The Guy Who Plays Pennywise In ‘It’ Is Hot And I Feel Very Weird About That
This horrific demon clown looks like a member of One Direction.
For the past six months I’ve been steeling myself against pictures like this:
I’ve been terrified of Stephen King’s iconic ball of nightmares, Pennywise, since I accidentally stumbled across a VHS of the 1990 miniseries as a kid. My dad let me watch it because I was excited about the clown, and it had become a game in our house to trick me with these things; The Candyman is not about Willy Wonka, you guys. So, naturally, I was ready to torment myself some more with the 2017 re-make.
I’m pretty squeamish for a horror viewer, but as long as I know what I’m getting myself into it, I can take it.
Fuck.
Me.
Up.
Then, literally moments before the cinema lights dimmed, my friend changed everything with four words: “It is actually hot”. I regret to inform you, it’s the truth. And frankly, it changes the whole viewing experience of the film.
Meet Bill Skarsgård
In Andrés Muschietti’s just-released It re-make, Pennywise the Clown is portrayed by relative newcomer Bill Skarsgård. You may have seen his face in Divergent: Allegiant or Atomic Blonde. You might have heard his last name from time to time, thanks to his dad Stellan and his brother Alexander.
But you, like I, probably did not anticipate to see his beautiful, boyish Scandi face forever tied to Pennywise — a character that literally lives in human faeces and spends his days gnawing children’s flesh with his 500 yellowed teeth.
Tim Curry — who portrayed the clown in the original 1990 screen adaptation — isn’t ugly, sure. But there is an innate sense of wickedness to him. Even off-screen, he’s all cunning grins and devil goatees. At the very least he definitely does not look like a member of One Direction and frankly, that’s all I’ve previously asked of my evil movie clowns.
I know there’s more to this. Horror is inherently tied up in ideas of the abject and it’s all about exploring what intrigues us, what repulses us, and what does both at once. Hotties also play monsters all the time. But if you’re heading to see It this weekend, please know that while Pennywise is snarling and giggling with demonic glee and literally eating people’s faces, you’re probably at least a little bit sexually attracted to him.
This has been a public service announcement. I’m so sorry.
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If you’d like to read more about the movie itself, check out our review of It here.