Tim Curry Played Every Role Like it was a Gleeful Video Game

Tim Curry Played Every Role Like It Was a Gleeful Video Game

The spicy avatar we all long to be.

Tim Curry died on August 26. Although he left behind no children or known romantic partner, his loss hit millions as if he were family—much as with the passing of superstar singer, songwriter and philanthropist Dolly Parton the day prior. Losing Dolly and Curry within 48 hours felt like a one-two punch for kids of the ’80s and ’90s, who grew up taking comfort and cheer from their infectious smiles, iconic performances, and genuine hearts.

Unlike Dolly, though, Curry kept most of his personal life a mystery. This was because, in part, he did not want his identity as a real human being to detract from your belief that he really was the character he was playing. He explained in interviews that he wanted to “disappear” into his roles, including the many parts he took on in video games. He’s been credited in at least 22 games in total, playing as wide an array of characters as you could imagine, including leading man Gabriel Knight in the series of the same name, Malek the alien cat man in Wing Commander III, Dr. Frankenstein in Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster for Sega Saturn, and, maybe most infamously, Russian leader Anatoly Cherdenko in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3.

And of course, there’s his breakout role as Dr. Frank -N-Furter, the “sweet transvestite” of Rocky Horror fame, appearing first in the stage version, then the major motion picture, and finally various games based on the story. He was also in the movies Home Alone 2, Muppets Treasure Island, and Congo, all which also got video game adaptations. Curry’s involvement with games rivals even that of sci-fi fantasy royalty like Mark Hamill and Leonard Nimoy. Despite his presence in so many sci-fi games, he was certainly best known for wearing magnificent shades of lipstick and mugging to the camera than engaging in any serious-faced, high fiction shenanigans.

So why is it that Curry meant so much to people and had consistent appeal despite playing vastly different roles over his 50-odd years as an actor? It’s because no matter what role he played, he fully committed to the bit… and even more than that, he always seemed to be having fun. It didn’t matter how ridiculous his lines were or how questionable the lyrics to his songs: he gave the audience a knowing, cheeky grin, and enjoyed every last drop of screen time he was allotted.

In many ways, he approached being an actor the way many of us engage with playing games. Never mind that the premise of many of his movies, from fighting off killer gorillas to solving a murder mystery with the culprit still in the house, felt like video games to start with. For Curry, the point was to become someone other than himself. Instead of picking up a controller to achieve that aim, he put his whole body and soul into the transformation.

And, to paraphrase a quote from Buckaroo Banzai, no matter where Curry went, there he was. Sure, sometimes he’d set his accent sliders to “slightly more Russian” or his mustache options to “pencil thin” or “bushy with beard”, but underneath those surface-level texture changes, he was always the same guy, just as we’re always the same person holding the controller when we play Super Mario, Resident Evil, or Mortal Kombat. While we never got to know much about the personal details of Curry’s life, we felt like we knew him, because underneath the vocal inflections and facial hair changes, his devilishly delightful, uniquely Tim Curry nature always came to the surface. In so many words, he loved to pretend, but he could never fully divorce himself from himself—and we wouldn’t want him to. Because when we watch him and hear him, we want to be him. Who wouldn’t want to be so confident, self-aware, ridiculous, and most of all, happy?

These are also key reasons as to why so many of us love video games. They are virtual places where you, too, can romance Miss Piggy, try on a corset and a pair of silk stockings, or become a massively muscular demon, and do it all without fear. Curry applied this same fearlessness to his career. As media continues to grow more and more dense with new personalities, wikis, interconnected universes, and multi-media cross pollinated projects, Curry’s fame will fade from the mainstream’s eye. But for many, he’s already become immortal—a grinning spirit of mischief that’s possessed many through the stage, screen, game, and song. And as long as there are Rocky Horror games to play, Curry songs to sing along to, and clips of his greatest hits to rewatch on video streaming services, he’ll continue to possess us still.