Learning Bill Skarsgard Was Pennywise In IT Made Child Actor Co-Star Cry

The Devil All The Time director Antonio Campos says one of the film’s child actors burst into tears when he found out Bill Skarsgard played Pennywise in the ITmovies. Netflix’s sprawling psychological drama stars Skarsgard as Willard Russell, the father of Tom Holland’s Arvin Russell. Michael Banks Repeta plays the 9-year-0ld version of Arvin alongside Skarsgard, appearing in several intense religious-themed scenes together. The rest of the star-studded cast includes Robert Pattinson, Riley Keough, Sebastian Stan, and Jason Clarke.

While Skarsgard puts in a chilling performance as the intense Willard in The Devil All The Time, he’s best known for playing another terrifying figure, that of Pennywise in 2017’s It and the less successful sequel It Chapter Two. Skarsgard terrified children and adults alike with his chilling performance, turning what could have been a campy role into something genuinely terrifying. Most notably, the actor was almost unrecognizable under the white clown make-up and bright red wig, making his performance even more effective and frightening. Unfortunately, it turns out it was a little too scary for one of his co-stars on The Devil All The Time.

Campos, speaking to fellow director Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Knives Out) for Interview magazine, says that Skarsgard’s legacy as Pennywise caused Repeta to burst into tears on set one day. Campos relates the story of how the child actor told him proudly that he’s not afraid of anything, except Pennywise, not realizing that his co-star had played the evil clown. Unfortunately, despite being asked not to let the secret slip, Skarsgard told Repeta, causing him to burst into tears halfway through the next take of their incredibly intense prayer scene together. You can read the full hilarious tale from Campos below:

But the funniest thing about this kid, in that scene in particular, is that I sat down with him and his mother, and you know how when you’re dealing with a kid in sensitive scenes in a film that the kid would otherwise never see, you try to protect them? His mom was like, “Banks is very mature for his age. He’s not scared of horror movies or anything. He’s a pretty tough kid.” And Banks was like, “Yeah, I’m not scared of monsters or anything. There’s just one thing that I’m kind of scared of and that’s Pennywise.” And I was like, “… Pennywise?” And I looked at the mother right away, and she was like, “Don’t say anything.” He didn’t realize that Bill Skarsgård was the thing that haunted his nightmares. So I was like, “Bill, do not tell this kid that you are the clown.” And Bill is like, “Oh my god. I’m totally going to tell him.” So the day that we were shooting that scene, Bill was like, “They don’t think you can know this, but I know you’re a smart kid. I’m the clown in It.” And Banks was like, “Whoa, that’s crazy. I didn’t know that. Alright.” And I don’t know if this is connected, but in the middle of that scene Banks just burst into tears way before he was supposed to. I think that somehow really got to him.

Campos doesn’t mention if he used that take in the final film, but it’s fun to imagine the reason Repeta can cry so convincingly in The Devil All The Time is because he was genuinely terrified of his co-star. It’s also somewhat mean of Skarsgard to have told Repeta, proving that his unsettling performance as Pennywise may have come more naturally to him than anyone realized.

Of course, it may also have been deliberate from Skarsgard, to get a convincing performance out of his co-star easier than he would have otherwise. Regardless of the reason, Repeta’s real-life fear of Skarsgard translated well into his performance, setting up one of the movie’s most unsettling scenes. Hopefully, however, Skarsgard doesn’t make a habit of using his role in It to terrorize his co-stars, or he might get a reputation in Hollywood. It does make for some funny anecdotes, though, that’s for sure.

Source: Interview magazine

About The Author

Daniel Gillespie
(899 Articles Published)

Daniel Gillespie has been a writer and editor since 2009.

More From Daniel Gillespie