It’s hard to express just how important The Rocky Horror Picture Show was and is to millions of fans. The movie is popping up in screenings all over the country as part of the 2025 movie schedule thanks to celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. With the milestone, there has come the expected evaluations of what the movie still means all these years later.
One aspect of the movie that has kept it so relevant for so long is its pioneering spot in Queer culture. Without a doubt, countless members of the LGBTQ+ community first found acceptance as fans and shadow cast members at the legendary midnight showings over the years. That important aspect hasn’t been lost on the original cast of Rocky Horror, either, including Tim Curry and Nell Campbell, who opened up about it recently.
In a recent interview with EW, both Nell Campbell, who played Columbia (and is billed as “Little Nell” in the movie), and Tim Curry, who, of course, played Dr. Frank-N-Furter (a role that almost went to Mick Jagger) in the Rocky Horror cast, both opened up about the horror-musical’s impact on LGBTQ+ people, specifically how it helped them find a community. Campbell said:
The most moving aspect of the success for 50 years and counting: it’s helped so many people accept their sexuality. And they find these communities within the shadow casts. I’ve met lots of people who’ve married, had children.
Remember, this movie came out in 1975. The world isn’t totally accepting of LGBTQ+ people even today in 2025; in the ‘70s, it was even less so. That’s what made Rocky Horror so important, and continues to be so 50 years later. Campbell went on:
It still is hard for some people to come out about their sexuality, and this film is a celebration of bisexuality, heterosexuality, homosexuality, transsexuality, and cross-dressing. It’s like, ‘Don’t dream it, be it.’
Tim Curry expanded on that in the interview, explaining that the impact of Rocky Horror is even broader, opening up possibilities for everyone. Curry also mentioned in the interview.
The motto ‘Don’t dream it, be it’ is not necessarily limited to your sexuality. I think it applies to whatever you dream of being, and that’s a good thing. If it gives people permission to behave in a sexual way that they secretly want to, that’s a good thing, as long as it doesn’t hurt them.
That message certainly lives on 50 years later. It’s hard to believe that Rocky Horror, certainly one of Tim Curry’s best movies, is half a century old, yet it remains fresh and relevant. It might be time for me to fire up my Disney+ subscription and watch it, yet again. It’s not as fun as those old midnight showings, but I still shiver with antici…