Why Luke Evans’s starring role in ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ makes him 'feel powerful'

For his Broadway-debut performance as flamboyant mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Evans is a 2026 Tony Award nominee for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.

Summary

• 2026 Tony Award nominee Luke Evans discusses playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway
• The nine-time Tony-nominated musical revival marks Evans's Broadway debut
• Evans discusses how Frank-N-Furter's persona makes him feel confident; reflects on his first Broadway performance; and shares his hopes for the audience experience of the show

Rise up! There’s nothing like getting a Tony Award nomination for your Broadway debut to make you stand taller. Ask Luke Evans, who also gets a lift in every sense of the word every time he steps on stage as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show.

“I'm, like, six-foot-eight in costume, which is quite a tall creature to inhabit,” the 47-year-old Welsh actor told New York Theatre Guide about playing the corseted, gloriously uninhibited, and sexually omnivorous alien scientist.

“I thought I was going to be very self-conscious and very nervous and very vulnerable, because it’s a very revealing costume," he said. "I’m in full drag: the wig, the makeup, the eyelashes, the shoes, the costume.

“But it was completely the opposite. I feel powerful. I feel strong, I feel confident, I feel like I can take on the world,” he continued. “It’s an extraordinary thing. Maybe the height has something to do with it. But I love it. I feel I just have the best time.”

Join the club. Audiences at Studio 54 are doing likewise while taking in Evans’s star turn, among many other weird and wild wonders, in director Sam Pinkleton’s new production of Richard O'Brien's cult-classic musical.

The show is now up for nine Tonys, including Best Musical Revival, Best Leading Actor (Evans) and Actress (Stephanie Hsu as Janet) in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Rachel Dratch as the Narrator), and for its choreography and scenic, costume, lighting, and sound design. Let’s do the Tony count again!

Playing Frank marks a full-circle moment for Evans, who performed “Sweet Transvestite” from the musical while in college in London at an end-of-year show to secure a theatrical agent. That was three decades ago, long before he became known for film roles including Gaston in the live-action Beauty and the Beast, Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit, and Owen Shaw in Fast & Furious 6. He’s also appeared in productions of Rent, Miss Saigon, and Piaf in London’s West End.

That stage experience has been invaluable for keeping butterflies at bay for the Broadway newcomer, who’s making his debut alongside seven other castmates. Evans’s heart was definitely thumping when the show played its first performance on March 26.

“I was a little nervous that night,” he recalled. “Of course, my heart rate was pounding. But we worked very hard to get to that point. So there was a lot of love backstage before the show. When the curtain went down, [we] gave each other a hug and knew we just started on a journey — a strange journey, but a beautiful journey.”

The Rocky Horror Show, first on Broadway in 1975 following its world premiere in London two years earlier, follows young couple Brad and Janet as they stumble into a strange mansion occupied by Frank-N-Furter and more eccentric residents. Things get weirder, sexier, and campier as the show parodies sci-fi and horror B-movies.

Midnight screenings of the 1975 movie adaptation cemented Rocky Horror as an interactive experience, where audience members respond to lines and plot points. While Pinkleton’s production doesn’t encourage theatregoers to do so, it still happens. Mentions of Brad and Janet often spark callbacks, as does “Time Warp,” an iconic song. Evans said that makes for an unpredictable ride.

“Oh my god, the people in the audience are incredible,” Evans said. “Every audience is different. Sometimes we have a very loud, chatty audience with every callback they can think of.

“Then, other nights we have just the traditional ones, but we work with it,” he continued. “I mean, this is not just our show. This is everyone’s show. We respect that, and we love that, and we want everybody to just walk out of Studio 54 at the end of the night feeling that they were part of Frank’s party.”

In other words, they leave on a high, just like Evans in Frank’s sky-scraping heels.

Get The Rocky Horror Show tickets now.

Photo credit: The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway. (Top photo by Sara Krulwich, The New York Times, Redux; in-article photos by Joan Marcus)