After his performance as the clown Pennywise in IT, by Andrés Muschietti , Bill Skarsgård’s career catapulted in a way that not even he had imagined. Overnight the youngest of the Skarsgård family, his father is the well-known Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård and his brother Alexander Skarsgård, discovered that he was popular, or rather the legendary character he gave life to in the film that explored from another perspective the tragedy of a people of the United States invaded by a creature from another planet that fed on the fears and bodies of the children of that place, until he meets a group of boys who will fight for their lives and for a little justice for those who died and could not save themselves from Pennywise’s clutches.
In an exclusive interview with Collider for the premiere of the Castle Rock series and the start of filming IT: Chapter Two , the 27-year-old actor told them what it meant to him to discover Pennywise’s popularity, how he feels about returning to the role, in addition to sharing recognition now with stars like Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy. In previous talks to this second round of the character he had already confessed how difficult it was to separate his from the personality of the harlequin and even had nightmares about him. Here are his first impressions a few days of having begun the filming of the second part of the film based on the homonymous novel by Stephen King :
“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… 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 actor mentioned that it was surreal to see how Pennywise became an icon of pop culture after the premiere of the first installment of IT last September. I was surprised that atheletes like LeBron James were wearing the character’s costume at events like Halloween:
“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. It’s this dualistic thing of me and the work and the character, and then the thing that it became, but it’s fun.”
In the same interview he said that although it was not difficult for him to rediscover Pennywise’s voice during the readings and rehearsals, he was surprised to realize how identifiable the character’s psychology and fluency was:
“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.”
The original cast of the first film practically remains Bill Skarsgård, whose character returns every 27 years as dictated by the ritual of crimes and disasters of the diabolical clown, a world of panic that he will now share with Chastain and McCavoy; besides the acclaimed young Canadian director Xavier Dolan, in a secondary but decisive character in the events that will precede the return of The Losers Club in his adult life:
“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.”
King’s novel was adapted for the first time in 1990, starring Tim Curry. 27 years later we had the first film adaptation (the other was a mini-series): IT in which Bill Skarsgård arrived as the clown Pennywise. IT: Chapter Two is scheduled to premiere on September 6, 2019.
