Tim Curry says iconic villain role that slipped through his fingers is one of his ‘great regrets’

Tim Curry has played some of cinema’s most unforgettable characters, but the actor recently revealed that one role he never landed still haunts him. 

During an appearance on “The Academy” YouTube channel, Curry, 79, reflected on his career of over five decades, sharing he is still disappointed that he was never even considered for one iconic part. 

“One of my great regrets is that I read the script of ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and I desperately wanted to play Hannibal Lecter,” Curry said. 

“My agent couldn’t get me in the room, but Tony Hopkins did a great job,” he admitted.

“The Silence of the Lambs,” which premiered on Valentine’s Day 1991, tells the tale of Clarice Starling, an FBI cadet, who must resort to receiving help from incarcerated cannibal Hannibal Lecter to catch another serial killer. The psychological horror movie starred Anthony Hopkins as Lecter and Jodie Foster as Starling. 

The film grossed more than $270 million worldwide and earned five Oscars, including best picture, best actor for Hopkins and best actress for Foster. Hopkins went to reprise the role in Ridley Scott’s sequel movie “Hannibal” (2001), and prequel film “Red Dragon” (2002).

Hopkins, who famously gave a new meaning to fava beans and a nice Chianti, told Variety that he initially thought “The Silence of the Lambs” was a movie for children – at least until he read the script.

“I was in London in 1989, doing a play called ‘M. Butterfly,’” he recalled. “My agent sent the script.” 

After 10 pages, Hopkins immediately called his agent back, wanting to know if the offer to star in “Silence of the Lambs” was real.

“This is the best script I’ve ever read,” Hopkins declared at the time.

During an appearance at the 2015 Austin Film Festival, “The Silence of the Lambs” director Jonathan Demme recalled that Sean Connery was his first choice to play Lecter but the James Bond star rejected the role after reading the script. 

“Word came back shortly that he thought it was disgusting and wouldn’t dream of playing that part,” Demme remembered during an interview with Paul Thomas Anderson, via Deadline. “So, great, now we can go to Tony Hopkins.”

Demme explained that he believed Hopkins would be a great fit for the role after being impressed with the actor’s performance as surgeon “Frederick Treves” in the 1980 historical drama “The Elephant Man.”

“It was so easy for me to see that Anthony would be a superb Dr. Lecter because he had been such an amazing good doctor in ‘The Elephant Man,’” Demme said. “He had been as believable a doctor as you can imagine, and he was good. What if you cast Anthony Hopkins in the part of Dr. Lecter, who is not the worst doctor, but he’s a… good doctor turned bad? That was my engine for Anthony Hopkins.”

Though Curry lost out on the chance to play Lecter, the actor has portrayed a string of iconic characters. He rose to cult-icon status as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in 1975’s “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” followed by memorable turns as the malevolent clown Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries “It” and the butler Wadsworth in “Clue.” 

Curry also left a lasting impression as the demonic “Darkness” in Legend, Rooster Hannigan in “Annie,” and Long John Silver in “Muppet Treasure Island.” He is also known for his voice work including playing Nigel Thornberry in “The Wild Thornberrys.”

During his appearance on “The Academy” channel, Curry discussed other roles for which he was considered but ultimately did not land.

He noted that he auditioned for the burglar Marv in “Home Alone” after being approached by director Chris Columbus, who had purchased two of Curry’s studio albums.

“I actually met Chris Columbus, who apparently had the only two albums of mine and was a bit of a fan. Nobody else had ever bought them,” he joked.

While the part of Marv ultimately went to Daniel Stern, Columbus cast Curry as the Plaza Hotel concierge Mr. Hector in the sequel “Home Alone: 2.”

Curry remembered working with a young Macaulay Culkin, who played the lead role of Kevin McAllister in both films.

“Mac used to stay up watching late-night movies and fall asleep in the makeup chair,” he recalled. “I liked him. He was a very nice kid.”

Before Jeremy Irons was cast, Curry was considered for the role of the villainous lion Scar in the mega-hit 1994 Disney animated movie “The Lion King.”

“That would have been nice,” Curry said.