Pennywise. Even the name feels greasy. It’s been decades since Stephen King first unleashed that shape-shifting entity into the sewers of Derry, Maine, but the image of the clown remains the most visceral nightmare for generations of horror fans. Most people just see the makeup. They see the jagged teeth and the orange tufts of hair. But if you're asking who played the clown in It, you're really asking about three very different men who had to find the humanity—or the total lack thereof—inside a monster.
It's not just a costume. Playing Pennywise is a physical marathon. You’ve got the 1990 miniseries and the big-budget Andy Muschietti films. Between them, you have a legendary character actor, a young Swedish star, and a puppet master from the 1980s.
Tim Curry: The 1990 Original
Tim Curry was already a cult icon by the time ABC decided to adapt King’s massive novel for television. He’d done The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He’d been the Lord of Darkness in Legend. But Pennywise was different. In the 1990 miniseries, Curry didn't have the benefit of CGI or hyper-realistic prosthetics. He basically had some face paint and a heavy rubber nose.
Honestly, that’s why it worked.
Curry played Pennywise like a twisted Catskills comedian. He was loud. He was abrasive. He sounded like a Bronx cab driver who had lost his mind. When you watch him talk to Georgie through that storm drain, he isn't doing a "monster" voice. He’s being charming, which is way more terrifying. Director Tommy Lee Wallace has mentioned in various retrospectives that Curry was so effective on set that the child actors actually avoided him between takes. He stayed in character. He sat in his trailer, smoking cigarettes in full clown gear, which is an image I’d pay good money to see in person.
The makeup was kept simple because Curry’s face was his greatest tool. His eyes did all the heavy lifting. He had this way of pulling his lip back that made the fake teeth look like they were actually growing out of his gums. While the miniseries as a whole feels a bit dated now—especially that giant spider at the end—Curry’s performance is untouchable. He set the bar.
Bill Skarsgård: The Modern Nightmare
Fast forward to 2017. When it was announced that Bill Skarsgård was taking over the role for the new films, fans were skeptical. He was too young. He was too "pretty." People wondered if anyone could actually follow Tim Curry without looking like a cheap imitation.
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Skarsgård didn't imitate. He went weird.
He famously has a "lazy eye" (officially known as strabismus) that he can control. In the films, when Pennywise’s eyes point in two different directions, that isn't a digital effect. That’s Bill. He also has a naturally downturned lip that he can contort into a terrifying snarl. He looked at the character not as a clown, but as a predator wearing a clown suit that didn't quite fit right.
Bill’s Pennywise is animalistic. He drools. A lot. Apparently, the prosthetic teeth he had to wear made him salivate uncontrollably, and instead of wiping it away, Muschietti told him to keep it. It made the character look hungry. It reminded the audience that this thing isn't a person. It’s an ancient, interdimensional eater of worlds that just happens to be wearing yellow silk.
The Audition That Changed Everything
The casting process for the 2017 version was actually a bit of a mess for a while. Originally, Cary Fukunaga was attached to direct, and he had cast Will Poulter (We're the Millers, The Bear) as the clown. Poulter is a fantastic actor, but when the director changed, the vision changed.
When Bill Skarsgård showed up to the audition, he arrived in full "clown-lite" makeup that he’d applied himself. He spent the car ride practicing a high-pitched, manic laugh that reportedly unnerved the casting directors. He wanted to show that Pennywise was a creature of pure energy. He didn't want to be the "funny" clown Curry was. He wanted to be the thing under the bed.
Comparing the Two Icons
| Aspect | Tim Curry (1990) | Bill Skarsgård (2017/2019) |
|---|---|---|
| Vibe | Sarcastic, Loud, Human-ish | Eerie, Animalistic, Alien |
| Voice | Gritty, Raspy, New York accent | High-pitched, Child-like, Glitchy |
| Makeup | Classic 1920s Bozo style | Victorian/Elizabethan era ruffled silk |
| Scare Tactic | Psychological taunting | Physical intensity and jumpscares |
The "Other" Pennywise: Brandon Crane and the Stunt Doubles
While Curry and Skarsgård get all the glory, there’s a third name that often gets lost in the shuffle. In the 1990 miniseries, we see a brief flashback to the "real" Pennywise—or at least, a version of him. But more importantly, we have to talk about the physical performers.
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In the 2017 film, some of the more contorted movements Pennywise makes weren't done by Skarsgård alone. Contortionists and stunt performers like Joan Gregson (who played the creepy Mrs. Kersh) contributed to the overall "wrongness" of the entity's movements.
And let's not forget the voice actors for the international dubs. In many countries, the "who" behind the clown changes entirely. In the Spanish dub of the 1990 version, the voice is legendary, shaping how an entire continent experienced the fear of Derry.
Why the Actor Matters More Than the CGI
There’s a reason why the It movies work while other monster flicks fail. It’s the eyes.
You can animate a scary face. You can build a giant animatronic spider. But you can't fake the malice in a human eye. Both Curry and Skarsgård understood that Pennywise enjoys his work. He isn't just killing kids because he's hungry; he's doing it because he likes the flavor of fear.
King often says that "salt seasons the meat." The actor's job is to be the salt.
Curry did this through a terrifying sense of familiarity. He felt like the creepy guy at the carnival your parents told you to stay away from. Skarsgård did it through "the uncanny valley"—looking almost human, but just off enough to make your lizard brain scream "run."
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The Legacy of the Red Balloon
So, who played the clown in It?
If you're looking for the short answer, it’s Tim Curry and Bill Skarsgård. But the long answer involves the makeup artists like Chad Goldberg and the visionary directors who realized that a clown is only scary if there’s something intelligent and hateful behind the paint.
Pennywise has become a shorthand for coulrophobia (the fear of clowns). Before the 1990 miniseries, clowns were mostly seen as benevolent, if a bit annoying. After Tim Curry crawled out of that sewer, the profession never truly recovered. Skarsgård just hammered the final nail into the coffin for birthday clowns everywhere.
When you sit down to rewatch these films, look past the jump scares. Look at the way Skarsgård’s lip quivers. Look at the way Curry’s eyes never seem to blink. That’s where the real horror lives. It’s not in the teeth. It’s in the performance.
If you’re planning a horror movie marathon, start with the 1990 version to see the psychological foundation. Then move to the 2017 film to see how modern technology and a truly bizarre physical performance can turn a classic villain into something truly alien. Just keep the lights on.
Actionable Insights for Horror Fans:
- Watch the Documentaries: "Pennywise: The Story of IT" (2021) is a deep dive specifically into Tim Curry's performance and the 1990 production. It features interviews with the cast that explain exactly how they felt on set.
- Study the Source: Read Stephen King’s original 1986 novel. The book describes the clown's eyes as "silver," a detail both actors tried to capture in different ways through contact lenses and lighting.
- Check Out "Castle Rock": If you want more Bill Skarsgård in the King universe, he plays a very different, but equally haunting, character in the Hulu series Castle Rock. It shows his range beyond the greasepaint.
- Observe the Physicality: Next time you watch the 2017 version, pay attention to the "drool." It was a conscious acting choice Skarsgård made to emphasize the "hunger" of the creature, a detail often missed on the first watch.
The character of Pennywise is a masterclass in how an actor can transform a trope into a cultural phenomenon. Whether it's the raspy taunts of the 90s or the drooling hunger of the 2010s, the men behind the mask are what keep us away from storm drains to this day.