“Nobody can match Tim Curry’s genius,” says actor Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic.

Let’s do the time warp again!

Several decades have passed since its 1975 release The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and original film cast member Barry Bostwick looks back on his experience as it nears its end special 49th anniversary tourwhich sees its final stops in Baltimore and Brooklyn, NY

His costars Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell also embarked on those tours.

In the film, Bostwick and Susan Sarandon stars a young couple who visit a mysterious castle after their car breaks down, where they meet transvestite mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter, played by Tim Curryalong with his groups and his latest experiment.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Bostwick, now 79, reflects on working with Curry, filming the dramatic transformation of his character Brad Majors, and the film’s lasting legacy.

Asked what makes the film timeless nearly five decades later, the actor gives Curry much of the credit, saying “his performance is the backbone of the film.”

“No one can match Tim Curry’s genius,” he says. “I think that’s one of the reasons people flock to the theaters.”

Despite being impressed by his co-star, Bostwick wasn’t new to the scene when he was cast in the provocative film. In fact, he had already won a Tony Award for creating the role of Danny Zuko in the Broadway production of Greaseso he felt the film was in his “wheelhouse” given that it was based on a stage musical.

That said, there was one scene he wasn’t “as comfortable with” as his peers.

Towards the end of the film, Bostwick has to dance in heels after his character’s transformation in the musical number “Rose Tint My World”.

He recalls that the scene was quite difficult, but notes that musical creator Richard O’Brien, who adapted the film’s script with director Jim Sharman and played Riff-Raff, gave him “a lot of lessons on how to walk in six inches . stiletto heels and dance in them.”

Bostwick says the stage set was another challenge because it takes place on a stage – and a swimming pool, too.

“The hard part was that we were dancing on a wet stage in high heels and I don’t think they put rubber on the bottom (of our shoes),” he explains. “So I wasn’t dancing, I was just sliding and sliding.”

Bostwick continues, “I think at one point someone said it looked like I stepped on Susan’s (Sarandon) toes and there was this grimace on her face. I can imagine it was because I had just gotten out of the pool, which had not been heated. We were freezing our bottoms off and then we had to get up and do this dance number.”

He adds, “But thank God the music was hot.”

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The actor remembers the experience fondly and says the entire team was driven by adrenaline during the fast-paced “five weeks or so” of the film.

Through it all, Bostwick found company with Curry, 78, who had first played his iconic character on stage in London before bringing the show to Los Angeles and later reprising the role in its original short-lived run duration on Broadway.

The actor saw Curry during its run at LA’s Roxy Theater before they became co-stars, saying he was “excited about the show because it was so important and different” and “Tim Curry was just incredible”.

Bostwick continues: “Tim Curry’s magic on stage was indelible. I mean it seriously. I just wanted to be a part of his world as much as I could because he was so unique.”

As for their time on the set of the classic film, he says, “I would sit and watch him in rehearsals and while we were shooting. I only wish I had his talent and knowledge of how to act and be someone else. because (Dr. Frank-N-Furter) is not really who Tim Curry is.”

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Bostwick adds: “His acting chops were at the fore. If you’ve seen his career since then, he’s played so many different characters brilliantly. I was just there for Tim.”

He notes that they had a “pretty close friendship” during production and says the other actor “embraced the Americans a lot quicker than the rest of the cast.”

“I think he was the only one in the group who probably didn’t think I was really Brad Majors at heart,” says the actor, referring to his more conservative persona.

As part of the anniversary tour, Bostwick attends screenings of the original unedited film with a live shadow cast and audience participation.

The theatrical format traditionally sees audience members dress up to attend late-night screenings of the film, where “actors” mime and lip-sync to the film as it plays behind them. There are also many callbacks and moments of participation with props.

“I love visiting all these cities and meeting the Shadow Projectiles because they put their heart and soul into it,” says Bostwick. “Some of them are about 20 or 30 years old. Some of them just formed a year or two ago and they need support, not only from us who are in the original film, but (from) their communities. They have a quest and their quest is to keep this movie alive.”

The actor is surprised by the amount of young people he sees at his tour stops. “We’re now in our third generation of fans and they’re just as enthusiastic as their grandparents,” he says. “The whole point of a new generation is to reject everything that’s happened socially or politically or whatever, but this movie keeps bringing people in.”

Bostwick continues, “I can’t even tell it’s a movie anymore. It’s a movement. It is a movement that gathers followers. We are like the church from Rocky Horror – the church of liberation. The whole ‘Don’t dream, be him’ syndrome and it just keeps getting more and more important.”

At this point, he feels that the original film still has something to offer the audience and that it doesn’t need to be replicated. He notes the failures of past attempts in particular Fox’s 2016 remake.

“It was always just loud and rowdy and naughty,” the actor says of the film’s legacy. “And the one time they tried to redo Fox, they cleaned it up too much. They tried to make it a little too popular. It’s a dark and dangerous little movie, apart from being funny and a call back to 60’s Sci-Fi movies and sex heads and all that. The themes of this film are not something to aspire to.

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Bostwick specifically reflects on the film’s conclusion: “And crawling across the face of the planet, some insects called the human race, lost in time and lost in space, and meaning.”

“This is a very important line,” he notes. “When it was first made, Fox wanted to cut that ending. I think they found it too boring, too controversial and not as much fun. They went to “Time Warp” and all that, and then all of a sudden. , “Oh wait a minute, this movie is really about something different than having fun and throwing rice and toilet paper.” “

For him, that line conveys the overall message of the film. “It’s a cautionary tale,” he says. “Susan (Sarandon) and I sing ‘There’s a Light in Frankenstein’s Place,’ and I think the light has become quite important over the years.”

“It showed a space for people to explore who their authentic selves are, so we can embrace all our differences. I think the light gave audience members alternative ways of seeing the world and something that wasn’t really filmed. before. So if it’s controversial, so be it. We presented the world with another way of potentially being in the world.

Tickets for The Rocky Horror Picture Show Spectacular 49th Anniversary Tour they are now for sale.