IT: 6 Ways Bill Skarsgard Got Into Character

The 1990 miniseries was the first live action portrayal of It, with Tim Curry starring as the villain. Released just four years after Stephen King's novel, the miniseries terrified millions and provided the foundations for the movie that would release 27 years later, an ode to Pennywise's own violent eruptions from hibernation every 27 years. Curry's performance was greeted with approval, both from audiences and King himself, making it difficult for any actor to live up to the set precedent.

However, despite the success of the 1990 iteration, Bill Skarsgard made a point of avoiding Curry's portrayal. This was not done as a sign of disrespect, as Skarsgard has stated publicly that he loves Curry's portrayal, describing it as "amazing."

Skarsgard explained this to Den of Geek, saying, "For me, obviously, or for all of us as filmmakers going into this, we didn't want to do the same thing that's already been done." The Swedish actor simply wanted to provide his own take on the character, basing his vision purely off the original novel.

Skarsgard's performance and choice to set his own depiction of Pennywise has proved immensely successful with praise and applause pouring in from every corner of Hollywood. Stephen King has also praised Skarsgard's portrayal, describing it as equally good as Tim Curry's Pennywise. Skarsgard will have to continue to innovate and improve as work on the sequel to It starts to begin.