[I was drawn to rock and roll] because I love it. There's no way to feel more alive than to be at one end of that direct line to the audience. It's the biggest rush for me, partially because it's the most dangerous thing for me to be doing. Rationally, it's the one thing I shouldn't be doing with my career. I've turned down a lot of roles to make time to record and tour. Inside Insanity Win. 1980.

They're an extraordinary mixture of people. (on Michael Kamen, Richard Wagner, and his band on his album "Fearless") Inside Insanity Win. 1980.

I wanted this record to be about America and money, to take cheap shots at expensive targets. I wanted to report how people havecome to express themselves economically. I set out to be ironic and ended up rather serious. (on his album "Fearless") Inside Insanity Win. 1980.

I've no need to be a Renaissance man. I take it project by project. I go where the work is. W. Post Nov. 27 1980.

I'm proud of that character [Frank N Furter]. I have no intention of disowning it. There's no point in saying, 'I'm not the Fonz.' And I did it for so long. At the beginning, it was just another play, the fifth I was doing at that theater [The Royal Shakespeare Company]. It just clicked and went on and took so long to surface as a film. Now it's a minor religion. I don't think you can worry too much about how the public sees you. W. Post Nov. 27 1980.

["The Life of Shakespeare"] was my first genius. [It is a] rollicking, rompy series, not deeply serious. I didn't get to die, unfortunately. They wanted to end on an upbeat note. W. Post Nov. 27 1980.

The film I made [Times Square] is not the film that came out. It's like going to the butchers. W. Post Nov. 27 1980.

[At concerts], people didn't know what to expect. They'd only seen me with seven pounds of Max Factor on. As soon as they saw me without it, the problem was largely resolved. W. Post Nov. 27 1980.

[My first album was never released], which I'm grateful for. W. Post Nov. 27 1980.

As a singer, I'm probably much more of an actor, thought I don't separate them a great deal. The control of language and resonance is not terribly different. In rock, you can't hear yourself, and rock 'n' roll encourages excesses of every kind ... just the hours and touring are ludicrous. W. Post Nov. 27 1980.

... which is one of the reasons it's nice to be back in theater [because of the discipline of a defined role, the centered physical demands]. W. Post Nov. 27 1980

[Landing the title role in "Amadeus" was] an absurd coincidence. I was halfway through the second act [of the book] when Peter called and said 'See it tonight and see if you want to do it.' I flew back to New York Sunday and on Monday I signed for the role. W. Post Nov. 27 1980.

Time takes care of all that, really. [Personal publicity of any kind is not] something I'm very good at. It's difficult enough surviving the scrutiny of one's professional life without surviving personal scrutiny as well. It's more draining than working. W. Post Nov. 27 1980.

The risk is of finding the money as singer too comfortable. I make it a rule to go back to acting as often as I can. And I've put aside what I call a theater fund that covers expenses while I'm acting. English actors try to keep broadening their experience as they get older. Americans often get typecast in one good role and narrow their field. [I can't resist flamboyant roles]--the kind where you may fall on your face if you don't pull it off. NY Post Jan 15 1981.

Actually, I try to make [Mozart] more real than the English production does. There he is a more stylized caricature. But you can only do so much without jarring Peter Shaffer's intentions. According to historical accounts, Mozart was very much an arrested adolescent. You'll find letters to his sister filled with scatological humor of the kind he uses in the play. But what I love about the part is its range. I go from being an insufferable boor to a truly tragic figure. NY Post Jan 15 1981.

At the time I had decided that acting was what I wanted [when he attended the University of Birmingham]. But after The Rocky Horror Show, people were willing to finance me for rock tours. NY Post Jan 15 1981.

Since the show arrived here, I've done little but go home after the curtain and cough. Somehow I didn't miss a performance, but I had no trouble acting that death scene. [on having a bout with Hong Kong flu] NY Post Jan 15 1981.

[Rock] is the most dangerous thing for me to be doing. I've turned down a lot of roles to make time to record and tour. I like risky parts--abrasive characters the audience won't necessarily like. It would be boring to play a Dresden saint. People Feb 16 1981.

The book is really a sociological document, there are still lots of Fagins and Sikeses around. (on "Oliver Twist") Christian Science Monitor Mar. 22 1982.

[I first read Dickens when he was seven, then went back] and plowed through the lot between the ages of 8 and 12. They're all thumping good stories. I identified with Oliver, not with Bill Sikes of course. But I also felt terribly sorry for the villains because I was aware that they had so little chance to be different in those times. Christian Science Monitor Mar. 22 1982.

