Tim Curry Wants Another Curtain Call With The Muppets
Decades after swashbuckling through Muppet Treasure Island, Tim Curry is itching for a return voyage with Kermit and the gang.
Tim Curry has one of those careers where the fans get it, but the broader world never quite gave him his flowers. Rocky Horror is the blueprint for a cult classic, Clue has only grown in stature, and yet he never got the recognition he deserves outside his diehards. A stroke in 2012 took him off his feet and away from on-camera roles, but if he ever did step back in front of a lens, he already knows who he wants as scene partners: the Muppets.
While helping promote The Rocky Horror Picture Show's 50th anniversary, Curry told The Guardian he had such a blast making 1996's Muppet Treasure Island that he would happily sign on for another round. He lit up talking about how the performers operate: when a Muppeteer has the puppet on, they only talk to you as the character. It is a tiny behind-the-scenes wrinkle, but of course that would be catnip to someone like Curry who loves playing with energy in the moment.
'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 ad-libbed a line, because me and Piggy were supposed to have had some kind of affair long ago, and I said: Well, I will tell you, Jim, once you have had pork, you never go back!'
That last bit tells you exactly why his Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island works: he is not just playing a villain, he is playing with the Muppets. And it shows. Outshining Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and Fozzie is not exactly easy, but Curry basically steals the movie. The only other human who has matched that vibe in a Muppet feature is Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol. Different roles, same lesson: the magic happens when the actor looks like they are genuinely having a good time. Pirate swagger certainly helps.
Since his stroke, Curry has remained a beloved presence at conventions and has kept working in the booth, lending that unmistakable voice to movies and TV. On-camera, though, he has largely stayed away.
If he did ever reunite with the felt-and-foam crew, I would watch that in a heartbeat. Where do you put his Muppet Treasure Island turn on your all-time Tim Curry list?