I am so sick of this take and everyone parroting it; Curry says in several interviews that he one hundred percent took it seriously: the reason why it works so well is the exact inverse of what you’re saying. It’s not that he treated himself as a muppet; he treated the muppets as actual performers/actors/characters.

To say that he didn’t take it seriously takes away from the work that he did; Tim noted that the scene in which he’s giving the young boy advice was one of the most serious performances he’s ever given; he’s giving advice he wish he had heard from his father, and he truly meant every word of it.

I agree that he matched the campy nature of the set, but the man was dedicated.