The 14 Best Tim Curry Movies Ranked

As far as character actors with instantly recognizable voices go, there are few more memorable than Tim Curry. Born in England in 1946, Curry got his start in the original West End production of "Hair" back in 1968, and he's been winning over audiences ever since. Whether playing the hero (extremely rarely) or the villain, the living legend consistently brings a gleeful malevolence and sense of camp to all of his performances, making them instant classics. 

Although he suffered a debilitating stroke in 2012, it's hardly slowed him down, and he continues to work as a voice actor to his day — he most recently served as the narrator for the horror film "Fork" starring Anthony Stewart Head. Over the course of his long and storied career, Tim Curry has made a significant impact on both film and television alike, earning an Emmy nomination in 1994 for his work on "Tales of the Crypt," as well as three Tony nominations for "Amadeus," "My Favorite Year," and "Monty Python's Spamalot." Here are just a few of his most memorable films.

Based on a short story by the English poet Robert Graves, "The Shout" tells the unsettling story of a strange man named Charles Crossley (Alan Bates) who, upon moving into a small town in the English countryside, worms his way into the lives of Rachel (Susannah York) and Anthony (John Hurt). They are initially happy to offer him a place to stay, but quickly grow disturbed by his bizarre behavior, including his insistence that he is capable of performing an Aboriginal scream that will immediately kill its listeners. 

Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, "The Shout" luxuriates in its unsettling, atmospheric tone, which is perhaps best exemplified by a scene in which a group of locals plays a game of cricket against the patients at a nearby psychiatric institution. Here we see Curry in a small but crucial role as Robert Graves, who is attempting to keep score of the match while also listening to Crossley's relentlessly inane yet sometimes threatening stories. This was only Curry's second big-screen appearance, but it showcases both his talent and taste for offbeat projects.

For a generation of kids growing up in the 1990s, Curry's voice conjures up memories not of his famously creepy earlier roles, but of the loving (if entirely oblivious) father of Eliza Thornberry (Lacey Chabert) in Nickelodeon's animated series "The Wild Thornberrys." The show follows Eliza, a young girl who travels the world with her nature documentarian parents, only to discover that she possesses the ability to communicate with animals. 

The show ran for five seasons, from 1998 to 2004, and was so successful that, in 2002, Paramount released "The Wild Thornberrys Movie." Taking place in Kenya, the film details Eliza's efforts to save a young cheetah that she has befriended from the poachers that threaten its native habitat. One of Nickelodeon's more environmentally focused projects, "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" proved to be a modest hit for the studio, and it earned Nickelodeon their first and only Oscar nomination for best original song.

An ode to the glory of nature and a warning about the threats it faces from mankind on a daily basis, "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" was the environmentalist kids' movie of the early 1990s. It features Jonathan Ward as Zak, a young man who works for a logging company in Australia. Early in the film, he is shrunk down and, upon meeting the magical inhabitants of the rainforest, is forced to grapple with the devastating consequences of his actions. (If the story sounds at all like "Avatar," well ...  what can we say, it's very similar to the plot of "Avatar.") 

Curry, again cementing his status as a pitch-perfect villain, plays the role of Hexxus, a malevolent force that feeds off the pollution humanity insists upon introducing to the rainforest. This marked Curry's first voice performance in an animated film released theatrically, and it succeeded in introducing his talents to a new generation of audiences.

Alfred Kinsey is famous today for developing the concept that human sexuality operates on a spectrum where people can be not solely homosexual or heterosexual, but in fact experience more nuanced feelings of attraction. And in 2004, director Bill Condon turned Kinsey's sexology career into a biopic starring Liam Neeson as the title character. Neeson's Kinsey is open and frank about his sexual research, while Curry's Thurman Rice provides a vivid contrast as a doctor who (contrary to some of Curry's more liberated earlier performances) is priggish, preaching abstinence, and disapproving of his colleague's methods. 

"Kinsey" is a quirky, playfully naughty biopic that was well-received upon its initial release, earning Laura Linney an Oscar nomination for her performance as Kinsey's former student and wife (yikes). Although Kinsey's contributions to the study of human sexuality are noteworthy, the film doesn't shy away from the more problematic elements of his character, with Nick Schager of Lessons of Darkness praising the movie for capturing "authentic truth by refusing to lionize its far-from-perfect subject."

On the face of it, Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) are the obvious villains in both "Home Alone" and its sequel, "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." But it doesn't get much more slimy and obsequious than Curry's performance as Mr. Hector, the main concierge at the Plaza Hotel, who spends the entire film suspicious of the 10-year-old boy who — on his own and at Christmas — just happens to be staying at one of New York City's most expensive hotels. He's not actually a bad guy, per se — after all, like Dr. Petrov in "The Hunt for Red October, he's just doing his job — but his smarmy attitude sets him up as an antagonist for young Kevin all the same. Curry's broad, malicious grin that transforms into the Grinch alone is enough to make his character incredibly memorable.

For its part, "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" is the rare sequel that lives up to its original, finding new ways to deliver on the old visual gags that made the first film such a success. With iconic New York settings such as Central Park and, of course, the Plaza Hotel, it's a perfect Christmas movie.

So, if you want to get all pedantic about it, no, technically "IT" is not a movie — it's a television miniseries. But in what universe were we not going to include one of Curry's most iconic performances? Please.

In "IT," Curry stars as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, a malevolent force that torments the small town of Derry, Maine, and particularly the children that inhabit it. His gruesome visage here is part clown, part skull, and all terrifying, as he wreaks havoc on Derry, sometimes murdering little kids and sometimes just messing with their heads. Although Pennywise is only one manifestation of this ageless evil spirit, Curry's creepy, fearless performance shoots the character into the big leagues of horror. 

The way Pennywise lures children in, all painted grin and a handful of balloons, only to brutally snuff out their lives, is as chilling as anything Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers ever did. This adaptation of "IT" is not without its flaws, but Curry's line reading of "We all float down here. You'll float, too," still sends a shiver up the spines of audiences everywhere ... every time. 

In this wild, frenetic murder mystery, Curry is surrounded by an all-star cast of comedic talents, yet still manages to assert himself as the star of the show. "Clue" is a madcap adaptation of the popular whodunnit board game (and possibly the greatest-ever film based on a board game) in which a group of strangers turns up at a large, imposing manor in 1950s New England. They're there to attend a dinner party — or at least that's what their invitations say. 

In reality, they're all well aware that they're being blackmailed by the mysterious Mr. Boddy, and this dinner is just a new phase in his torment of them. So, it makes sense that when given the opportunity one of them might see their way clear to rid them all of the unpleasantness and just kill him. But if that murder makes sense, the web of killings that follow is considerably more unexpected. Curry plays Wadsworth, the butler of the manor, with a dry wit that provides a perfect contrast to the guests' histrionics. "Clue" swings for the fences, packing more punchlines and visual gags into its runtime than any other film of its genre would dare. And don't forget the alternate endings!