He's not just a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania...

5. Trymon - Colour of Magic (2008)

Bringing life to maniacal wizard Trymon in Sky One’s adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, Tim Curry delivered one of his more memorable turns in 2008’s Colour of Magic. Aligned with an all-star cast including Christopher Lee, David Jason, Jeremy Irons, Sean Astin, and with narration by Brian Cox, Curry’s Trymon reminded everyone what a fiendishly good actor he really is. Magical and malevolent in Pratchett’s Discworld, Curry seems at his devilish best as the remorseless wizard with a lust for power…

What did we learn? -  Given the right cast and a big enough budget, Pratchett’s novels can be made into truly magical television…

4. Dr Frank N. Furter - The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The film that made the man...

Tim Curry made his name as the all-singing, all-dancing transvestite mad scientist in 70s classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Bravely donning suspenders, heels and a face full of powdery slap, Curry caused a sensation that has survived to this day as the lingerie-clad Dr Frank N. Furter. The good doctor, playing host to a group of visitors from the planet Transsexual in his isolated castle, also offers his unique, and strangely entertaining, hospitality to newly-engaged couple Brad and Janet, who find themselves stranded after a spot of car trouble. It isn’t long before Curry’s Frank N. Furter unveils to his guests his latest creation - a young man by the name of Rocky Horror, who, unfortunately for Furter, but fortunately for us, spurns the doctor’s sexual advances. There ensues some very, very camp comedy and some hilarious musical numbers, embedding Tim Curry in our tiny time-warped minds for years to come…

What did we learn? -  ‘Don’t dream it, BE it.’

3. Lord of Darkness - Legend (1985)

As the unicorn-killing Lord of Darkness in Ridley Scott’s dark fable, Tim Curry serves up a truly delicious performance as the glistening-horned villain to the fairytale’s hero, Jack, played by a young Tom Cruise. Determined to bring eternal night to the land he hopes to rule, Darkness is a truly despicable demon, made all the more terrifying by the performance conjured up from Curry’s imaginative genius. Operating in the shadows of Scott’s majestically lit and beautifully filmed fantasy, Curry dishes up a performance that, quite literally, towers above fellow cast members Cruise and Mia Sara. Just as his Lordship asks: ‘What is light without dark?’ we could ask, ‘what would this film be without Tim Curry?’ The answer: A worthwhile watch, for sure, but nowhere nearly as good as what Curry’s, almost perverse, performance makes it…

What did we learn? -  ‘We are ALL animals, m’lady.’

2. Wadsworth, the Butler - Clue (1985)

With a cast including comedy greats Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Madeline Khan and Colleen Camp, it takes an actor of a certain distinction to really stand out and make this movie his own – enter Tim Curry, playing host to Wadsworth, the Butler, in the always overlooked Clue, the movie adaptation of the classic board game. Penned by John Landis and director Jonathan Lynn, Curry delivers a tour-de-force of comedy gold, relishing every line of the gag-a-minute script as he leads his fellow cast around a murder-riddled mansion on a dark and stormy night. Playing into the themes of the whodunit game – murder, mystery, candlesticks and clues - Curry’s Wadsworth is the performance that makes the film, as perfect comedy timing and sheer idiocy stand head and shoulders above the performances of other cast members, who, let it be said, also deliver wonderful performances as Wadsworth’s murder-prone dinner guests…

What did we learn? - They all did it!

1. Pennywise the Clown - IT (1990)

‘Beep Beep, Richie! They ALL float down here. And when you’re down here with us, you’ll float too!’ So said Pennywise the Clown, eater of worlds, stuff of nightmares and tormentor of the terrified children of Stephen King’s classic tome, ‘IT’. At least 200 years old, Tim Curry’s Pennywise added fuel to the fire of an already age-old childhood fear: Clowns. Devouring the innocent little souls of Derry, King’s fictional New England town, Pennywise stalked the childhoods, and later adulthoods, of a group of social outcasts and misfits. Protected only by their unity and friendship in the face of immortal evil, they band together to fight the red-nosed nightmare haunting their lives. Convincing performances are delivered throughout, but it’s Curry who really brings it home with a truly terrifying performance that surpasses all others. Playful, taunting and pure evil, Curry’s Pennywise shows our heroes no mercy as IT plays on fear after fear after fear, leaving them with a waking nightmare that follows them from the misty haze of childhood memory right to the door of their more sensible, adult selves…

What did we learn? - Stay away from showers, sinks, drains and needle-toothed clowns offering blood balloons.

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