Tim Curry Talks About the Cultural Impact of ‘Rocky Horror’ & How It Changed His Life Forever
It’s been 50 years since Brad and Janet (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) stopped by the Frankenstein Place to find a phone and call for help with that flat tire, only to be swept into a strange and wild night in which they were introduced to new “folk” dances, seduced by curious new friends, and forever changed by Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show has since become a cultural phenomenon, not just known for its chaotic sci-fi story and musical mayhem, which have played to packed houses at midnight screenings almost nonstop since its 1975 debut, but also for the found families it has forged through shadow castings and the enduring community of fans who still dress up, throw toast and rice, and shout back at the screen nearly five decades later.
Tim Curry at the Academy Museum with moderator KJ Relth-Miller (Courtesy of Chelsea Stardust)
At the 50th anniversary screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, star Tim Curry made a rare appearance after his 2012 story to talk about creating cultural icons for the fringe community and establishing an enduring legacy for marginalized groups, particularly the LGBTQ+ community.
“I think the message of the film, ‘Don’t dream it, be it,’ is very important. I think what this movie does is give everyone permission to behave as badly as they really want, in whatever way and with whom.”
When asked if this role changed his career forever, Curry wholeheartedly agreed.
Photo: Courtesy of Chelsea Stardust
“It did. I don’t know in what way, really,” he joked. “It certainly singled me out from the pack for a moment. But I didn’t think it helped casting at all, and I was really quite worried that it was going to be difficult, but it wasn’t.”
“In fact, a very good English film director called Stephen Frears called me. I was living in Los Angeles in the Sunset Tower, which is an art deco building on Sunset Boulevard, almost on the Strip, but not quite opposite the ‘Riot’ House Hotel,” recalled Curry. “And he said, ‘I’d like to know if you’d be interested, if you know the Victorian comic novel called Three Men on a Boat.’ And I said, ‘Yes, I did.’ He said, ‘Would you like to come back to England and play Jerome?’ And I said, ‘What makes you think that I can play a Victorian bank clerk?’ And he said, ‘If you can play Frank-N-Furter, you can play anything.'”
And thus began one Legend-ary career.
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