Jennifer Tilly: Studio Complained Seed of Chucky was “Too Gay,” Had “Too Much” of Her

Though Jennifer Tilly didn’t jump into the Chucky franchise until 1998’s Bride of Chucky, released 10 years after the original Child’s Play, but she quickly became an integral part of the mythology and a fan-favorite. Playing both Chucky’s lover/the other killer doll of the series, Tiffany, and even herself at times, Tilly returns to the part once again in SYFY’s TV series which is airing right now. Speaking exclusively with ComicBook.com in an interview for her appearances however, Tilly revealed to us that she never thought she’d be back in the part (having returned in 2014’s Curse of Chucky and that it was the studio response to Seed of Chucky that made her doubt it.

“I sort of understood that I couldn’t play Tiffany forever,” Tilly told us. “And after Seed of Chucky, the studio was like, ‘That was too gay, it was too funny, and there was too much Jennifer Tilly;’ because Seed of Chucky was sort of the apex of gayness that we had John Waters and the genderfluid kid and me walking around making wisecracks and I was a doll and Jennifer Tilly. So they sort of like, ‘Okay, you’ve had your fun. Let’s put that to rest.’ So I understood it was going to be a whole new situation.”

There was a nine year gap between the “too gay” Seed of Chucky and the franchise’s eventual return with Curse of Chucky, followed by 2017’s Cult of Chucky which leads into the ongoing series. Tilly appeared in both films while series creator Don Mancini, who wrote every movie in the franchise and showruns the TV show, also returned to direct. The time between her appearances made her return even more special though as Tilly revealed that getting to become that character allows her something that her other job offers don’t.

“I have to say, it’s so fabulous to get on the set and put on my push up bra and my high heels and strut around and do all this stuff that I haven’t done for a long time. Because you know, you get to certain age, all of a sudden you don’t have any more sex scenes or kissing scenes and they don’t really want to see you in the sexy dresses anymore. So it’s just like, Tiffany is such a fun, campy delight. Like I always love playing her and he wrote so much stuff for me to do.

Teasing what fans can expect from the show, Tilly added: “It just gets crazier and crazier. The last episode is absolutely bonkers. I think the fans are going to be thrilled, but every time I have, when I was watching this and especially with the backstory, I had no idea that Tiffany was so evil. I always thought she was just a really sweet girl that had been led astray. But I think I’m a little delusional; as an actress, you find the good in somebody. I was like, ‘Oh, she’s a mother and she’s got a complicated kid and she likes Martha Stewart. She loves her man. And you know, once in a while she has a little slip and she accidentally kills somebody, but then she feels really bad.’”

Chucky airs Tuesdays on SYFY and USA Network at 10 PM.