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As understandable as it is to be fond of actors who play heroic figures, just as much love deserves to be showered upon those who lovingly embrace less scrupulous roles. This is especially so for thespians who know they look silly, know the story is silly and proceed to embrace the silly with full relish.
Tim Curry, who passed away just this Tuesday, will be sorely missed by folks who grew up watching media from the turn of the century. He is best known for embracing various villainous roles throughout his career, with good or neutral characters being rare oddities on his resume.
When you know he has played Satan, an eldritch abomination, a Soviet premier and a mutinous pirate, you can tell he clearly enjoyed chewing the scenery.
And chewing the scenery was what he did best, especially with a grin that would make the Cheshire Cat green with envy. In honour of the departed thespian, theSun reminisces over a man who brought dread and laughter simultaneously through his performances.
Dedicated to the craft
A theatre kid through and through, Curry was never afraid of pushing the envelope as far as he could when it came to the performing arts.
In fact, this little fact about the actor is best exemplified in his first-ever on-screen role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), which saw him playing Dr Frank N. Furter, a mad scientist who clearly had no qualms about exploring alternative fashion options.
Absurdly charismatic while being unapologetically evil, Curry’s performance in the musical likely cemented his image as an over-the-top actor whom audiences loved to love and to hate, all at the same time. Despite being rather private about his personal relationships, his performance as Frank made him something of an icon among queer people, a fact that he was never ashamed about.
15 years down the road, he would also put on yet another iconic performance in the 1990 TV adaptation of Stephen King’s It, as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The show was cheaply made, with some actors clearly phoning it in more than others. Curry, on-screen and behind the scenes, gave it his all regardless.
Such was his dedication to his work, that he remained in-character as the clown-like monstrosity even when the cameras were not rolling, unnerving quite a few colleagues. That said, he remained civil to his cast members always, unlike certain abrasive method actors, with the late Olivia Hussey calling him a “sweet” man.
Maybe it is because of him that many kids who lived during the 1990s still have mild coulrophobia, fear of clowns. Ironically, one fellow coulrophobe was none other than Curry himself, who made it a point to never have mirrors near him on set.
To think that someone could put aside their personal discomfort for the sake of a role. That really describes Curry’s character in a nutshell, a man who lived and breathed acting.
Stuffed with ham and cheese
And though he dignified all his roles with more effort than was ever necessary, Curry always evidently enjoyed what he was doing, with laughter often barely withheld by him.
One of the most obvious examples of this comes from his live-action role in the 2008 video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, where he played the treacherous, cowardly Soviet Premier Anatoly Cherdenko.
Just read one of the final lines he performed in that game: “Commander! You’ve rained on my glorious parade! For this, I’m sending everything I got at you, but I won’t let you have the satisfaction of catching me. I’m escaping to the one place that hasn’t been corrupted by capitalism… SPACE!”
In the clips one can find on YouTube, you can find Curry struggling hard not to burst out into laughter at his own delivery of the line and you too might likely giggle at his predicament.
For folks who grew up on the Muppets, the 1996 Muppet Treasure Island was probably where Curry endeared himself to you, with his performance as pirate Long John Silver.
With his evil laugh, genuine charisma and viewers’ knowledge that the pirate is going to betray the heroes at the drop of a hat, many people say that Curry was just as silly as the Muppets themselves. Curry clearly saw it that way too, without issue, and he has in the past gladly stated that Long John Silver is high on the list of his favourite past roles.
The final bow
Throughout the 1990s and the 2000s, he also played many voice acting roles in just as many memorable cartoons. Have any favourite cartoon series from that era? He likely was in there, one way or another.
If you watched Darkwing Duck and Gargoyles, it is impossible to miss his distinctive British accent as his characters plot and scheme. He was still performing up to the 2010s, with roles in Young Justice and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Only a paralysing stroke in 2012 slowed him down, though it never removed an ounce of charm or stopped his performances completely.
Just last year, he told CBS: “I don’t fear death. I try to avoid it – as I think we all do. But I suspect that in the end I will welcome it… I think it may be very comforting to go bye-bye. And I want to earn it… I want to earn the privilege of not being here… I’m not galloping towards it.”
So, with heavy hearts, we bid farewell to a man of many talents. May you thrive in the stars free of capitalism, Comrade Curry.
