Broadway’s Midnight Bombshell: Luke Evans Unleashes Inner Frank-N-Furter – “Fishnets? I Was Born for This”
What if the man who tamed the Beast was always meant to play the monster? Luke Evans—Welsh heartthrob, Gaston’s biceps, Fast & Furious daredevil—has spent years dodging typecasts. But next spring, when the lights dim on Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre, he’ll strut in stilettos and a corset as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a 50th-anniversary revival of The Rocky Horror Show. “I’ve waited my whole life for this role,” Evans told USA Weekend in an exclusive sit-down. “Fishnets? I was born for them.” The announcement detonated at midnight—fitting for a cult classic that thrives in darkness—and within hours, #LukeHorror trended alongside Tim Curry reaction GIFs. Broadway just got dangerous.
The casting felt like fate wrapped in latex. Evans, 46, first saw Rocky Horror at 15 in a sleepy Welsh cinema, sneaking in with older cousins. “I didn’t understand half of it,” he laughs, “but I felt seen.” Years later, while filming Dracula Untold, he blasted “Sweet Transvestite” on set between takes—director Gary Shore still teases him about it. YetDirector Sam Pinkleton (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) calls Evans “razor-sharp, fearless, and secretly hilarious.” Creator Richard O’Brien, now 83, FaceTimed from New Zealand: “Bring out the fishnets, darling. He’s got the legs.” Yet whispers lingered—was Evans too polished, too Disney-fied for Frank’s unhinged queer chaos?
Here’s the revelation that silences every doubt: This isn’t a stunt. It’s a homecoming. Insiders reveal Evans quietly auditioned in 2016 for the West End revival but lost to David Bedella. He didn’t sulk—he studied. Voice lessons to nail Frank’s purr. Dance training in L.A. with Rocky choreographer alumni. Even a secret workshop last year in London, performing “Floor Show” in full drag for O’Brien himself. “Luke didn’t just want the part,” Pinkleton says. “He needed to earn it.” The payoff? A 12-week limited run starting April 2026, with Evans producing via his new theater banner, Midnight Creature Productions. Ticket presales crashed Ticketmaster in 11 minutes.
The transformation is already underway. Evans shaved his chest (“Frank doesn’t do fur”), dropped 15 pounds of muscle for lithe menace, and rehearsed in six-inch Pleasers until his feet bled. “Pain is authenticity,” he shrugs. Co-star Myha’la Herrold (Bodies Bodies Bodies) as Columbia calls him “a revelation—sweet off-stage, feral on.” And the voice? That baritone growl from Beauty and the Beast now drips with camp menace. A leaked rehearsal clip—Evans snarling “I’m just a sweet transvestite… from Transexual, Transylvania”—has 3 million views and counting.
Broadway’s about to time-warp. Evans isn’t playing Frank—he’s unleashing him. “This isn’t about shock,” he says, eyes gleaming. “It’s about freedom. Every kid who felt too much, too loud, too weird—this is for them.” As the curtain rises next spring, one thing’s certain: The beast was just the warm-up. The real monster? He’s fabulous, and he’s here to stay.
