You better hide the scenery, because this guy will chew it up.
Seriously, Tim Curry is as close to a live action cartoon character as they get, and he's delivered so much joy as a result. However, my feelings for Tim are a little different from other wild and funny talents in vein of Jim Carrey or Jerry Lewis. While Tim
Curry is charismatic as hell, and can turn in a variety of fine performances, his main appeal ... at least to me ... is when he's playing
villains. With his manic energy, over the top theatrics, and creepy English
accent, Tim Curry has played some of the most enjoyably over-the-top, and
cartoony villains ever. From voice acting in animated TV shows, to scaring
audiences as horror movie monsters, Tim Curry has always stood out as one of my all-time favorite villain actors, and here are my own personal top 10 favorite villain roles
of his career. As a reminder, I'm not trying to make any kind of official best of Tim Curry list, these are only select performances that have always appealed to me as a fan.
#10 Forte – Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted
Christmas (1997)
Sense Tim Curry is such a cartoony actor, his talents work
especially well when voicing animated characters ... in fact, half of his resume
consists of cartoon characters who can range from the kind a gentle Nigel Thornberry, to the ruthlessness of Captain Hook from Fox's "Peter Pan and the Pirates". Naturally, he’s the perfect guy to voice a
Disney villain, and kicking off my list is his role as Forte from the 1997 Disney sequel “Beauty and the Beast: The
Enchanted Christmas”. Obviously, the character Forte is nothing
compelling, and is often described as a one-note bad guy ... which he is ... but that’s
not the point. All that really matters is just how enjoyably theatrical Tim
Curry’s vocal performance is. He nails all the good stuff in this role, from his
deliciously evil personality, to his deep booming voice, to his ridiculous outbursts, and
he ties it all together with his over blown maniacal laughter. Forte is also a
great looking character, brought to life through some quality home-video effects, and its just an
awesome design. He may be a one dimensional character, but count on Tim Curry
to liven him up, and make him a memorable Disney villain in his own simplistic
way.
#9 Dr.
Frank-n-Further – The Rocky Horror
Picture Show (1975)
Here it is, the 1970’s cult classic musical that launched Tim
Curry’s career ... so naturally it had to make my list. “It’s not easy to have a
good time” ... but it certainly isn’t boring when this flamboyant performer is
your over-night host. Curry’s portrayal of the proclaimed sweet transvestite
from Transsexual Transylvania is a perfect example of how talented,
unpredictable, committed, and off-the-wall crazy he could be as an actor. His musical
number “I’m Just a Sweet Transvestite” has also become a classic villain song,
and one of the actors most unforgettable moments. While I’ve personally never called myself a fan of this movie musical, Dr. Frank-N-Further is still a highlight performance in Tim’s
career, and probably the character he’s most associated with.
#8 Dr. Anton Sevarius - Gargoyles (TV Series) (1994-1996)
Throughout the 90’s, Tim Curry voiced several villains in animated Disney cartoons ... including The Evil Manta in “The Little Mermaid”, Taurus Bulba in “Darkwing Duck”, and Lord Dragaunus in “Mighty Ducks”. My personal favorite by far is his vocal portrayal of the mad Doctor Sevarius from Disney’s “Gargoyles” TV series. Talk about ideal casting, it’s Tim Curry as the voice of a clichéd, yet classy evil scientist, and yes ... he hams it up with all the theatrics you’d expect him to apply to this kind of wicked archetype. Not much else to say here, just a consistently entertaining performance from an overly animated evil doctor.
#7 Mr. Hector – Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Okay ... so he really isn’t a bad guy in this film, but he is a nuisance to our young protagonist, and this is a personal favorite that I just had to include. While I had seen a lot of films and cartoons that featured Tim Curry, I always looked at “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” as the movie that really introduced me to him. This is the film that allowed me to put a face and name to the actor. Even though he has a small part as a hotel manager, who's being irritated by the films young hero staying there, he still steals every scene he’s in, and manages to be the highlight of this mostly okay sequel. My favorite scene is when Macaulay Culkin is watching the animated cartoon of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on TV, and right when the Grinch gives his trademark evil smile, it cross-dissolves into the face of Tim Curry giving an evil grin. That in a nut-shell is one of the actors shining moments, and one of the many entertaining scenes in which Tim Curry saved this film from being subpar.
#6 Emperor
Palpatine/ Darth Sidious – Star Wars:
The Clone Wars (TV Series) (2008 - 2013)
The evil Emperor from the Star Wars film series already felt like the Tim Curry of that
universe, so it was only fitting that he supplied the voice of the character in
the animated series “Star Wars: The
Clone Wars”. Well, originally the character was voiced by the late Ian
Abercrombie, but he sadly passed away near the end of the shows fifth season.
