Laverne Cox is Rocky Horror’s new Frank-N-Furter

In a potentially brilliant casting move, Laverne Cox has scooped the iconic role of “transsexual” Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The original camp stage show and 1975 film continue to be cult crowd-pleasers around the world, with the role of the bisexual fishnet-stockinged homicidal Frank-N-Furter, most famously played by Tim Curry.

The outrageous musical is both a celebration of sexual liberation and a cautionary tale of its excesses.

The new version of Rocky Horror will be in the form of a two hour television movie that will air on the FOX network next year, to be directed by Kenny Ortega (Michael Jackson’s This Is It, High School Musical).

“I am so excited to be a part of #RockHorror legacy. #DontDreamItBeIt,” posted Cox, 31, on Twitter.

The transgender actress, reality television star and producer first came to the public’s attention with her role as Sophia Burset in Orange Is the New Black.

She’s since become a role model and advocate for the trans community and has been honoured for her work as an activist.

Cox has broken new ground as the first trans person to appear on the cover of Time magazine, the first openly trans Primetime Emmy Award acting nominee and the first to have a wax figure of herself at Madame Tussauds.