Bill Skarsgård has reflected on his role as Pennywise the Clown and admitted he found the early release of a first look of the character “kind of mean”.
The actor, 33, first stepped into the Stephen King character’s shoes for the 2017 remake of the classic horror film It, and again in 2019 for It Chapter Two.
With so many people familiar with Tim Curry’s previous incarnation of the character in the 1990 mini-series, Skarsgård was nervous about the role.
“When you are 26, you don’t feel young at all, but now, looking back at it, I was a kid,” Skarsgård told Esquire. “It was fairly early on in my career to take on something that had so many eyeballs and expectations on it.”
“They did a thing that I felt was kind of mean. 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.”
Thankfully, the actor managed to conquer his nerves and comments including claims that his Pennywise looked “so stupid” by focusing on himself and what he personally thought would be a good interpretation of the character.
“You can only make this performance to please yourself,” he said. “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.”
Following the challenging role, Skarsgård is once again filling very big shoes, this time of Brandon Lee, in a remake of The Crow.
This comes after Lee famously died from an injury on the set of the 1994 film, which was released posthumously.
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His interpretation of the character, which is much more modern than the original, has already been subject to criticism.
Unlike with Pennywise, the actor will be using his own face in the film and he admits this is even more nerve-wracking.
“There’s definitely worry about that,” he told Esquire, admitting that he is nervous at the prospect of being more recognisable.
“I’m trying to view the fame aspect as a challenge and navigate through it in a way that I’ll find happiness,” he added.
“I really don’t think my line of profession is a recipe for happiness or contentment. Not a lot of us are happy. And the more the fame is increased, the more turbulent and scary life becomes.”
The Crow is set to be released on 23 August.
