The Inspiring Story of Tim Curry, Who Returned to Work After a Stroke and Showed Everyone What He’s Worth

Tim Curry has dedicated his life to the craft of acting. His roles have been varied and memorable, even in cases where he had minimal screen time, such as his portrayal of the butler in Home Alone 2. In 2012, however, Tim suffered a stroke that changed his life forever. After a difficult recovery, he has been confined to a wheelchair ever since. Only his laughter and passion for his craft have kept him from falling apart.

Starting a career

Tim has been fascinated by anything to do with the stage since his early years. He began singing at the age of six, studied drama at university and even formed a street theatre company with friends. To secure his first professional role in a musical, Tim resorted to deception.

He falsely claimed to have both experience and membership of a particular actors’ union. By the time his deception was discovered, the producers were so impressed by Tim’s talent that they even paid his union dues.

Tim’s success in that very first musical was resounding and that was just the beginning. He played Dr Frank-N-Furter in the theatrical production of Rocky Horror Picture Show and it was so phenomenal that Tim was asked to do it again, this time for a Hollywood film of the same name. This made him truly famous.

That said, he didn’t comment on this iconic role for years, breaking silence only in 2005.

Success in cinema and music

Afterwards, Tim’s career gained more and more momentum. He was the intimidating Pennywise in It, the flattering concierge in Home Alone 2 and the charismatic villain in Charlie’s Angels. Incidentally, his Pennywise was so frightening that children didn’t even have to feign fear; they really were scared of him.

Curry took on the role of Thurman Rice, a supporting character in the biographical film Kinsey. In later years, Curry has mainly lent his voice to characters in animated films and television series.

The actor also excelled musically: he released three solo albums. But Tim’s career came to a very abrupt halt in 2012.

Sudden career break

In 2012, Tim Curry suffered a stroke. Despite the best efforts of his friends and family to keep the actor’s illness a secret, the news eventually broke in the tabloids.

Tim admits that humour was the key element that helped him overcome the challenges that were almost ingrained in his nature. He emphasised that retaining the ability to make fun of himself played a key role in his recovery.

Even after such a tough challenge, Tim didn’t leave the job he loved. Only now the actor was mainly involved in voice-over work and rarely appeared in public. But in 2015, Tim delighted fans by appearing on the red carpet to receive an award for his artistic achievements. After that, the actor started meeting fans regularly at various conventions, and in 2020 he even reprised his iconic role as Dr Frank-N-Furter by reading the original script in a live stream.

Most recently, in 2022, he returned to work again. Tim became the voice of the narrator in the film Fork. The actor has definitely proven that there’s nothing that can break a person, and that no illness can hinder one’s love for their work. And the recognition he keeps receiving gives him the strength to carry on.

Tim Curry’s role in Home Alone 2 is one of our favourites because we are big fans of that film. By the way, you can see what the actors and actresses who appeared in it look like now here. We are particularly surprised by the changes in McCaulay Culkin, whose early fame has made his fate very complicated.