Bill Skarsgard scared the living bejeezus out of all of us when he played Pennywise the Clown in New Line’s “It” last year — and now, the actor says the iconic character haunted his dreams well after shooting.
“I liken every character that I do to a relationship that you’re in,” Skarsgård told Entertainment Weekly. “Pennywise and Bill go into this sort of relationship together, and I’m trying to figure out who he is and I have to devote so much time and effort to this other person – or thing, in this case – and that goes on for months.”
He added, “After we wrapped, I was in my childhood home in Sweden, sitting having coffee with my mom at our kitchen table, and realized, ‘Oh, holy sh–, I don’t have to deal with this relationship anymore!’ It was a very quick shift of just feeling better, like, ‘Oh my God, I’m relieved that I don’t have to deal with the darkness of the character.’ I likened it to an exorcism – him exiting my body and getting rid of the Pennywise toxins.”
But that didn’t mean Pennywise was done with Skarsgard.
“I was home, done with the movie, and I started having very strange and vivid Pennywise dreams,” he said. “Every night, he came and visited.”
And like in the film, Pennywise took on different forms, depending on your own personal fear: “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.”
Skarsgard will play the evil clown in the upcoming sequel, which will focus on the adult part of Stephen King’s famous novel. And Skarsgard is “good with it.”
25 Scene Stealers of 2017, From Robin Wright in 'Wonder Woman' to Pennywise's Creepy Smile (Photos)
From Kenneth Branagh's mustache in "Murder on the Orient Express" to Dante in "Coco," movies this year had some epic moments and memorable characters.
Porgs in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
Come on -- how can these little cuties not steal the show? Let's get a spinoff movie, immediately.
Lucasfilm
Tiffany Haddish in "Girls Trip"
Haddish's breakout role has been lauded by critics and fans alike, and the actress won Best Supporting Actress at the New York Film Critics Circle.
Getty Images
Lil Rel Howery in "Get Out"
No spoilers, but Lil Rel Howery is super important in the satirical comedy.
Armie Hammer's Dancing in "Call Me by Your Name"
Armie Hammer's psychedelic-like dance steals the show in the romantic drama -- at TheWrap's screening of the film, Hammer said there was no music and everyone had to awkwardly watch him dance on set.
Gaston and LeFou's Bromance in "Beauty and the Beast"
The relationship between Gaston and LeFou in "Beauty and the Beast" was heavily talked about in the media after director Bill Condon told Attitude Magazine that the movie would feature an "exclusively gay moment."
The film received an age restriction in some countries and was pulled from an Alabama theater. But Josh Gad's LeFou left fans smiling from ear-to-ear, and their bromance also spread to reality, with Gad and Luke Evans declaring their appreciation for each other on social media.
Disney
Dafne Keen in "Logan"
Back in March, everyone was already talking about the actress playing X23. She's one of the best parts about the movie (of course, so is Patrick Stewart).
Fox
Baby Groot in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"
Enough said.
Marvel
Steve Zahn as Bad Ape in "War for the Planet of the Apes"
If you're telling us you weren't totally enamored with Zahn's Bad Ape in this movie, you have no soul.
Adam Driver's Fake Arm in "Logan Lucky"
You just can't help but notice Adam Driver's fake arm once he nonchalantly detaches it in his first scene. Instead of trying to hide the prosthesis for the rest of the movie, Steven Soderbergh smartly decided to use the limb for full comedic effect. From Daniel Craig playing with it in the backseat of his getaway vehicle to the arm being sucked into the team's money bag, this fake arm had us laughing far longer than it should have.
Pennywise's Creepy Smile in "It"
Yeah, it may haunt your dreams, but it's pretty fantastic. And actor Bill Skarsgard is phenomenal at recreating it in real life.
Dante in "Coco"
Not only is Dante the most lovable and charming sidekick to Miguel in "Coco," but the dog is actually a Xolo dog, the national dog of Mexico.
Pixar
Ana de Arma's Hologram in "Blade Runner 2049"
Ana de Arma's hologram as Ryan Gosling's girlfriend is not only beautiful, but she draws you in emotionally. You feel for the hologram the way you would for a person, and the sex scene between Gosling, Armas and Mackenzie Davis will have people talking about it for years.
Warner Bros.
Korg in "Thor: Ragnarok"
Taika Waititi's character in "Thor: Ragnarok" has the best one-liners and offers a refreshing tone to the "Thor" franchise. His timid voice matched with his rocky exterior is one for the books.
