Jennifer Tilly Won’t Mind If Fans Leave Chucky Dolls on Her Future Grave

Jennifer Tilly has accepted that her role in the Child’s Play horror franchise is going to follow her for the rest of her life … and beyond.

“I’ve come to terms with the fact that when I pass away, people are going to leave Chucky dolls on my grave, and I’m fine with that,” Tilly, 66, quipped during a Wednesday, December 4, interview with Interview magazine. “When the internet happened — because when I started out there was no internet — I realized that Chucky and Bride of Chucky are these huge cult phenomenons. The Chucky fans are the greatest fans in the whole world.”

The actress — who both played and voiced the murderous woman-turned-doll Tiffany Valentine in Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, Cult of Chucky and the Chucky television series — called the franchise’s followers “fanatical” but “very, very loyal” and “really smart.” She also noted that the “campy” nature of the Chucky cinematic universe suits her personality.

“I’m just going to say I court camp. That’s very much my sensibility. I like to be fabulous,” she said. “I remember in the ’80s and the early ’90s, whenever they’d do celebrity photographs, everybody wanted to copy GAP ads, because the whole schtick was, ‘I’m so real, I take out my garbage just like you.’ … And myself, I always wanted to be a movie star.”

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Tilly was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1995 for her role as Olive Neal in Bullets Over Broadway, so she did initially have doubts about starring in Bride of Chucky, which hit theaters in 1998.

“I had an idea that a horror movie is something you do in the beginning of your career or at the end. … But I felt like it wasn’t something you do in your prime. I’d just come off the Oscar nomination. I wanted to be a really important movie star, like a major motion picture star,” she explained. “The fact of the matter is that Chucky is literally a foul-mouthed little doll that kills people. You’re never going to get Emmy nominations from Chucky, or the kind of acclaim that I craved when I was younger.”

While portraying a killer doll might’ve seemed like an unconventional choice for an Academy Award-nominated actress, Tilly is still embracing similar career pivots decades later. She appears as a friend of the housewives in season 14 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which premiered last month.

“I thought it would be a very campy thing to do,” Tilly told Interview of the Bravo reality show. “I knew if I didn’t, I would always regret it.” She also called RHOBH “one of the most difficult things” she’s ever done.

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Jennifer Tilly doesn’t hold back in her The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills debut, which she described as “dynamite.” The season 14 newcomer exclusively told Us Weekly, “Everybody stirred the pot,” including herself. “There’s not a single person that sat out on the sidelines eating popcorn and going, ‘Wow, this is fabulous, this is such […]

“It’s very, very complicated. … And mostly it appealed to me because it’s just not done. I’m kind of in the prime of my acting career, even though it’s Chucky. But usually, Housewives are not actresses,” Tilly explained. “You’ll see everyone’s like, ‘Oh, I turned down Housewives. I would never do that.’ And I’m like, ‘Bitch, you should have!’”

While the Chucky TV series was canceled in September after three seasons, Child’s Play franchise creator Don Mancini teased a continuation of the franchise via X at the time, tweeting, “HE’LL Be BACK” and “Chucky says to tell all of you, quoting himself: “See ya real soon.” ❤️🔪.”

Tilly, for her part, told Interview on Wednesday that she expects to be playing Tiffany “until the day before I finally pass into spirit.”

The character Chucky was first introduced to audiences in the 1988 horror film Child’s Play and went on to appear in seven subsequent films and the USA Network and Syfy television series. Brad Dourif played Chucky in the TV show and all the films except the 2019 remake Child’s Play, which starred Mark Hamill in his place.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.