Music & Arts
Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise Shatters Box Office Records in “It” Remake
As Variety put it, “‘It’ came; ‘It’ saw; ‘It’ conquered,” thanks in part to the film’s star, Bill Skarsgård.
The remake of the 1990 miniseries based on Stephen King’s “It” hit theaters last weekend, 27 years after its original release (eerily timed to the murderous clown Pennywise’s return to Derry, Maine every 27 years…), and it not only shook its audience but it shook the box office. “It” had the third largest opening of 2017, grossing $123.1 million – making it the largest September opening, as well as the largest opening for a horror film.
Bill Skarsgård is one of the middle children of the Skarsgård clan, led by father Stellan, and he’s previously acted in Netflix’s “Hemlock Grove” and the feature films “Anna Karenina” and “The Divergent Series: Allegiant.” But it wasn’t until the role of Pennywise in “It,” that Bill really started grabbing people’s attention.
Pennywise is one of the most recognizable and terrifying characters in the horror genre. In an interview with The New York Times, Skarsgård talked about the role and the energy the character took to portray, noting there were no mundane shoot days as Pennywise. But if the box office ticket sales didn’t prove that his energy was put to good use, he has received some pretty great validation from those closest to the project.
Rolling Stone reported that Skarsgård went back to the words of Stephen King to pick up on subtle cues he could incorporate into his character, and it paid off – King himself liked his performance and couldn’t decide which Pennywise adaptation was a better representation of his character.
And in a hilarious, albeit twisted, shoot experience, Skarsgård recalled to Jimmy Kimmel that on his first day on set, he shot a scene with one of the younger actors who was in tears while shooting. After the director yelled cut, Skarsgård made sure his fellow actor was OK, and the child came back with praise for his character choice.
We can’t wait to see how “It” continues to do in the box office – if this means more Bill Skarsgård, we’re hoping for more box office records!
