The Super Powered Fancast

There are very few actors that can transcend multiple genres and create characters that resonate with many different people and span generations. Tim Curry is one of those rare performers. Here is a brief highlight of some of his best performances and why they make him a Fancast Favorite.

Dr. Frank-N-Furter (The Rocky Horror Picture Show)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCZDWZFtyWY]

One of Tim Curry’s most iconic roles, Frank-N-Furter is the creation of Richard O’Brien, who plays Riff Raff in both the stage and movies versions of the play. The character, a transvestite mad scientist trying to build the perfect man, could have easily been played for straight horror or camp, but Curry found a way of making the character multi-dimensional. In scene after scene, there is antici—-pation of what comes next from the character. There are moments when the doctor is both psychopathic, evil and charming at the same time. Curry crafts a character that is both hero and villain, seductive and scary whom you root for every second that he’s on screen.

Pennywise (Stephen King’s It)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNEO4zqFZQ]

Adaptations of Stephen King books have been hit or miss with most audiences. For every Shawshank Redemption there is a Lawnmower Man. In 1990, ABC attempted to bring one of his longer novels to the screen with It. Although lacking many elements of the book that were more gory than scary, Curry’s performance as Pennywise the clown provided the menace and suspense that the film needed. Curry gave Pennywise a mixture of charm and menace that it would be almost impossible for any actor to emulate.

Darkness (Legend)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksk7wPX-MI4]

While there have been several interpretations of the Devil on-screen. Tim Curry’s performance as the Lord of Darkness in the movie Legend is by far the most creative and enduring. While the movie is visually stunning, the story itself tends to fall into fantasy cliché, but every moment that Tim Curry is in, he transcends the material and focuses the viewer on his performance.

Wadsworth (Clue)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKOmGhBOJZI]

As a character, Wadsworth the Butler could have been completely one-dimensional, but Tim Curry is able to make him unforgettable. The rapid fire dialogue between him and the gaggle of professional comedians he is surrounded with shows that he can hold his own verbally. The last fifteen to twenty minutes of the movie where Wadsworth explains all of the murders in hilariously animated detail is an exercise in both verbal and physical comedy that people dream that they could pull off.

So these are a few of the performances that have made Tim Curry a Fancast favorite. If there are any performances that you feel that we might have missed or do you have a particular performance or opinion on one that you would like us to know about. Let us know what you think by commenting below or emailing us at superpoweredfancast@gmail.com.

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