From killer clowns to ancient vampires and back again, Bill Skarsgård isn’t worried about being typecast.
The It: Welcome to Derry star recently said that Pennywise is “always there” as he returns to the Stephen King character after taking on another monster role in Robert Eggers‘ Nosferatu, now in theaters.
“I felt like I was done with it in a way. It was also because I was shooting this, I was doing Orlok, and to me it just felt like, ‘Okay, this is the nail in the coffin on my monster roles.’ Pun intended,” he said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “So, I did feel like I was kind of over it and wanted to do different things.”
Skarsgård continued, “And of course, the Pennywise thing as well, I’ve been quite defined by it.”
The actor explained that “things changed” when he saw producers Andy and Barbara Muschietti‘s take on the prequel. “And I love them, they’re very close friends, family even. I’m the godfather of his son. So, I love them,” said Skarsgård. “So, I was like, ‘Alright, let’s bring him back.’”
Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise in It Chapter Two (2019) (Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection)
Warner Bros.
Confirming that he’s completed filming on the nine-episode first season of the HBO series, Skarsgård said: “It was fun. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would actually. And there’s parts of it where we got to explore sides of old Pennywise that you haven’t seen, and that’s fun. … I think there’s some cool stuff in there that we haven’t seen that I’m excited for the people to watch and enjoy hopefully.”
Premiering in 2025, HBO debuted the first look at Welcome to Derry in November.