10 Actors Who Scared Themselves
9. Bill Skarsgård Had Vivid Recurring Nightmares About Pennywise - It
Much as there are many stories about Bill Skarsgård keeping a distance from his young co-stars while portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the It movies, Skarsgård didn't only end up spooking the actors portraying the Losers Club - his own mind also started playing tricks on him.
Even once shooting wrapped on the first film - which the actor likened to an "exorcism" - Skarsgård was himself haunted by dreams of the monstrous, child-eating shapeshifter he portrayed. He said:
"I was home, done with the movie, and I started having very strange and vivid Pennywise dreams. Every night, he came and visited... It was in the shape of either me dealing with him, sort of Pennywise as a separate entity of me, and then also me as Pennywise in circumstances that I didn't appreciate. Like, I'm Pennywise and I'm really upset that I'm out in public and people are looking at me... This was a process of letting go of the monster."
Skarsgård ultimately received considerable acclaim for his performance as Pennywise, though may have had mixed feelings about getting back into that headspace for the second part.
Giving such a ferociously terrifying performance that it's mirrored back to you in your own dreams is... something else alright.