<Li> Bill Skarsgård as It / Pennywise the Dancing Clown : An ancient , trans - dimensional evil that awakens every twenty - seven years . Will Poulter was previously cast in the role but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts , with Poulter stating , `` I was when Mr. Fukunaga was directing , but the circumstances at New Line are such that a new director 's attached now . '' Poulter continued , `` I think , with all due respect to him of course , I was selected by Cary and subscribed to Cary 's vision for the movie , and so I have n't had a chance to connect with that ( new ) director . '' Mark Rylance , Ben Mendelsohn , Kirk Acevedo , Richard Armitage , Hugo Weaving and Tilda Swinton were considered for the role , with Mendelsohn passing on the project , as New Line wanted him to take a sizable pay cut . On June 3 , 2016 , The Independent officially reported , after final negotiations took place , that Muschietti had chosen actor Bill Skarsgård to portray the character . On portraying Pennywise , Skarsgård stated , `` It 's such an extreme character . Inhumane , It 's beyond even a sociopath because he 's not even human . He 's not even a clown . I 'm playing just one of the beings It creates . '' Skarsgård described the character further , saying , `` It truly enjoys the shape of the clown Pennywise , and enjoys the game and the hunt . '' He also commented , `` What 's funny to this evil entity might not be funny to everyone else . But he thinks it 's funny . '' On Pennywise 's design , Skarsgård stated , `` It 's important that we do something fresh and original for this one . It 's purposely not going toward that weird , greasy look . '' He also commented on being compared to Tim Curry , stating that , `` ( Curry ) 's performance was truly great , but it 's important for me to do something different because of that . I 'll never be able to make a Tim Curry performance as good as Tim Curry . '' Skarsgård also elaborated on his age , stating , `` There 's a childishness to the character , because he 's so closely linked to the kids . The clown is the manifestation of children 's imaginations , so there 's something child - like about that . '' Producer Dan Lin spoke of Skarsgård 's physical attributes : `` His build is really interesting . He 's really tall and lanky , and feels a little clown like in his movement . When he came in -- we had a lot of different actors read , and when he came in he had a different spin on the character that got us really excited . '' Lin concluded by contrasting the character with that of Heath Ledger 's Joker , `` You 've had ( Ledger ) doing almost a clown joker , you 've seen obviously Tim Curry as a clown . We wanted someone who created a Pennywise character that would stand on its own and Bill came in and created this character that frankly freaked us out . '' Muschietti spoke of Skarsgård 's Pennywise as one not to lurk in the shadows , to which he remarked , `` Pennywise shows up , he 's front and center , and he does his show . He has an act ... So it 's weird all the time , and every little thing implies a further threat . '' Muschietti also spoke of wanting to make the sense of dread that grows in Derry part of the dread of Pennywise , to which he stated , `` He 's not just a character that can shape - shift , his influence is all around . The anticipation of him is almost scarier than the actual Pennywise scares . '' On selecting Skarsgård to portray Pennywise , Muschietti wanted to stay true to the essence of the character , and Skarsgård caught his attention , `` The character has a childish and sweet demeanor , but there 's something very off about him . Bill has that balance in him . He can be sweet and cute , but he can be pretty disturbing . '' </Li>
<Li> Bill Skarsgård as It / Pennywise the Dancing Clown : An ancient , trans - dimensional evil that awakens every twenty - seven years . Will Poulter was previously cast in the role but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts , with Poulter stating , `` I was when Mr. Fukunaga was directing , but the circumstances at New Line are such that a new director 's attached now . '' Poulter continued , `` I think , with all due respect to him of course , I was selected by Cary and subscribed to Cary 's vision for the movie , and so I have n't had a chance to connect with that ( new ) director . '' Mark Rylance , Ben Mendelsohn , Kirk Acevedo , Richard Armitage , Hugo Weaving and Tilda Swinton were considered for the role , with Mendelsohn passing on the project , as New Line wanted him to take a sizable pay cut . On June 3 , 2016 , The Independent officially reported , after final negotiations took place , that Muschietti had chosen actor Bill Skarsgård to portray the character . On portraying Pennywise , Skarsgård stated , `` It 's such an extreme character . Inhumane , It 's beyond even a sociopath because he 's not even human . He 's not even a clown . I 'm playing just one of the beings It creates . '' Skarsgård described the character further , saying , `` It truly enjoys the shape of the clown Pennywise , and enjoys the game and the hunt . '' He also commented , `` What 's funny to this evil entity might not be funny to everyone else . But he thinks it 's funny . '' On Pennywise 's design , Skarsgård stated , `` It 's important that we do something fresh and original for this one . It 's purposely not going toward that weird , greasy look . '' He also commented on being compared to Tim Curry , stating that , `` ( Curry ) 's performance was truly great , but it 's important for me to do something different because of that . I 'll never be able to make a Tim Curry performance as good as Tim Curry . '' Skarsgård also elaborated on his age , stating , `` There 's a childishness to the character , because he 's so closely linked to the kids . The clown is the manifestation of children 's imaginations , so there 's something child - like about that . '' Producer Dan Lin spoke of Skarsgård 's physical attributes : `` His build is really interesting . He 's really tall and lanky , and feels a little clown like in his movement . When he came in -- we had a lot of different actors read , and when he came in he had a different spin on the character that got us really excited . '' Lin concluded by contrasting the character with that of Heath Ledger 's Joker , `` You 've had ( Ledger ) doing almost a clown joker , you 've seen obviously Tim Curry as a clown . We wanted someone who created a Pennywise character that would stand on its own and Bill came in and created this character that frankly freaked us out . '' Muschietti spoke of Skarsgård 's Pennywise as one not to lurk in the shadows , to which he remarked , `` Pennywise shows up , he 's front and center , and he does his show . He has an act ... So it 's weird all the time , and every little thing implies a further threat . '' Muschietti also spoke of wanting to make the sense of dread that grows in Derry part of the dread of Pennywise , to which he stated , `` He 's not just a character that can shape - shift , his influence is all around . The anticipation of him is almost scarier than the actual Pennywise scares . '' On selecting Skarsgård to portray Pennywise , Muschietti wanted to stay true to the essence of the character , and Skarsgård caught his attention , `` The character has a childish and sweet demeanor , but there 's something very off about him . Bill has that balance in him . He can be sweet and cute , but he can be pretty disturbing . '' </Li>
who plays the clown in the 2017 movie it
who plays the clown in the 2017 movie it
Bill Skarsgård
Bill Skarsgård