Thirteen years after a serious stroke, Tim Curry is telling his life story and dishing on his stage and screen roles in his book "Vagabond: A Memoir."
Patricia Quinn (far left), Tim Curry and Nell Campbell starred in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" as well as the original 1973 London stage musical.
The cover of Tim Curry's new memoir, "Vagabond."

Tim Curry’s well known as an actor and was a legit rock star for a time. What you might not be aware of is Curry’s also really good around plants.

His “Spamalot” musical mate Eric Idle did a blurb for Curry’s new memoir “Vagabond,” and Curry says he wrote, "Tim is my favorite baritone gardener. And he will always be my king."

In “Vagabond,” Curry writes about his early years moving around England as a military brat – his father was a navy chaplain – and digs into his long career of screen and stage work. He discusses those fan-favorite roles – inimitable Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” butler Wadsworth in “Clue,” the monstrous Darkness of “Legend” – and his various costars, including taking a jab at Donald Trump. When told there’s been no angry missives on Truth Social yet, Curry quips, “I doubt if he is lining up to read it.”

The actor also opens up about the severe stroke he suffered in 2012 that’s left him partially paralyzed. His health is “pretty good” now, Curry says, but he does write in the book that he’s currently carrying an aneurysm in his abdomen not knowing when or if it’ll rupture. “The whole thing's been scary.”

Curry talks with USA TODAY about “Vagabond,” some of his greatest characters (plus one that got away), his legacy and if we’ll ever see him again on screen.

Question: Was writing a different creative satisfaction for you than acting or singing?

Tim Curry: I loved writing. I did very much. You have to concentrate furiously. Well, you know that.

I do! You did some “Rocky Horror” 50th anniversary events with Barry Bostwick and he mentioned to me how welcoming you were to him and Susan Sarandon. Was that just your way or were they deer in headlights a bit?

I just wanted to be hospitable and let them know they could have their full self confidence. We were happy to see them and damn good they were.

Meeting new fans of “Rocky Horror,” what resonates the most now 50 years later?

It's given a lot of people permission to be themselves, to not dream it, be it, which is the motto of the movie, really. I would like to be remembered for that. But it's good advice.

As someone who went around to multiple “Clue” screenings as a kid to see all three endings, I was intrigued to read about the unseen fourth one. What happened in that?

I killed everybody. It was scary because I almost had a heart attack. I went to the nurse. I had incredibly high blood pressure from running around this set murdering people.

You write about how you thought about your mom when playing Pennywise in “It,” the Cardinal Richelieu in “The Three Musketeers” and the scene in “Rocky Horror” where you kill Meat Loaf with an ax. Are there any roles where you used your dad as inspiration?

I always wanted to be as good as he was. He was a very good man, very funny guy, and a great listener and very kind. I missed him badly. I was only 12 when he died, which was not fun at all.

Which of your movies would he have enjoyed the most?

Probably "Clue." Or "Oscar," because it's the most like me. My own personality. I didn't have to invent him.

Let’s say a youngster is introduced to your work through “Rocky Horror,” “Clue” or “Muppet Treasure Island” and they want to do a deep dive into your rock-star era. What song do they start with?

For young kids? A song called "Working on My Tan" because it's sort of rollicking and jolly. It isn't going to scare anyone. I don't want to scare anybody.

You had a voice role last year in the horror film “Stream.” Do you think we’ll ever see you on screen again?

I'm sure you will. I hope you will. I very much intend to. I don't know about the theater because my short-term memory has not fared well because of the stroke. But my long-term memory has survived long enough for the memoir, thank God. And I just read the book on tape for Audible. Quite often, I'd sort of get into a scene in the book and I would remember it so vividly that it was distracting. (Laughs)

Did your love for performing get reignited doing the audiobook?

Sure, it did, but it was an endless process. I kept editing myself, saying a sentence and then saying, “Stop. I'm going to do that again,” because I could hear that it was dreadful and I don't want to send anybody to sleep with it, really.

Of all the iconic characters that you auditioned for, which one did you feel you have to have?

Probably “Rocky Horror” the play. I wanted to do that. There was the one that got away: I read “The Silence of the Lambs” and I very much wanted to play Hannibal Lecter, but I couldn't get in the room with the director.

You would’ve been great in that. That’s a very you role.

I would've loved it. I thought it was so brilliantly written.

Now that you’ve revisited your life with the book, what is your legacy as an actor, a movie star and a person?

I hope it's as an actor, but not as a movie star, because I don't think of myself that way. I think of myself as a working actor who isn't working right now.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tim Curry gives health update, talks 'Rocky Horror' and the role that got away

Reporting by Brian Truitt, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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