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Tim Curry’s Iconic ‘It’ And ‘Rocky Horror’ Characters Respectfully Reimagined

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 03:23 PST, Jan 28, 2017

Tim Curry’s portrayal of the creepy clown Pennywise in the TV adaptation of the 1986 Stephen King novel It was incredibly creepy, according to Game Spot.

Now, Bill Skarsgard is busy reimagining the role that was made famous by Tim Curry decades ago. And with Pennywise sporting a new look and new characteristics, Skarsgard has admitted that he had no intention of trying to portray the character in the same way that Curry did all those years ago.

“Tim Curry’s performance was truly great, but it’s important for me to do something different because of that. I’ll never be able to make a Tim Curry performance as good as Tim Curry.”

Bill Skarsgard is not only modern day actor struggling with the idea of beating Tim Curry at his own game, as Laverne Cox recently recreated Tim Curry’s iconic Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and she had to do it in full view of Tim Curry.

Tim Curry is still the greatest thing about The Rocky Horror Picture Show, according to People magazine. Although the original 1975 film now has a reboot version, the 70-year-old actor is still the greatest thing that has ever happened to it.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show‘s reboot, released in 2016, had a rather mixed reception from movie critics. And while Laverne Cox showed a brilliant performance of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the character played by the legendary Tim Curry in the 1975 film, viewers of the reboot haven’t been very enthusiastic about it.

In the reboot, Tim Curry assumed another role – the role of the Criminologist Narrator. In his interview with People magazine, the actor said he has been pleased to come back to work on the project he holds “very dear.”

“It’s very exciting. It will be very interesting because it’s very close to me.”

Tim Curry, whose character in the cult 1975 film was his breakthrough role, has spent the past few years recovering from a stroke he suffered in 2013. Despite this, the actor has put in a great amount of effort to make the reboot happen.

After giving Laverne Cox his blessing to take over his cult role, Tim Curry assumed the role of the Criminologist Narrator. His co-star, Ryan McCartan, who got to play the lead role of Brad, said it was “so special” to have Curry on board of Fox’s reboot.

“[For] Tim to step into a completely new character but to still be part of this movie, it’s just so special.”

Reeve Carney, who played Riff-Raff, the Handyman, in the revamped version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show said Tim Curry is a “wonderful guy” who has “a sweet spirit” and “an incredible talent.”

The Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox felt a staggering amount of pressure to impress Tim Curry because she got to take over his role from the cult film. Cox, who made history by becoming the first transgender actress to earn an Emmy nomination two years ago, revealed that Curry’s performance in the original film had a great impact on her life.

“When I saw Tim Curry for the first time in that film, I was sort of in a gender-nonconforming space.”

But after seeing Tim Curry’s performance in 1975’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Cox says she had felt inspired. She added that Curry’s character being so unapologetically himself empowered her to not “just dream it but to be it.”

Cox has recently talked about what it’s like working alongside her idol Tim Curry, according to Paper Magazine. The 32-year-old actress opened up about her emotions while shooting scenes for the reboot directed by Kenny Ortega.

In her interview during Ryan Seacrest’s On Air, Cox said it “felt so special” to fill in Tim Curry’s shoes to play Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

“To have his stamp of approval and his presence, and his wit, and his humor, and his talent bless our production just felt so incredible.”

Cox, who is best known for her role of Sophia Burset on the Netflix hit TV series Orange Is the New Black, also opened up about the uneasy and “intimidating” experience of being mentored by Tim Curry himself.

“I had to sing all the songs that he made famous in front of him, which is very intimidating.”

Cox said that she would stop before or after her songs in order to ask Tim Curry for his opinion about “various moments in terms of the story and the script.” She also added that it was a “really wonderful” experience to be sharing those moments with Curry himself.

[Featured Image by George De Sota/Getty Images]

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stephen king tim curry Laverne Cox Bill Skarsgard
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