Bill Skarsgård had a memorable turn as Pennywise the Dancing Clown (a.k.a. Bob Gray) in 2017’s It Chapter One and its 2019 sequel, but evidently he wasn’t the first choice for the role.
“We auditioned literally hundreds of potential Bob Grays or Pennywises,” producer Barbara Muschietti told Nerdist shortly before the film’s release. “And it was an amazing process. We got to audition people that don’t audition anymore and a huge gamut of talent; women, younger age, older age, we really went through the spectrum of actors,” she continued.
One of the main contenders for the part early on was We’re the Millers and Midsommar star Will Poulter. While speaking with Variety in 2015, Muschietti’s husband, Andy, who directed It, said that Poulter would be “a great option” and was “at the top” of his list. However, the actor had to drop out because of a scheduling conflict.
The movie was slated to go into production in the summer of 2016 despite the filmmakers not having hired anyone to play the main antagonist.
Tilda Swinton Nearly Became Pennywise the Dancing Clown
When the Muschiettis invited reporters to visit the set the following year, one of them jokingly asked if Tilda Swinton had been approached about taking on the role, presumably because the actress was cast to play the Ancient One—a character who was originally an Asian male—in 2016’s Doctor Strange. T
o everyone’s surprise, Muschietti responded by saying, “She wasn’t available.” After the room full of reporters laughed at her answer, Muschietti made it clear that she was totally serious.
“No, no, I swear to God,” Muschietti insisted. She went on to say, “We had a slot to shoot the movie and [Swinton] wasn’t available, so she didn’t even audition. But of course, we all thought about her.” According to Andy, they were looking for someone who would surprise them in some way. “I saw a lot of people,” he said in a separate interview, “but there [were] very few [who did], a small short list, and Bill [Skarsgård] was on top of it.”
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