- Michael York, Cabaret, 1971.
To accommodate Liza Minnelli, Sally Bowles was changed from Brit to Yank in the Bob Fosse musical – and so vice-versa for her pal, Brian Roberts (aka the author Christopher Isherwood, called Clifford Bradshaw on stage). About 20 Brits were seen for Brian including Leonard Romeo Whiting and a future James Bond. Timothy Dalton. Plus Curry (not yet Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show); David Hemmings, Mr Blow Up; Jeremy Irons, not yet chosen for movies; Malcolm McDowell, the Clockwork Orange; John McEnery, but not his starrier brother, Peter; Paul Nicholas, singer-actor; Leonard Whiting, the 1967 Romeo. And Bruce Robinson, who after 15 acting gigs, became a writer-director of such underground hits as the classic Withnail & I. John Rubinstein was the sole American, when it looked as if Brian would be American after all. So how did York win? “Hearing they were looking for ‘a Michael York type, I ventured to suggest that I might still possibly fill the bill.” - Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange, 1971. After Mick Jagger’s interest camer and went (with the other Stones as his droogs directed by John Schlesinger), Venetian maestro Tinto Brass was keen on adapting the Anthony Burgess novel. Ken Russell loomed large with, of course, his main man, Oliver Reed, as Alex. Curry and Jeremy Irons simply fled. Stanley Kubrick delayed his version until finding the right leading thug. Once he saw Lindsey Anderson’s Ifin 1968, he told his wife: “We’ve found our Alex.”And if McDowell hadn’t been available? “I probably wouldn’t have made the film.”Kubrick used the same Dutch sculptures and paintings featured the year before in Dropoutby Brass – who later chose McDowell for his infamous Caligua, 1979.
- Tom Hulce, Amadeus, 1984. During his UK casting period, Czech director Milos Forman saw Curry who played the role on-stage. At 38, he was too old on-screen for Johann Chryostom Wolfgang Theophilius Mozart. All rather different from his Woof (among other roles) in the original London production of Rado and Ragni’s global smash: Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical..!
- Christopher Gable, Doctor Who #135: The Caves of Androzani, TV, 1984. John Nathan-Turner aimed (too) high for the final (and favourite) adventure of Doc5 Peter Davison. For the disfigured hero, Sharaz Jek, the producer wooed Curry, David Bowie, Mick Jagger… And actors Patrick Allen, Nicholas Ball, Steven Berkoff, Brian Cox, Christopher Gable, Michael Gambon, Julian Glover, John Hurt, Derek Jacobi, Martin Jarvis, Michael Jayston, Oliver Tobias..Rather than be in it, they all preferred to stay home and simply watch the regeneration into Doc6 Colin Baker – the least popular of all the Time Lords. Gable, the ballet-dancer made a movie star by director Ken Russell, had previously been chosen for Major Salateen.
- Christopher Lloyd, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1986. The legend goes that producer Steven Spielberg and his director protege, Robert Zemeckis (and the Disney suits) found Curry’s test as Judge Doom quite terrifying. (As if Lloyd was not – he never even blinked!) So, Curry was too scary… and John Cleese too funny! What did they want? Not John Cusack, Roddy McDowell, Sting or Robin Williams either. They’d even considered Christopher Lee – and Jon Pertwee, surely too sweet. Lloyd was a strictly MOR toon who, in an earlier draft, had been the hunter who killed Bambi’s mother.
- Jack Nicholson, Batman, 1988.
- Tony Randall, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, 1989. Curry was director Joe Dante’sfirst choice for the voice of Brain Gremlin in the sequel that Dante didn’t want to direct.
- Harvey Keitel,Thelma & Louise, 1990.
- Robby Benson, Beauty and the Beast, 1990. Laurence Fishburne, Val Kilmer and Mandy Patinkin also made sense as potential voice of The Beast – but Regis Philbin, c’mon! US audiences would have guffawed on recognising the voice of the nation’s most famous morning TV host.
- Jonathan Freeman, Aladdin, 1991. Disney’s voice choices for Jafar, our hero’s foe, the Sultan’s evil vizier, were Curry, Kesley Grammer, John Hurt, Christopher Lloyd. Plus the future X-Men co-stars Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. Merging Boris Karloff with Vincent Price, Freeman remained in Jafar mode (for sequels and video games) for the next 20 years.
- Mark Hamill, Batman, TV, 1992-1995. Luke Skywalker took over voicing The Joker when it was deemed that Curry’s version was surely what it was supposed to be -“too scary.”
