A roar of applause rips through New York City’s Studio 54 on a stormy Friday evening, as an imposing silhouette appears in front of a frenzied crowd. Towering above them is a six-foot eight-inch figure, clad in a pair of patent leather stiletto boots, a greasy brunette wig, pounds of glittering drag makeup and a massive cape covering a matching corset and codpiece.  

“How d’you do,” bellows over the raucous ovation, making sure the audience can hear each of his words over the sound of their own cheers. “I see you’ve met my faithful handyman.” 

Starring as the manic, pleasure-seeking mad scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter in the revival of at Studio 54, the 47-year-old actor is still tickled every time he gets to greet his audience. “It’s as if Beyoncé was on that stage,” he tells Attitude with a chuckle, sitting in the living space of his weekend getaway on New York’s Fire Island. “[The first time] I heard it, it was so overwhelming, but in a good way.”  

That feeling has been a constant in Evans’ life ever since he made his debut in the show. Putting his own lascivious spin on the character made famous by Tim Curry, Evans has spent the past six months reaping the rewards as critics and audiences alike praised his eccentric performance, citing it as a career high for the Welsh film star. Evans even earned his first ever Tony Award nomination back in May, a rare feat in an already competitive industry.  

Playing the self-proclaimed “Sweet Transvestite” has been a “liberating” experience for the Welsh actor, in the most literal sense. Performing in the high-heeled boots of Frank-N-Furter for six straight months felt “like therapy”, where Evans was able to find strength and a sense of “body confidence”.  

“That feels such a strange thing to say when I’m talking about a character that wears fishnet stockings, heels, a thong, a jockstrap, a corset, a harness, a wig and drag makeup,” he says, shaking his head. “But doing this in front of over a thousand people every night – so that’s a few hundred thousand people now – has been such a self-asserting, amazing thing for my sense of confidence.” That newly asserted body confidence certainly shows in his cover shoot. 

Evans adds that the role presented him with an opportunity to do something vastly different from any of his past work. After making a name for himself playing rugged heroes and villains alike in franchise films like , Beauty and the Beast and , provided a platform for him to show off a completely different side of himself. “As an actor who’s mostly known for playing these very masc-presenting action roles, and also being a gay man to come and do this role, it really meant quite a lot to me personally,” Evans says. “I think it also was a really strong message we were sending to the audience: this is a person who’s comfortable with who he is and has just loved spreading his wings and doing something really outside of his comfort zone that I’ve lived in and thoroughly enjoyed.” 

But Evans is also keenly aware of when it’s time to move on – when he speaks to , he’s preparing to deliver his final performance in the show. “It’s always nice to close a beautiful chapter with good feelings, and after six months of doing this show every night, eight times a week, it’s been quite a lot,” he says. “So, it is bittersweet.”  

Even after such a life-altering performance, Evans still has plenty to come in 2026. He’s already starred opposite Russell Crowe in the action thriller , he’s set to star alongside Naomi Watts in the period drama this autumn, and he’s performing opposite Charlie Hunnam and Emilia Clarke in the upcoming crime drama . But his newest television series, political thriller , coming to ITV also in autumn, is one Evans has been working on for the better part of the past six years.  

Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Elizabeth Day, follows the story of Martin Gilmour, a respected political journalist invited to the lavish 40th birthday party of his best friend, Conservative politician and aristocrat Ben Fitzmaurice (played by a pitch-perfect Tom Cullen). When we meet Evans’ weary anti-hero, he’s covered in blood and being interrogated by the police – and through a series of flashbacks, the audience slowly learns how the titular fete unravelled a lifetime of lies, gossip and repressed emotions into one disastrous event. 

The Party arrives to ITV1 and ITVX this October.

This is an excerpt of a feature appearing in the September/October 2026 issue of Attitude, available on digital platforms and in print now. Buy .