[He was no more than] vaguely aware of little girls with big voices singing 'Tomorrow.' NY Times Magazine May 2 1982.

I don't really think "The Rocky Horror Show" has typecast me. That was a long time ago and I have done a lot since then. But there are a lot of people who seem to associate me only with that project. W. Times Jun 9 1982.

You might be surprised to know that I played the title role in a BBC production 'The Life of Shakespeare.' It hasn't been seen here, but ABC bought all six parts so probably it will get an airing some of these days. W. Times Jun 9 1982.

[All the actors want to be the murderer], if they have any sense. USA Today Jul 30 1985.

I used to play Clue all the time in English country houses similar to the one we're working in now. The game lends itself to country-house weekends. NY Times Aug 25 1985.

If there isn't a thin bat squeak of competition among actors, you're in the wrong game. But this film is remarkably free of that. People have actually gone out of their way to give other actors better camera angles. NY Times Aug 25 1985.

You start with the reality of a character, and then you put a great Dada brush on it. (about playing a script by Howard Schumann) Drama 2nd qtr. 1986.

Audiences and critics don't like to see that in themselves, let alone films. We're used to heroes in films, however shady. I don't think I'm built for heroics. I like to try to play something more complicated. (on his undoubted ability to capture the selfish, greedy and usympathetic in his characters) Drama 2nd qtr. 1986.

I identify with Bill [Snibson] enormously. It's like playing the best part of yourself. It's been good therapy. I deserved it, really. I can actually shake off the creeps pretty easily. If not, I really would be a serial killer by now. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

It's fun to explore your contradictions. Otherwise I'd have been a banker. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

[I] ran up and down ladders in high heels [for "Rocky Horror"]. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

The energy of it ["Me and My Girl"] was so exciting, very hard to turn off. Wanted to go out and have dinner and play after every show. Somewhere about two weeks ago, it started to fail me and I realized I'd have to pace myself. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

A lot of the physical stuff is from Lupino Lane. [Noel] Gay's son, [Richard Armitage] saw the show hundreds of times in London and remembered it. The cape stuff, the pillow bit all come from Lane. Apparently his first entrance was a fall off a balcony ... he came out of the music hall, out of vaudeville. In 1937, it probably was a lot slower. We think we put a Broadway crackle on it, though I'm not sure. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

Bill [Snibson] is a kind of Lord of Misrule. he has a good time wherever he is ... the difficult part is that he's someone who's street-wise but innocent, a simpleton who dragged himself up by his bootstraps yet has this absolutely sweet relationship with Sally and this blind faith in human nature. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987

When I was in nursery school, I played a goblin who had a little sewing machine. I made wings for Fairies. I don't think I've ever told anybody that. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

[His father died when Curry was 12] and Mother wasn't very encouraging about the theater. I had a sort of scholarship kind of education. Actually I think she didn't think I was that good in theater. And she was being practical. Very few people do make a living at it. WhenI was 14 or 15 I decided to be an actor. When I was 18, I tried to talk myself out of it. But acting was pretty much all that I did. I sure wasn't very visible in my classes. In fact, one teacher tried to stop me from entering a room to take a final. He had never seen me before. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

[I] visited 90 odd cities on one of those nightmare buses with a so-called drawing room in front, many tasteful shades of chenille and velvet. [on his tour of America] San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

[I've done a bit of Shakespeare] in rep and some in London. At the National I could work for just a year. Trying to keep a film career going isn't that easy. Two years is a long time to be away. [on the Royal Shakespeare Companys' two-year commitment] San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

The last one [Pass the Ammo] was the most relaxed I've ever been in front of a camera. I felt the kind of ease you read about sometimes. Never worried too much about camera technique. Assumed I would know when I wasn't telling the truth. And I hoped the director would tell me if it wasn't coming across as the truth. Coming from theater, I think I tended to overplay. You can make a very similar relationship with a film crew that can be just as rewarding. I love film crews--if they love me. With an audience, it's a very demanding relationship, actually, like you always have to be a good boy. You actually have to be very sure who is the tyrant. Actors do talk about whipping audiences into shape. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

I met [Paul] Schraeder once. [the director he most wants to work with] He told me he has a cassette of "Rocky Horror" to remind himself that anything is possible. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

I've tried hard for the work to keep pace with my confidence. You have to tell the truth and be who you are off the stage as well. Actors get into trouble when they overreach themselves, especially in this country. San Diego Union Dec. 25, 1987.

