Tim Curry, 1946–2026

The man who made wickedness irresistible

Tim Curry, who has died aged 80, was one of those rare actors whose presence could transform a film before he had even spoken. He possessed a voice that seemed to have been dipped in velvet and sharpened at the edges, an extraordinary physicality, and an appetite for the theatrical. He could be sinister, ridiculous, seductive, camp, frightening and unexpectedly tender — sometimes within the same scene.

For generations of viewers, he was Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the outrageous scientist at the centre of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The role made him an international cult figure, but it also rather unfairly threatened to become the whole story. Curry was far too interesting for that.

Born in Cheshire in 1946, he began on the British stage, appearing in the original West End production of Hair before taking the role that would define his early career in Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show. He transferred Frank-N-Furter to the screen in 1975, giving cinema one of its most indelible creations: a character simultaneously lascivious, comic, frightening and completely unapologetic about being himself.

Yet Curry spent the rest of his career demonstrating that he was no one-trick creation. He was a formidable stage actor, receiving Tony nominations and starring in productions including Amadeus and Spamalot. On screen, he seemed almost magnetically drawn to characters who existed slightly outside respectable society — villains, eccentrics, grotesques and men with something wonderfully wrong about them.

His Pennywise in the 1990 television adaptation of Stephen King’s It became another piece of pop-cultural nightmare fuel. He barely needed to raise his voice: the combination of the clown’s painted smile and Curry’s extraordinarily controlled performance was enough to make an entire generation suspicious of storm drains.

But there was also great comedy in him. In Clue, he turned the butler Wadsworth into a man of increasingly frantic precision, racing through the film’s murderous chaos with an impeccable English accent and impeccable comic timing. In Annie, he was gloriously vile as Rooster Hannigan. And in Muppet Treasure Island, he discovered perhaps the ideal vehicle for his particular mixture of ham, menace and charm as Long John Silver.

After suffering a major stroke in 2012, Curry’s physical life was profoundly altered, but his career did not simply disappear. He continued to work, particularly in voice acting, where that magnificent instrument remained entirely his own. He also remained connected to Rocky Horror, appearing as the narrator in the 2016 television remake.

What made Curry special was not simply that he could play monsters. It was that he understood that monsters are often much more entertaining when they are having a wonderful time being monsters.

He never seemed entirely interested in behaving properly.

Thank God.

Tim Curry’s five essential films

1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
The obvious choice, but also the unavoidable one. As Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Curry created a character who was part Dracula, part rock star, part cabaret queen and part anarchist. The film’s extraordinary afterlife — midnight screenings, audience participation and generations of devotees — owes an enormous amount to his fearless performance.

2. Annie (1982)
As Rooster Hannigan, Curry gives one of the film’s most deliciously nasty performances. He is oily, theatrical and completely shameless, a villain who seems to regard criminality principally as an opportunity for entertainment.

3. Clue (1985)
Perhaps the perfect Tim Curry comedy. As Wadsworth, he is the elegant centre of a film populated by increasingly hysterical eccentrics. His breathless final sequence, in which he races through the film’s competing explanations of the murders, is a miniature masterclass in physical comedy and verbal timing.

4. Legend (1985)
Ridley Scott’s dark fairy tale gave Curry one of his most visually extraordinary roles: the Lord of Darkness, complete with enormous red horns and a voice that seems to come from somewhere considerably deeper than the underworld. He makes evil flamboyant.

5. Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
Curry as Long John Silver is one of those casting decisions that feels inevitable once you see it. He brings genuine theatricality to the role without overpowering the Muppets, balancing swashbuckling charm with just enough menace. It is also one of the clearest demonstrations of his extraordinary ability to make children and adults equally happy to watch him.

There are other performances that deserve their own place in the Curry mythology — Home Alone 2, The Hunt for Red October, The Three Musketeers, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, and of course Pennywise in It. But the five above reveal the essential Curry: outrageous, elegant, wicked, funny and utterly committed to the bit.

Tim Curry understood something that increasingly feels unfashionable: an actor was allowed to be larger than life.

He was never merely in a film.

He brought the magic. Every single time. I will miss him. He was a childhood favourite of mine.