When director Sam Pinkleton began envisioning a Broadway revival of the play rocky horror show, He made a list of qualities that he believed a leader, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, needed to possess.
“He had to be a really great actor,” Pinkleton said. “He had to be a real comedian, like a clown. He had to have a killer voice. He had to be terrifying, and also cute.” “We had to be afraid of him, and we also had to want to sleep with him. I also felt strongly that he must be someone who carried some kind of weirdness with him, whatever that meant.”
At first, Pinkleton wasn’t sure who could embody it all and bring a fresh take on the role made famous by Tim Curry. But when he met Luke Evans, an on-screen action star with a background in musical theater, he found a fit for an actor who happily contained his own contradictions.
Standing at 6 feet 8 inches, Evans towers over cast members including Stephanie Hsu, Juliette Lewis, Harvey Guillen and others, as the mad scientist and head of a superhero family that welcomes two unlucky strangers during a rainstorm. Evans is nominated for a Tony for his Broadway debut in the role, donning those heels, a corset, a wig, and a jockstrap to play the pleasure-seeking icon.
“You don’t play a role like Frank and expect to be covered for,” Evans jokes.
He enjoys the Broadway scene, as well as the recognition it can bring, including a fan recently screaming from a restaurant and asking if he was still wearing a corset. But Dr. Frank-N-Furter is also a role that Evans never had on his list.
“I didn’t even think I would be able to do it, to be honest, but I was excited by the fact that I love a challenge,” he said.
This comes despite Evans having trained in musical theater at college and subsequently taking on a number of leading roles in the West End including Miss Saigon and rent, Before landing movie roles in Clash of the Titansthe Fast and furious privilege, Immortals, Dracula Untold, The Hobbit And more. Although he had some early success in theatre, the rent was not paying, and Evans nearly left the industry.
“I was ready to give it up and find a new career and do something else, which I would have gladly done,” he said. “I’m sure I would have been very sad not to perform, because that’s the only thing I ever wanted to do. But there was no stability, there was no financial security, and there was no guarantee of the next job.”
His fortunes changed after he starred in the 2008 production of Small Zhange, a play about two Welsh boys in London’s Donmar Warehouse – a role he was cast in after writing a note to the director, describing his upbringing in Wales and asking to see him. This play led to Evans signing with an agent, and he later traveled to Los Angeles, where he had a series of cold readings and meetings with directors.
“I started out playing fathers and strong male roles and/or strong male roles. There seemed to be a place for me, and so it worked out, and it was crazy,” Evans said. “I would say, at least, for six years, I felt like I was either on a plane or on a movie set, and there was nothing else in between.”
In those early days, Evans, who had no prior filmmaking training, said he suffered from imposter syndrome.
“I definitely felt like in a minute they would find out and say, ‘I’m sorry, we made a huge mistake. Can you leave?’ But that never happened, and the jobs kept coming.”
Amid these major film roles, questions have arisen about Ivan’s sexuality — he’s made no secret of being gay, but didn’t talk about it publicly until he was asked about setting a precedent for other gay action heroes in a 2014 interview.. He continued to take more film roles (although he admitted he may have lost out on some after going public), and returned to the stage in London in 2023.
When Frank N Furter had the opportunity, one of the calls Evans made was to his parents. Even though he grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness and has since left, they are still part of the community. Evans said they remain close and have been supportive of his career choices. “I think they saw the fire in my eyes when I was talking about the show,” he said.
Evans says there was still a bit of a sense of imposter syndrome, even as he strutted across the Broadway stage and was praised by critics for his interpretation of the role.
He notes that Carrey is “the GOAT” and that his performance in the 1975 film was as “the announcer,” and he wanted to find a new angle for the role. Early on, he decided to stop listening to music and stop watching movies. He also began to explore the balance between the character’s danger and an inherent sense of fun.
“Some Franks lean a lot into his charisma and his charismatic side, but he’s rebellious. He’s also very dangerous. He’s a risk-taker. He’s a train with no brakes, and he just keeps going until it stops. There’s hedonism, but there’s also a little girl in it,” Evans said, referring to the moment he chose to jump on stage after his guests froze in place.
As Evan notes, according to Richard O’Briens’ script, Frank-N-Furter is an alien, which gives him a sense of freedom in his style of dress and unabashedly choosing to sleep with both Brad and Janet. This is partly what makes the film and series so beloved among legions of die-hard fans. Fans also love the callbacks that have become synonymous with the show, from constantly yelling “slut” at Janet and “asshole” at Brad to the more ambiguous one-liners.
This has been a problem with the musical, which at one point posted signs to remind theatergoers that it was “live theater, not a movie.” Rachel Dratch, as the series’ Tony-nominated narrator, experiences the majority of the callbacks, which she responds to and reacts to with her character. Evans has also worked through them.
“The callbacks and all the very unique stuff The Rocky Horror Show Early on it was very difficult because we were so tough Rocky Horror Picture Show “Fans come in who think they’re talking to a video cinema screen,” Evans said. “That was difficult because it was like you couldn’t say a line without someone shouting something, and it wasn’t the balance we needed, but we found it, and I think it works very well now, and people love it, and we embrace the callbacks, most of the time.”
Before the show, which opened at Studio 54 on April 23, Evans spent three months practicing walking in high heels, gradually increasing his height. At this point, he said, it’s like you’re wearing sneakers.
Evans also thought he would have to work on wearing the revealing clothing that comes with playing Frank-N-Furter, but once he got on stage, it all worked out.
“I thought I was going to be terrified. I thought I was going to avoid turning my back to the audience because my butt cheeks are sticking out. I thought I was going to be conscious of the fact that I’m wearing a women’s corset with a wig. None of that was even on my mind when I’m standing behind that door before my big reveal before ‘Sweet Transvestite’. I just feel powerful. I feel confident. I feel powerful,” he said.
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