Tim Curry resumed the role for Season 6, in which Emperor Palpatine became the shows main villain. As you’d expect, he was very respectable in
the role, matched the emperors voice quiet well, and most of the time, I
actually found myself forgetting it was Tim Curry. This is one of Curry’s most
subdued performances, and manages to re-capture the same frightening presence
of the character from the movies. It’s just a real treat to hear Tim Curry
supply the voice to one of the “Star
Wars” franchises most iconic villains, but for as sinister as the Emperor is,
he’s nothing compared to who’s coming up next ...
#5 Lord of
Darkness – Legend (1985)
Tim Curry as the devil ... that’s about as dark and evil as
villains get ... but count on Curry to liven it up with his unmistakable devilish
charm. In this underrated 80’s fantasy adventure, Tim Curry plays a demonic
over lord who aims to kill a Unicorn in order to rule a magical Kingdome. Actually,
despite his massive, larger than life, Oscar winning monster makeup, Tim Curry actually
delivers a subtly menacing performance that isn’t quite as bombastic as some of
his other roles. He’s still over-the-top, but with just enough subdued creepy
moments to balance out. While his design is as devilish looking as they get, with massive horns, and some awesome makeup ... he isn’t the actual devil. He’s
more like an evil monster with demonic features. This is most evident in the
fact that he falls for some of the traditional human villain tropes, and even
falls in love with the films beautiful princess. Regardless, Tim Curry can still act
through his pounds of demonic makeup, and deliver a juicy, yet menacing
performance. It’s one of the scarier villains in his gallery, but still every
bit as entertaining as his characters get.
#4 Hexxus – FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
In this little animated gem from the 90’s, Tim Curry voices
a smoky entity called Hexxus, which feeds on pollution, and aims to level a
magical Rain-Forest to splinters. While the character is just as hammy as his
other villains, especially during his “Toxic Love” musical number, Hexxus
actually manages to stand tall as a plain awesome villain. His design is great, and Tim Curry’s vocal talents have never been more sensational then
this, as he supplied the villain with a voice that ranged from deep and
menacing, to flamboyant and silly. While Tim Curry has supplied the voice’s of
countless animated villains, Hexxus will always stand out as one of the actors
most memorable characters.
#3 The Cardinal –
The Three Musketeers (1993)
Now we're talking, it’s Tim Curry as the evil cardinal from
the 1993 action adventure “The Three
Musketeers”. The movie itself is one of those cheesy, yet very enjoyable
products from the 90’s, and by far it’s the villain who steals the show.
Seriously, this is one of Tim Curry’s Juiciest villain roles. It’s one of those
bad guys that’s sophisticated, devilish, comedic, and entertaining all at once. He
has that wicked smirk, he looks slimy, he’s got that nasty chuckle, he struts with that long red-cape, he stretches
his vowels, he raises his voice, and it’s just every over-the-top villain
stereotype rolled into one enjoyable package.
#2 Long John
Silver – The Muppets Treasure Island
(1996)
In the past, Tim Curry supplied the voice of Captain Hook in
the TV series “Peter Pan and the Pirates”,
and proved to be the ideal actor for the role of a pirate. In “The Muppets Treasure Island”, he really
got to shine as the famous Long John Silver. Whenever I think of Tim Curry
without monster make up, I always think of him first in a pirate costume. His
portrayal of the iconic pirate gave him the chance to shine with just about
every one of his talents. He was just as vivacious as ever, and clearly having a
ball while playing the character, but he wasn’t without some humanity, as the
character from the novel should have. It’s not easy to steal the show from Kermit
the Frog and his charismatic Muppet crew, but count on Tim Curry to pull it off
with ease, probably because he already seems like a living Muppet himself.
Before I reveal my #1
favorite Tim Curry villain role, here are my Honorable Mentions ...
Billy Flynn - "Criminal Minds"
Captain Hook – "Peter Pan and the Pirates"
Captain Hook – "Peter Pan and the Pirates"
Rooster Hannigan – "Annie"
Pa, Ma and Winona Brackett – "Tales from the Crypt"
#1 Pennywise The Clown – Stephen King’s IT! (1990)
Yeah, you guessed it ... of all the great villain performances
in Tim Curry’s career, nothing was more unforgettable than his portrayal of
Pennywise the killer clown, from the TV movie “IT!” ... based on the Stephen King novel of the same title. Clowns in general have always been scary, but it’s this supernatural, shape-shifting,
razor toothed monster that’s the stuff of nightmares. In all seriousness,
Pennywise is actually one of the funniest villains I ever seen, and Tim Curry
is clearly having the time of his life in the role. That’s the beauty of this
character, as he can be both terrifying and hilarious all at once, making him the
perfect villain for curry to bring to life. He’s got that creepy voice, the
high pitched laugh, and an incredibly hammy personality to boot. What else can
I say, Pennywise the clown is one of my favorite horror movie villains of all
time and the immortal staple of Tim Curry’s vileness talents.
Thanks for reading my countdown ... and continue to enjoy both the actors and performances you love!