Tim Curry’s Most Memorable Roles

Curry is probably most closely identified with the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania, in this musical-comedy-horror film. The movie was a flop when it was first released, with film critic Roger Ebert writing that the film was “ignored by pretty much everyone, including the future fanatics who would eventually count the hundreds of times they’d seen it.” Indeed, the film has become a cult classic, with showings every year, particularly around Halloween, where audience members sing along and bring items to throw around the theater at relevant moments in the story line. “It’s a chance for people to try on a few roles for size, maybe help them figure out their own sexuality,” Curry said of the film in a 2005 interview with NPR. “I’ve certainly had some very interesting and moving mail from people who’ve said, ‘Thanks for helping me figure out who I was,’ and that’s very nice.”

Curry earned three Tony nominations throughout his career: for the role of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a role he originated, in 1981’s Amadeus; for his portrayal of alcoholic actor Alan Swann in the musical My Favorite Year; and for playing King Arthur in the musical Monty Python’s Spamalot. He played the latter role for three years, including during its Chicago debut, New York and London.

Curry played Rooster, the villainous brother to Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett), in this musical film adaptation about an orphan looking for her parents. Curry, along with Burnett and Bernadette Peters, performs “Easy Street” in the film, before his character later chases Annie (Aileen Quinn) through the streets of New York amid his scheme to bilk Daddy Warbucks (Albert Finney) out of $50,000.

Based on the board game, this film found Curry in a physically comedic performance playing the butler, Wadworth, who investigates the murder of Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving). Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull and Lesley Ann Warren also starred.

Curry took the role of Pennywise, an evil creature who takes the form of a clown, in this ABC adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel. In his 2025 memoir, Vagabond, he revealed that he actually “loathes” clowns. He didn’t publicly speak about the project for years, which led to some misinterpretations, he wrote. “I haven’t had much to say about it publicly for many years, which many people misread as my carrying some sort of deep conflict about the role. That’s really not the case, but I didn’t revel in the role, either,” he clarified. “I have great respect for Stephen King and think it’s a strong adaptation, but it wasn’t exactly a Stoppard experience. Nor did I expect it to be.” Director Tommy Lee Wallace told THR in 2017 that Curry improvised quite a bit. “My job was to give Tim the stage and not get in his way too much,” Wallace said. “He was like Robin Williams in the way he brought a spontaneous improvisation to the part.”  More than 37 million households tuned in to the two-part adaptation.

In this hit sequel to the blockbuster original, Curry plays a nosy concierge who works at the Plaza Hotel, where young Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is staying after he ends up alone in New York. Curry brought comedy to his role, particularly in a scene where Kevin uses an audio recording to scare off the hotel staff. Curry and his co-workers are forced to get on their knees and enthusiastically declare their love before Kevin plays a clip with gunfire, forcing the staff to duck for cover. The movie set a November opening weekend record at the time of $31.1 million, going on to earn more than $359 million globally.

Curry played all three members of a murderous family — Ma, Pa, and Winona Brackett — in a episode of this anthology series titled “Death of Some Salesman,” which also featured Ed Begley Jr. He earned a Primetime Emmy nom for guest actor in a drama series for his performance(s).

Curry played the Lord of Darkness in this fantasy-adventure directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Cruise. Darkness is on a mission to bring on an eternal night, and it’s up to Jack (Cruise) to stop him. Curry reportedly had to sit in the makeup chair for five-and-a-half hours as his entire body had to be covered. While the film failed to light up — pun intended — the box office, it did earn technical awards and noms from various groups, including an Oscar nom for best makeup, and has become something of a cult classic.

Curry played Long John Silver in this movie, which saw his character embark on an (ill-fated) romance with Benjamina “Mina” Gunn (played by Miss Piggy, who was played by Frank Oz). Curry has said this film marked one of his favorite acting experiences. “I would love to work with the Muppets again,” he told The Guardian last year. “The great thing is that the Muppeteers themselves, if they have their puppet on their hand, they only talk to you as the character. I love that.” He also revealed that he improvised a line that got cut, presumably because it was too racy for the target moviegoing demo. “I ad-libbed a line, because me and Piggy were supposed to have had some kind of affair long ago,” he said. The line? “Well, I’ll tell you, Jim, once you’ve had pork, you never go back!”

Curry earned a Grammy Award nomination for best spoken word album for children for his performance on the audiobook of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning. 

Curry also had a successful career as a voice-over artist. Among the projects he voiced roles in were Ribbit, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, Ben 10: Omniverse, Transformers: Rescue Bots Over the Garden Wall, Wonder Pets! and so many more. However, to fans of Star Wars, he’ll be remembered as the voice of Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in Seasons 5 and 6 of the animated series. He took over the role following the death of original voice actor Ian Abercrombie. The role earned him one of his four noms for Behind the Voice Actors Awards (he won for Randy Cunningham).