Being a versatile actor of both stage and screen, Tim Curry has a place in the heart of multiple generations thanks to his number of iconic roles throughout the years. Stealing the show of nearly everything he has appeared in, Curry is probably best known for playing villainous parts, and his face should be rightfully carved next to Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, and Christoph Waltz in the Mount Rushmore of baddie performers.
So, let us go down to the lab and see what’s on the slab, as we count down the ten characters Curry has played you either love, hate, or love to hate.
The Grand Wizard - The Worst Witch
Seeing as how it’s that time of year, it would be rude not to give a shout out to Curry’s appearance in The Worst Witch. Anything can happen on Halloween, but has anybody seen his tambourine?
Nigel Thornberry - The Wild Thornberrys
Sir Nigel Archibald Thornberry is the patriarch of The Wild Thornberry family and has devoted his life to his love of animals and wildlife. He is the host of Nigel Thornberry’s Wild World, and, although he can appear quite insane at times, Nigel is quite the hero, saving his family from numerous deadly situations with his piloting skills and survival know-how. He has even been recognized for his bravery with a knighthood from the queen!
Herkerma Holkoma - Congo
The next entry in the list also has a wildlife theme. Congo is not a very good film, sadly, but it’s almost as if Curry knows it. The performance Herkerma Holkoma is just Tim Curry having fun, and it radiates through every scene with him, making him entirely watchable even though nothing else in this monkey movie is.
The Concierge - Home Alone 2
Playing the suspicious concierge in Home Alone 2, Curry is portrayed as a baddie but in all fairness, he is rightfully inquisitive when Kevin Macalister cons his way into a room at the swanky Plaza Hotel. The highlight of this role is probably the pitch-perfect evil smile of Curry’s fading into that of the animated Grinch. By the way, the character’s name is actually Mr. Hector, even though it’s not mentioned at any point during the film.
Rooster - Annie
Mrs. Hannigan’s brother doesn’t even make his entrance into Annie until well into the movie, but when he does he steals the show. Why? Because he’s Tim Curry, that’s why!
Rooster constructs the evil scheme to pretend that he is little orphan Annies long lost parent hoping to extort money from bald billionaire Daddy Warbucks. His performance of Easy Street reminds us of how he made his name on Broadway. While on the subject of Broadway, Curry says he based his interpretation of the character on a stagehand he whilst doing a broadway play.
Long John Silver - Muppet’s Treasure Island
It’s not easy to hold your own when the rest of your cast is as colorful and animated as The Muppets, but Tim Curry once again holds his own by being the brilliant performer that he is. It’s almost a shame that Curry’s Long John Silver wasn’t used in a more classical, straight adaptation, but people seem to like this version, even if it’s not so fondly received as Muppets Christmas Carol, so that’s the main thing!
Wadsworth - Clue
Based on the popular board game, Clue is a comedy murder mystery whodunnit. The studio’s originally wanted John Cleese to play the butler, after Director Jonathan Lynn’s original choice of Leonard Rossiter and Rowan Atkinson were rejected for being unknown to American audiences (Atkinson would later go on to find success stateside as Mr. Bean), but, thankfully, Lynn went out of his way to ask teenage friend Curry to play the role of Wadsworth instead.
Did the butler do it? The fact that Clue had multiple endings would leave you guessing depending on what version you watch!
Lord Of Darkness - Legend
A word of warning, the nightmare fuel is about to begin! In Ridley Scott’s fantasy epic Legend, Curry is virtually unrecognizable under the layers of prosthetics and make-up, so it’s an absolute testament to his skills that his performance still manages to shine through despite all that.
It took Curry five and a half hours to put the costume on, and a long time to take it back off again. In fact, once, Curry got so claustrophobic with the suit on he rushed to take it off, ripping off some skin in the process! This horrified Ridley Scott, who sorted out ways to make the rest of the actors shooting more comfortable.
Pennywise - It
27 years before the 2017 adaptation of Steven King’s classic novel, people already had an irrational fear of drain pipes and clowns, and a lot of that was thanks to Tim Curry’s Pennywise. Apparently Curry was so far in the role that, according to the DVD commentary, he was freaking out the rest of the cast and crew even between filming, including himself!
Curry reportedly suffers from Clourophobia, and, as such, had to avoid mirrors and reflective surfaces when in make-up! Co-star Tony Dakota had remarked “Tim, you’re scaring me” to which Curry resonded “Gee, I’m sorry, but that’s what I’m supposed to be doing. And you’re supposed to be scared.”
Dr. Frank-N-Furter - The Rocky Horror Picture Show
As if there was any doubt, Tim Curry’s most iconic role would have to be that of one sweet transvestite known as Dr. Frank-N-Furter from Richard O’Brians The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Curry originated the role on both West End and Broadway.
Curry found his Frank-N-Furter voice combining a lady whom he overheard on the bus who he said sound like Queen Elizabeth II and his mother’s telephone voice. David Bowie’s stylist Pierre La Roche created his look, and, although Curry seemed resentful of the role for years, he seems to have found a new fondness recently, declaring the film as a “teenagers rite of passage.”
