Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King’s It was one of the most talked about horror movies of 2017. Since production has been confirmed, there has been a lot of anticipation surrounding the sequel, IT: Chapter 2. Pennywise the Clown actor Bill Skarsgård will return in the terrifying role. Of course, this isn’t the first version of the child killer we have seen, Tim Curry originally bought the clown to life in the 1990 IT TV miniseries.
Skarsgård’s take on the clown quickly became popular all around the world. Working with the director, he certainly made the character his own. The actor recently spoke with Collider about his role. This is what he had to say about creating his take on the infamous Pennywise:
“Yeah, it’s weird. It’s a bit strange ‘cause it’s a very different thing now. The first time I did it, nobody knew what I would do with it, so it was just all of this expectation. I didn’t know if it would work, or if people would respond to it. There was a lot of that worry going on about it. But that was also cool ‘cause I was just doing my thing and nobody knew what that was or could tell me how I should do it. I was like, “I’m gonna distance myself from the Tim Curry performance, and then come up with some weird stuff, myself.””
This is what Skarsgård had to say about Pennywise’s popularity:
“I worked really closely with Andy [Muschietti], the director. This time around, because the movie became such a phenomenon, it’s almost like I’m re-adapting myself. The character became very iconic. Pennywise became a star. You see Instagram posts of people dressing up or dressing their kids as Pennywise for Halloween. It’s all over the place. LeBron James was Pennywise. How surreal is that? So, it became this completely universal thing, outside of the thing. That’s not me. I can’t even relate myself to it anymore. And now that I’m going back and doing it, it’s such a bizarre thing. I don’t think I’ll ever really experience anything like it.”
On becoming the character again, he said this:
“We had the read-through and I’ve done some rehearsals, and I was surprised how much of the character was just there already. I instantly could access him again, like it was yesterday that we wrapped the first one. It was just all there. So, the work and preparation and figuring out the character is almost intuitive, which is pretty cool. It’s a very strange thing, but I’m trying to enjoy the ride, as much as I can.”
Although, this time around Skarsgård will be working alongside an adult version of The Losers’ Club, which is definitely a contrast to the young cast on the first movie. He will star alongside Jessica Chastain as Beverly Marsh, James McAvoy as Bill Denbrough, Bill Hader as Richie Tozier, James Ransone as Eddie Kaspbrak, Andy Bean as Stanley Uris, Jay Ryan as Ben Hanscom, and Isaiah Mustafa as Mike Hanlon. This is what the actor had to say about working with the new cast:
“But off camera, I get to hang out with the entire adult cast now. It’s weird and it’s surreal because some of them are really big stars and they’re coming in to your thing. They’re stepping into the thing that me and Andy and the kids did. They’re joining the band, in a way. They’re excited, and I just had a lot of fun hanging out with all of them. It’s going to be a very different shooting experience with all adults, for sure, but it will be fun. They’re all really cool and talented people, so I think they will bring a lot to the table.”
It: Chapter 2 will be released on September 6, 2019.
What do you think of what the actor had to say? Tell us your views in the comments!