in the Millennium Forum in Derry .

Jayne's personal web-page reveals that, in addition to her acting and singing talents, she also plays the piano and trumpet, and quotes her many interests as including dancing, fencing and singing karaoke! And she is a fan of Eva Cassidy, Leanne Rhimes and idina menzel.

The movie, which will be directed by Tim Burton, will be a much anticipated screening of Stephen Sondheim's highly acclaimed stage musical that was originally seen on the Broadway stage in 1979, winning 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In that premiere production, directed by Hal Prince and staring Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury, the role of Johanna was created by Sarah Rice. Its most recent incarnation, directed by John Doyle, began life at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury before transferring to the West End and then to Broadway with a cast headed by Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone.

Based on Christopher Bond's classic melodrama, it tells the tale of Sweeney Todd, the "demon barber of fleet street", who returns to London years after being unjustly convicted and sentenced to transportation to Australia to be told that his beloved wife is dead and his daughter, Johanna, has become the ward of the evil Judge Turpin, the man responsible for his fate. Todd sets out to wreak his vengeance and, assisted by the sinister and also darkly comic Mrs Lovett, goes on a bloody spree. Todd slits the throats of his customers so that Mrs. Lovett can use their meat to make her pies! The show's first act finale, "A Little Priest" - possibly one of the funniest numbers in Broadway musical history - lists the various kinds of people who can be put into a pie - including "shepherd's pie peppered with actual shepherd on top".

Pre-production work on the film has already begun and shooting will be completed by the end of 2007 for a planned release date in 2008. Johnny Depp will star in the title role, with Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett and Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin. Jayne is quoted as saying: "To get the chance to work with such renowned actors is a dream come true."