NEED TO KNOW
Tim Curry is always fully committed.
Curry, the author of the new memoir Vagabond, opened up about his storied career in an interview published by The Guardian on Oct. 14. They spoke about one of his favorite projects: 1996’s Muppet Treasure Island. Curry, 79, played the pirate Long John Silver.
In the film, Long John Silver had an ill-fated romance with Benjamina “Mina” Gunn — played by none other than Miss Piggy (performed by Muppets legend Frank Oz). Because of that romance, Curry told The Guardian, he improvised a racy line that didn’t make it to the film’s final cut.
“I ad-libbed a line, because me and Piggy were supposed to have had some kind of affair long ago,” he said. Using his pirate accent ( which he based on his grandfather’s real Devonshire accent), he told the outlet, “Well, I’ll tell you, Jim, once you’ve had pork, you never go back!”
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Curry said of working with the famed crew of muppets and performers, “I would love to work with the Muppets again. The great thing is that the Muppeteers themselves, if they have their puppet on their hand, they only talk to you as the character. I love that.”
In Vagabond, Curry reflected on how he was cast in the film, which he called “the most delightful cinematic experience I’ve enjoyed.” He explained that director Brian Henson (the son of Muppets creator Jim Henson, who died in 1990) “needed somebody who could play an extravagant, boisterous, duplicitous character who could also sing.”
“It helped immensely that I already loved the Muppet franchise; it’s just a world of fun and I’d been glued to the TV show. I had no hesitation about working with them,” he wrote. “I cannot overstate how much I adored working with the Muppets.”
He said it was “impressive” what the Muppets can do. “If you have the privilege, and you allow yourself to enter their world, it really does not take long to forget that you are working with puppets,” he said.
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Still, he addressed the popular Internet meme that compares his performance in Muppet Treasure Island and Michael Caine’s in Muppet Christmas Carol. The meme says, “Michael Caine treats the Muppets as fellow actors, and Tim Curry treats himself as a fellow Muppet.” Curry wrote off the idea he thought of himself as a Muppet: “Absolutely not.”
As for his personal favorite Muppets, Curry wrote, “My favorite was always Gonzo, who was always the victim, and never deserved it. I pity him. I also have a fondness for Miss Piggy, who’s quite a seductive girl.”
Curry, who suffered a stroke in 2012, is also renowned for the movie musicals The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Annie (1982). He also starred on Broadway multiple times, including in the stage version of The Rocky Horror Show, Amadeus and Spamalot. His other famous roles include Wadsworth in 1985’s Clue and Pennywise the Clown in 1990’s It.
Curry’s memoir Vagabond is available wherever books are sold.