Marvel
Robin Wright in "Wonder Woman"
Antiope is just a complete bad a--. Hopefully we can have an Antiope standalone film in the near future.
Warner Bros.
Judd Apatow's Cameo in "The Disaster Artist"
In James Franco's Oscar buzzy film, Apatow plays a "generic a--hole producer," who is very mean to Franco's Tommy Wiseau.
"I read in the paper James is saying I’m playing a version of myself and I was like ‘James, I’m not playing a version of myself. I’m playing a generic asshole producer.’ But then I realized, maybe I am a generic asshole producer,” Apatow told TheWrap in a recent interview.
Michelle Pfeiffer in "mother!'
The provocative genius of Darren Aronofsky and the irresistible Jennifer Lawrence sucked all the oxygen out of “mother!” it seemed — how could anyone break out ahead of that duo?
Clearly they messed with the wrong Michelle Pfeiffer — whose acidic, rage-filled houseguest know only as Woman stole the movie out from under costars. She’s drunk, she’s judgmental, she’s deceptively wise and she’s doing a ton of laundry. She’s hands down the most appealing and mysterious part of the spectacular mess made by Aronofsky.
Matt Damon's Cameo in "Thor: Ragnarok"
Matt Damon surprised everyone when he appeared in "Thor: Ragnarok." Damon played an Asgardian actor who is essentially taking part in a play that recreates the ending of "The Dark World."
Marvel
Superman's Side-eye in "Justice League"
One of the funnier moments of "Justice League" is when it becomes clear Superman can see The Flash race past him -- and Superman's slow-moving side-eye is both hilarious ... and sexy.
Warner Bros.
Superman's Mustache That Was Cut Through CGI
When "Justice League" was released in theaters, fans couldn't stop talking about weirdness going on with Superman’s upper lip caused by the CGI removal of Henry Cavill’s mustache.
“Justice League” underwent reshoots this summer, which ended up taking longer than Warner Bros. anticipated. Cavill was faced with a conflict as a result: he had grown a mustache for “Mission: Impossible 6,” but he obviously couldn’t have a mustache while playing Superman/Clark Kent.
Because shaving his mustache and then having to grow it again would have forced an alteration in the “Mission: Impossible 6” production schedule, Paramount forbade him from shaving it off while doing protracted “Justice League” reshoots. And as TheWrap reported back in July, Cavill ended up shooting a number of scenes as Superman while sporting a mustache in real life.
The scene includes military vehicles firing missiles at cars, harpoons tearing Lamborghini doors off, and all kinds of explosions.
Universal
Eugenio Derbez's Chest Hair Fail in "How to Be a Latin Lover"
In the film, Eugenio Derbez paints on some chest hair with what looks like chocolate sauce to seduce an older woman and goes to take a dive at an elite outdoor pool, only to find that the sauce spreads all over the pool. Understandably, many onlookers are horrified, and even the woman Derbez's character is interested in goes running.
Kate McKinnon in "Rough Night"
Kate McKinnon (and her Aussie accent) is arguably the best part of "Rough Night." One particular scene -- the one where she is riding a jetski -- still has us keeling over in laughter.
Kenneth Branagh's Mustache in "Murder on the Orient Express"
Come on, that mustache took up half the screen in most of the movie. It legitimately stole the thunder from the other actors, which is deserved to, because so much went into the making of this mustache.
Fox
Jack Black in "Jumanji"
There's no question Jack Black steals the movie while he plays a teenage girl trapped in a fat, middle-aged man's body. When he gives Karen Gillan lessons on how to flirt -- priceless.
Sony
Anthony Hopkins and Jim Carter in "Transformers: The Last Knight"
It's been popular to refer to Anthony Hopkins' appearance in "Transformers: The Last Knight" as a paycheck role, but people who actually watched the movie should know better. Hopkins is having the time of his life here, delivering every stupid line with the most possible Britishness. The one-two of Hopkins and his robot butler, Cogman (Jim Carter), turns what would have been just another "Transformers" movie into something that's worth watching even if you're tried of the franchise.
Paramount
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TheWrap takes a look at who (or what) stole the show in 2017 films — and yes, porgs made the cut
From Kenneth Branagh's mustache in "Murder on the Orient Express" to Dante in "Coco," movies this year had some epic moments and memorable characters.
Lucasfilm