I tend to play a lot of dark, strange peole. This guy [Bill Snibson] is so sunny and relentlessly optimistic--so much more, actually, like me--that I thought he would be enormous fun to play. He's a sweetheart. He's really nice to take home. There are one or two people that I've spent all day playing that I was very, very glad to leave in the studio. [Surely he didn't come home after a performance of "Amadeus" and act like an obscene adolescent?] I'd already done that in my songwriting phase. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

[Bill Snibson] likes everybody and wants to be liked by everybody. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

I'd always wanted to do a musical with that dangerous word, heart. They aren't around much. Musicals now tend to be much more cynical. I wanted to play it so that the audience cared whether I got the girl or not. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

That's very much the danger ([of making the character] terminally cute). I guess [one can avoid that] by being likable without being ingratiating. Ingratiation is the great trap of likeable characters. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

It obviously is intimidating. I think it's easier for English actors, though, because we're always following great actors into classical roles. I just played in a revival of "Love for Love" at the National Theater, the part that Olivier played. One by one, people are attempting his roles. They have to be done. A faint heart never won a fair lady, I guess. I also wouldn't have done it if I didn't think I could bring something [?] to it. Basically, when I saw the white-tie-and-tails number, I said, 'Yes, I want to be in this.' Everybody wants to be Gene Kelly for five minutes in their life. I get five minutes eight times a week. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

I think at some point you have to [concentrate on one thing]. I'll be making a film here, and my agent gets excited, and things start to happen. Then there's a play I want to do. He wrings his hands, and I go and do the play. [Then when I return] one has to generate that interest all over again. Also, it takes awhile to really become comfortable with a film camera and start to understand what you want to do with or to one. In Arkansas, I thought, 'I really enjoy doing this. I want to do it a lot more.' LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

I hadn't done a musical for four or five years. The good ones are very few and far between. And they're the best way of getting in shape that I know. They're the cheapest diet, and the most effective. I just met Mary Martin the other day. When she was doing musicals, she used to do the show and virtually stay in bed the rest of the day. She said she never used to leave the apartment. I'm beginning to understand what she meant. The 120 percent energy that's required, the sheer kind of ... candlepower, I guess, means that you have to store up as much energy as you possibly can. I don't think you'll see me at the Trocadero. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

One of the reasons that I didn't ever learn [to drive] before was that I was so spectacularly poor. Until I was about 27, there was no point. I couldn't afford to look at a car, let alone run one. Pretty much after that, I could afford to be driven. I lived in London or New York, where you don't really need a car. But it is a problem in L.A. People get fed up with that broad smile appearing on your face when you say, 'Are you possibly going to Los Feliz?' when they're actually going to Pacific Palisades. Particularly if you haven't had a hit in a while. So I'm going to take the test while I'm here. I haven't had much time in San Francisco, and I thought trying to take a test driving up and down those hills would be stupid. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

I'm very interested in playing in a lot of different cities in America and trying to get a broader idea of the American sensibility. This is a much more diverse country than I ever imagined. What's most interesting is the ethnic mix in America and the way that survives five, six generations. I'm still astonished at the way people announce themselves as Ialian or German. When I first came here, I thought Americans were a wonderful, glamorous race apart. I'm actually very moved and interested by that. I'm fascinated by how that shapes the way that people become part of America, and what kind of an American that makes them. I'm fascinated because I want to play them, obviously. I'm starting to play American roles in films here. I want to do a lot more of that, and this is a marvelous way to research the culture. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

The Jim and Tammy Bakker case broke while we were shooting ["Pass the Ammo"] so it was a major case of life imitating art. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

["Legend" is] doing remarkably well on video. Kids adore it on video, and a lot of parents have had to buy it for their children. Exactly the same thing happened to me with "Annie." I really have two audiences. There are, by now, almost two generations of college kids who have gotten introduced to me by late-night weekend. Then there are children of friends who say, 'Where are your horns?' I certainly come out of a different box every time. LA Daily News Jan. 8, 1988.

