Let’s jump back in time again!

Several decades have passed since its 1975 publication The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and original film actor Barry Bostwick reflects on his experiences as he nears the end of his special 49th anniversary tour, the final stops of which include Baltimore, Brooklyn, NY and Augusta, Georgia.

His co-stars Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell also embarked on separate tours that will end in Washington, DC and Las Vegas, respectively.

In the film, Bostwick and Susan Sarandon play a young couple who, after their car breaks down, visit a mysterious castle where they meet mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter, played by Tim Curry, along with his groupies meet his latest experiment.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Bostwick, now 79, reflects on working with Curry, filming the dramatic transformation of his character Brad Majors and the film’s long-lasting legacy.

When asked what makes the film so timeless after nearly five decades, the actor has high praise for Curry, saying, “His performance is the backbone of the film.”

“No one can match the genius of Tim Curry,” he says. “I think that’s one of the reasons people are flocking to theaters.”

Although Bostwick was impressed by his co-star, he was no newcomer to the scene when he was cast in the provocative film. In fact, he had already won a Tony Award for playing Danny Zuko in the Broadway production FatTherefore, he felt the film was in his “wheelhouse” since it was based on a stage musical.

However, there was still one scene that he wasn’t “as comfortable” with as his colleagues.

Towards the end of the film, Bostwick has to dance in high heels after his character’s transformation in the musical number “Rose Tint My World”.

He recalls that the scene was quite difficult, but notes that musical creator Richard O’Brien, who adapted the screenplay for the film with director Jim Sharman and starred as Riff-Raff, gave him “a lot of lessons on how to runs in 15 centimeters”. High heels and dance in them.

Bostwick says the scene’s location posed another challenge, as it takes place on a stage – and also in a swimming pool.

“The difficult part was that we were dancing in high heels on a wet stage and I don’t think they put rubber on the bottom (of our shoes),” he explains. “So we didn’t dance, we just slipped and slid.”

Bostwick continues: “I think at one point someone said that it looked like I stepped on Susan (Sarandon)’s toes and there was this grimace on her face. I imagine that happened because we had just come out of the swimming pool, huh. We weren’t heated and then we had to get up and do this dance number.

He adds, “But thank God the music was hot.”

The actor remembers the experience fondly and says the entire team was motivated by adrenaline during the film’s whirlwind “five weeks or so” of production.

Meanwhile, Bostwick found camaraderie with the 78-year-old Curry, who had first played his iconic character on stage in London before bringing the show to Los Angeles and later reprising the role in its short-lived original run on Broadway.

The actor saw Curry during his performance at the Roxy Theater in LA before they became co-stars and said he was “intrigued by the show because it was so groundbreaking and different” and “Tim Curry was just incredible.”

Bostwick continues: “Tim Curry’s magic on stage was indelible. I’m serious. I just wanted to be part of his world as much as possible because he was so unique.”

About their time together on the set of the classic film, he says: “I just sat there and watched him rehearse and shoot. I just wish I had his talent and his insight into how to act and just be someone else because (Dr. Frank-N-Furter) isn’t really Tim Curry.”

Bostwick adds: “His acting skills were at the forefront. Looking at his career since then, he has played so many different characters brilliantly. I was just there for Tim.”

He notes that they had a “pretty close friendship” during production and says the other actor “accepted the Americans much quicker than the rest of the cast.”

“I think he was the only one in the group who probably didn’t believe that I was really Brad Majors at heart,” says the actor, referring to his more conservative character.

As part of the anniversary tour, Bostwick will take part in screenings of the unedited original film with live shadow casting and audience participation.

In the cinema format, audiences traditionally dress up for the film’s late-night showings, where “actors” mime and lip-synch as the film plays behind them. There are also many rehearsed call-outs and participatory moments with props.

“I love visiting all these cities and meeting the shadows because they put their heart and soul into it,” Bostwick says. “Some of them are already around 20 or 30 years old.” Some of them only formed a year or two ago and need the support, not only from those of us who star in the original film, but also from their communities. They have a job and their goal is to keep this film alive.

The actor is still surprised at how many young people he sees at his tour stops. “We are now in our third generation of fans and they are just as enthusiastic as their grandparents,” he says. “The whole point of a new generation is to reject everything that’s happened socially or politically or whatever, but this movie just keeps attracting people.”

Bostwick continues: “I can’t even say it’s a movie anymore. It’s a movement. It is a movement that gathers followers. We’re like the church of.” Rock horror – the Church of Deliverance. The whole “don’t dream it, be it” syndrome and it’s becoming more and more important.”

At this point, he feels the original film still has something to offer audiences and doesn’t need to be replicated. He points out the failures of previous attempts — particularly Fox’s 2016 remake.

“It was always just loud, loud and brash,” the actor says of the film’s legacy. “And the one time they tried to rerun it on Fox, they cleaned it up too much with sci-fi movies and the ’60s sexcapades and all that. The themes of this film are not desirable.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Bostwick thinks in particular of the film’s final line: “And on the surface of the planet crawl some insects called man, lost in time and space and meaning.”

“This is a very important line,” he states. “When it was first filmed, Fox wanted to cut that ending. I think they found it too boring, too controversial and not that funny. They cut back to the ‘Time Warp’ and all that, and then all of a sudden, “Oh wait, this movie is really about something other than just having fun and throwing rice and toilet paper around.”

For him, this line illustrates the overall message of the film. “It’s a cautionary tale,” he says. “Susan (Sarandon) and I sing, ‘There’s a light over at the Frankenstein place,’ and I think that light has become pretty important over the years.”

“It has shown people a space to explore who their authentic selves are, so we can all embrace our differences. I think the light has opened up to viewers alternative ways of looking at the world and something that hasn’t really been filmed.” So if it’s controversial, we’ve presented the world with another way of being in the world.

Tickets for The Rocky Horror Picture Show The 49th Anniversary Spectacular Tour is now on sale.