Judge Turpin (also known as Lord Turpin) is the main antagonist in the various adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. In the 2007 film, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, he was portrayed by the late Alan Rickman, who also played Joe, Severus Snape, Sheriff of Nottingham, and Hans Gruber.
In most adaptations, Turpin is the primary antagonist, who ruins the title character's life and turns him into a monster. He unjustly exiles Benjamin Barker to Australia in order to have Barker's wife, Lucy, to himself. He rapes her, after which she attempts suicide by drinking arsenic, which drives her insane. He then adopts Barker's daughter, Johanna, as his ward, planning eventually to marry her.
He is aided in his corruption by his servant and constant companion, Beadle Bamford. His character is possibly based on Reverend Lupin from The String of Pearls, due to similar-sounding names and both characters expressing the desire to marry Johanna Barker (Johanna Oakley, in The String of Pearls).
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