I worked very hard for a long time to have the luxury of that choice [between theater, film and pop music]. A great deal of my career has been about breaking down those barriers, and insisting on my right to do those things. It can be a bit confusing, but I think audiences, and certainly journalists, are finally getting the idea of what I was up to. The whole idea was to grow as steadily as possible in as many directions as possible. It's funny, I was talking to Sting the other day, and he said that journalists often ask him what makes him think he could act. And he said, 'Well, what makes Tim Curry think that he could sing?' W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

Under 200 pounds of red polystyrene. [in Legend] W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

It's a bit difficult really to say where I'm from. My father was in the Navy, so we moved all the time. But I think if I'm from anywhere I'm really from the west of Englnd. I went to school in Bath. That's kind of home for me, I suppose, in terms of landscape and 'moral attitudes.' W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

By the time I was 15 or so, I knew that acting was what I wanted to do. And then I spent a long time trying to talk myself out of it, because everybody else was trying to. Particularly my widowed mother, who didn't have very much money. She would have preferred a secure profession for me, and quite rightly, I guess, from her point of view. W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

Until the late '70's, the English TV public thought that I was American. I played a New Yorker before I'd ever been to New York. I've been out listening to voices as we travel the States. I hope it'll be useful as far as the movies go, because I'd eventually like to do the kind of character stuff that Peter Sellers and Alec Guinness were able to do, which is the hardest kind of comedy. W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

["Hair" was his] drama school. The show was notorious all over the world for people not showing up. And I was kind of the eager beaver, I went on for everybody. I played just about every part in that show except for Sheila. And I could probably have done that, too. "Hair" got the idea of the glamour of the theater out of the way very very quickly. We were the flavor of the month and invited everywhere ... I did realize very soon that the next thing could be a flop and I'd be back in the kitchen with the hired help. I could have done what most of those other people did, which was go on to other rock musicals--I was offered "Jesus Christ Superstar," but I hung around the Royal Court instead. I just decided to get on with it and be an actor. W. Post Sept 4, 1988.

I did that show [Rocky Horror] forever. I did six months in London, six months in L.A., and then I did the movie, and then a couple of months in New York. It was enough ... The cult thing has always been a bit peculiar to me, because it's so much more here than it is in England. It's always bewildering to me again when I first come back to America. "Rocky" acolytes still try and get in touch with me. But people don't go through my garbage anymore, or line up in front of the apartment building. W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

I wonder what they've been through in 10 years. [on a couple in a Virginia movie theater getting married after a midnight show of "Rocky Horror"] W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

I got very involved in the rock thing--I was terribly serious about it. But I knew that there was no point in doing it until I had enough clout to have control over what I was doing, which really didn't happen until "Rocky Horror" suddenly became a phenomenon. I mean, ["Rocky Horror" producers] wanted me to sing things like, 'When I wake up/Before I put on my makeup.' I said, yeah, I'd really love to sing that. By the time I started to write my own stuff it was a little bit ahead of its time and too literate for the market. At the time--'79, '80, '81--it was disco hell and the beginnings of punk. I'm proud of the records--they had three or four good songs, which isn't bad. I think they're going to put out a compilation CD soon. But frankly, it just got too hard. I did like 100 cities in America, I did a continental tour, I worked with studio musicians, did one-night stands--the most exhausting way of living known to man. By the time I got round to the third record, I didn't really feel that what I had to say was going to be heard, or particularly worth saying. So I quit. But I want to make another record. In fact, I want to make a blues-jazz record. I'm sort of beginning to work on that. W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

Rather torturous... dreadful from the first minute to the last minute [production of "The Threepenny Opera"] W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

I'm fascinated by the innocence of relationships in '30's musicals--always was. When I watched Fred and Ginger movie it wasn't just for the dancing, it was because of their kind of wisecracking relationship. And there's an innocence and sweetness in this show which was attractive to me, because I tend to play people who know too much. I tend to play pretty kind of cynical, jaded people on the whole. And I do know too much. I'm somebody who can't bear to miss anything. And I think it's pretty clear on my face. Also, it's a face that's writ kind of large. It is a theater face, really. I rather hope that it's a film face, too. I mean it is an extravagant face, and I hope an intelligent one. W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.

["Me and My Girl" marks the end of] a very nonphysical period. After "Amadeus" and after giving up rock 'n' roll, I went back to England. I just got so bored with the kind of glamour thing that I put on about 30 pounds. Very easily and inadvertently. That was my sort of 'character' period. I really kind of enjoyed retreating into my playing and timing, rather than any other kind of appeal. In fact, one of the reasons I did "Me and My Girl" was to end that period. It was time to be a physical actor again. I like to dance, but I've always been a choreographer's nightmare. The first thing I said was, "Well, the hat's got to go. It was his [Robert Lindsay] signature. I kept one little hat trick just as sort of a nod to him. W. Post Sept. 4, 1988.


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