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It's Bill Skarsgård Says "Hateful Opinions" About His Pennywise Left Him Unable To Sleep

4 June 2024, 16:23

Bill Skarsgard says "mean" Pennywise marketing stunt left him unable to sleep. Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images, New Line Cinema/Entertainment Pictures

By Katie Louise Smith

"When you are twenty-six, you don’t feel young at all, but now, looking back at it, I was a kid."

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Bill Skarsgård may have cemented himself as an iconic modern horror villain with his portrayal of Pennywise in the It films, but the initial negative reaction to his first look as the terrifying clown affected him in quite a huge way.

In 2017, Bill took on the role of Derry's resident shape-shifting evil entity, previously played by Tim Curry. Tim's legendary performance in the '90s TV mini series meant that Bill had huge clown shoes to fill. Thankfully, the film became a huge hit, Bill's Pennywise was widely praised and he reprised the role in a sequel two years later.

Bill is reportedly set to return as Pennywise in Max's prequel series, Welcome To Derry, and in a new profile with Esquire magazine, the actor has now opened up about how the hate affected him back in 2017.

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"When you are twenty-six, you don’t feel young at all, but now, looking back at it, I was a kid," he said, reflecting on accepting the iconic role. "It was fairly early on in my career to take on something that had so many eyeballs and expectations on it."

However, when Warner Bros. did a marketing stunt teasing the first look at Bill's Pennywise, the whole thing had a pretty sad effect on the actor himself.

"They did a thing that I felt was kind of mean," Bill recalled. "I was so incredibly nervous to start this job, and then the internet is having so many hateful opinions on the weird, strange look of the thing."

The internet tore his Pennywise apart. The profile notes then that he couldn't sleep because of the insults, that just wouldn't leave his mind: "This looks so stupid. Lame. Boooo."

Thankfully, the hate and the negative comments ended up changing his entire approach to acting.

"You can only make this performance to please yourself," he continued. "It unlocked something in me. And it gave me the confidence that I can take on any challenge. At least, that’s how I feel when I accept these things."

Bill Skarsgard's Pennywise was met with hateful comments when it was first teased. Picture: Alamy

According to Deadline, Bill is set to return as Pennywise in Max's upcoming prequel series, Welcome to Derry.

It and It: Chapter Two director Andy Muschietti will direct four episodes of the nine-episode series, which stars Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar. No release date has been confirmed just yet.