Mick Jagger Almost Became Dr. Frank-N-Furter
Grab your fishnets and hold onto your eyeliner, because this one’s wild. There was a time when Mick Jagger… yes, that Mick Jagger almost became Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky…
It must be nice being Mick Jagger knowing so many men and women want to be him AND be with him.
Evening Standard/Getty ImagesGrab your fishnets and hold onto your eyeliner, because this one’s wild. There was a time when Mick Jagger... yes, that Mick Jagger almost became Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's really not that big of a reach.
How Mick Jagger Almost Became Dr. Frank-N-Furter
According to a piece from Slashfilm, the Rolling Stones frontman wasn’t just casually interested. Mick Jagger actually tried to buy the film rights so he could star in it. Talk about satisfaction! But the movie’s creators, Richard O’Brien, Jim Sharman, and Lou Adler, weren’t having it. They insisted on keeping Tim Curry and the original stage cast to preserve the show’s strange, subversive magic.
Patricia Quinn, who played Magenta, even said, “No Mick Jaggers, no Bowies. I’m having the original cast.” (Broadway World) Honestly? Respect.
Still, is it such a leap to picture Jagger in the role? The man basically invented glam swagger: the makeup, the moves, the fearless gender-bending stage presence. A little corset and some pearls wouldn’t have been much of a stretch.
In the End...
Tim Curry stayed put, Jagger stuck with rock royalty, and Rocky Horror became the midnight-movie masterpiece we know and love. But just imagine it for a second. Mick Jagger strutting across the stage, belting out “Sweet Transvestite.”
Now that would’ve been a jump to the left... and maybe just a step too far to the right.
