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Adam Lambert on why it would be ‘innapropriate’ to play Frank-N-Furter in ‘Rocky Horror’
Adam Lambert had the chance to play Frank-N-Furter in the upcoming remake of Rocky Horror Picture Show but he passed on the opportunity to step into the role made famous by Tim Curry in the 1975 cult classic.
So why would he turn down the role of the main antagonist and take the supporting part of Eddie instead?
‘I kind of felt like in 2016, to be cis and playing the role of a trans character, it felt inappropriate to me,’ Lambert tells Idolator.
‘In the ’70s, it was different. But nowadays we have such an amazing conversation that’s started about trans and gender in this world.”
Instead, the role will be played by transgender actress Laverne Cox of TV’s Orange Is The New Black fame.
‘I think casting Laverne was so brilliant,’ says Lambert. ‘It’s so appropriate, you know what I mean? And to re-imagine [the character], as well, because she’s entirely different.’
Having transgender friends, Lambert says he thought about what they would think of a non-trans person saying, ‘I’m a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania?’
‘It’s dicey. I think they made a really bold, refreshing choice on that,’ he says. ‘It’s very forward-thinking and it feels very right now, which is going to make this remake really interesting.’
While he said no to the trans mad scientist part, Lambert still wanted to be involved.
“When they started announcing the cast, I said, “Wait a minute — what about Eddie? I wanna play Eddie! I could do that — that’s like one song. Let me just come in and do a bit part!” Because I really, really wanted to be a part of it.
‘I’m a big fan of the original movie, and [director] Kenny Ortega’s a lovely guy. And then I heard that Cisco Adler was producing the music and thought, oh, this is gonna be good. So, I went in and I recorded my songs already. I did my vocals, and they turned out really cool. Now I’m going in for a week in April, in Toronto, to film.’
Comments
(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)
Jim says:
Horse shit. Lambert was BORN to play that role.
Countervail says:
Frank-N-Furter is a “sweet transvestite” FROM “Transsexual, Transylvania” not a transsexual himself. Adam’s a little confused (color me not shocked). A transvestite, or cross-dresser, is typically a heterosexual man aroused by dressing in women’s clothing, rather than as a gender expression. In Frank-N-Furter’s case, to be clear, he seems a cis, bisexual transvestite, not a transsexual or transgender person.
Laverne Cox=transsexual/transgender
Eddie Izzard=transvestite
Regardless, all indications are this will be one sh*t show of a production.
Bruce Wayne says:
Oh, Please! It’s called Acting…it’s a Fictional Character! NOT a documentary!
Enough of this pearl-clutching for Every Little Misconstrued Thing!!!
^^X^^
sue says:
Adam was offered the lead role in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway. He turned that down. Adam doesn’t want to get stereotyped into these sexually fluid roles, whether they be transgender or transvestite. I think he is offered these roles because he had a glam style right after American Idol. If he took a role that depicts a transgender/transvestite, he would become the go to guy to do all of these roles and he would have a hard time getting typical male roles in any media.