I’m someone who grew up in the early ‘90s, attending The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Saturday midnight showings frequently. Sure, I can watch it anytime I want today with my Disney+ subscription, but it’ll never be like it was back then. It was one way to yank me out of my suburban bubble and introduced me to a whole different scene of lovable freaks, both on screen and off. One of the freaks, Tim Curry, gave one of my all-time favorite performances (and one of his best performances) in any movie, ever, as the sweet tranvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the legendary cult flick.
I just learned recently that he was almost pushed out of the part that he had originally developed for the stage show in London in the mid-’70s for a much bigger star at the time: none other than The Rolling Stones’ frontman, Mick Jagger. Now, I also love The Stones, and if there was any rock star from the era who could pull off Frank, it’s Mick (or maybe David Bowie), but I am so grateful Curry stayed in the role. Here’s how it went down, according to Curry.
Tim Curry Let Everyone In On The Mick Jagger Story Recently
Rocky Horror has been in the news a lot. It’s not only the best time of year to catch the musical horror film in theaters, as it often is revived for midnight screenings like in the old days around Halloween, but the movie turned 50 this year. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times recently, Tim Curry opened up about the making of the movie and revealed how close Mick Jagger was to getting the role:
When the movie was a definite thing, there were several big stars who wanted to play the part. Mick Jagger wanted to play it, and he would’ve done a great job if you saw ‘Performance.’ But [director Jim Sharman] said he wanted me to do it. I don’t think the studio was happy that he turned down Mick.
Turning down Jagger was a bold choice by the director. In the mid-’70s, The Stones were still in a creative peak, and there was no bigger band in the world. It’s also hard to deny that he would have been great as the androgynous Frank. I have no doubt his performance would have been much different than Curry’s, but still wonderful. That said, as much as I love Jagger and The Stones, no one could top Curry.
A Different Frank Means A Different Movie, But Not A Better One
As I said, I adore Curry’s performance in Rocky Horror. When he burst out of the elevator and into “Sweet Transvestite,” it’s by far my favorite part of the movie (and the best song in the movie). I’ve often said that Curry should have won an Oscar for the performance (even though there was little chance that a film like this would ever take home awards). He had perfected the role in London’s West End for the original stage show, and having anyone else play it would make for a very different experience.
It’s easy to see that a Jagger version of Frank would likely be less campy, and maybe even more menacing. Curry walks the line between over-the-top camp and slightly terrifying so perfectly, I can’t imagine anyone, including the lead singer of The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band, ever playing the role better. Though I do admit, there is a part of me that would love to travel to the alternate world where this casting does happen.
In the end, Jim Sharman absolutely made the correct decision to stick with the musical’s original star in the now legendary cast of Rocky Horror.