- Roberto Benigni, Son of the Pink Panther, 1992. An Italian as the gormless gendarme-son of the far funnier gendarme-father. Ah, but his mother was Italian, you see. But no longer Elke Sommer, who was Maria Gambrelli in Clouseau 2: A Shot in the Dark, 1963, but Claudia Cardinale, the Princess Dala in the first Panther 30 years previously. She was the owner of the titluar pink diamond, not even mentioned in this greedy sequel which was as stupid as that… Also in the Junior mix: Rowan Atkinson, Tim Curry, Kevin Kline (Inspector Dreyfus in the 2005 Panther reboot with an execrable Steve Martin) Bronson Pinchot (rapidly un-listed after his Blame it on the Bellboy flop) and a genuine Frenchman, Gérard Depardieu. Atkinson was marked “UK known only” when suggested for Detective Clifton Sleigh in Curse of the Pink Panther, 1983, another mess made after the 1980 death of the one true Inspector Clouseau, Peter Sellers. But hey wasn’t Benigni Italy-known only at the time?!
- Jeremy Irons, The Lion King, 1993. In the frame to voice the villainous Scar in the 32nd Disney toon – Bambi meets Hamlet in Africa! – were either top Brits, Curry, Irons, Malcolm McDowell – or assorted Hollywood-mafiosi James Caan, Robert Duvall, Ray Liotta.
- Hugo Weaving, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Australia, 1994. Been there, donethat, didn’t bother with a postcard because if you don’t know that… you shouldn’t be making cross-dressing movies...
- Christopher Lloyd, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1987. The legend goes that Curry’s test terrified producer Steven Spielberg and his director protege, Robert Zemeckis. So, Curry was too scarey… and John Cleese too funny! What did they want? Not Roddy McDowell, Sting or Robin Williams either. And Christopher Lee passed. Lloyd was a strictly MOR toon (he never blinks) who, in an earlier draft, had been the hunter who killed Bambi’s mother.
- Sherman Howard, Jumani, TV, 1996-1999. After auditioning as Van Pelt inm the tele-toon version, Curry became Trader Slick, whose intended New York voice became rather more UK.
- Paul McGann, Doctor Who (The Movie), TV, 1996.
- Eric Roberts, Doctor Who (The Movie), TV, 1996.
- Christopher Lloyd, Anastasia, 1997. Curry and two other Brits – Jonathan Pryce and Patrick Stewart- were also up forvoicing the mad Russian monk,Rasputin. But Back To The Future’s Doc Brown beat Dr Frank-N-Furter (of The Rocky Horror Picture Show), Brazil’s Sam Lowry andStar Trek’s Jean-Luc Picard.
- Kevin Kline, Wild Wild West, 1999. Warners encouraged director Barry Sonenfeld to chase after Will Smith for West, James West (’nuff said?). But not, alas, after his first choice for Artemus Gordon.
- Christopher Lee, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, 2000-2002.
- Leonard Nimoy, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, 2001. Disney science fiction has never gelled until this animated feature from the Lion King/Hunchback of Notre Dame/Beauty and the Beast trio: producer Dan Hahn, directors Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise. They jumped at the chance of Spock voicing the Atlantean king – after (literally) penciling in Curry.
- Rowan Atkinson, Scooby-Doo, 2001. Who should be the villain Mondavarious? Mr Bean or Dr Frank-N-Furter? And the winner is Atkinson. Playing it, said critic Roger Ebert, as a private joke.
- Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2006. Only Brit considered when, during 25 year, the titular casting also included Russell Crowe, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Steve Martin, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino. Curry was the sole Brit considered and the most lunatic notions were… Warren Beatty, Harrison Ford and… Robert Redford!
- Bill Skarsgård, It, 2016. No, no, he’d already done It. For the 1990 mini-series – the year Stellan Skarsgård’s son/Alexander TarzanSkarsgård’s brother was born. The instant rumours included Jim Carrey, Mark Rylance, Tilda Swinton and, naturally, Johnny Depp and Jackie Earl Haley. Ben Mendelsohn, Hollywood’s busiest Aussie since 2010, proved too pricey. Will Poulter was chosen by director Cary Joli Fukunaga, before quitting over artistic differences (true for once). New helmer Andy Muschietti said Poulter was a great option, but was not free for the delayed shoot. Andy auditioned Stephen R Hart, Doug Jones (future Saru in Star Trek: Discovery, 2017-2021), Brian Safi, Timothy Simmons, Hugo Weaving but gave Pennywise to Stellan Skarsgård’s fourth son (five of his six boys are actors). Bill has Strabismus – he can simultaneously move his eyes in different directions. Great for “such an extreme character… beyond sociopath, because he’s not even human. I’m playing just one of the beings It creates.” Tim Curry thought Bill “very clever, very good.” “Spectacularly scary,the stuff of nightmare,” added Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers. The public agreed and the 225th of King’s staggering 313 screen credits was his biggest hit! A sequel was guaranteed – and made in 2018.
- Johnny Depp, Sherlock Gnomes, 2017. Depp voiced Holmes in his third toon – after Curry withdreww from the gig. Chiwetel Ejofor made his vocal-debut as Dr Watson and Michael Caine was Lord Redbrick – as in Gnomeo & Juliet, 2010. Good to know they’re still together after seven years. So what’s next from producer Elton John: Gnome, Sweet Gnome?
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 26