Bill Hader Explains That He Was Terrible at Acting Scared in IT: CHAPTER 2
While James McAvoy was seriously terrified by Pennywise the Clown in It: Chapter 2, Bill Hader was having a hard time acting scared while they were shooting the film.
Billy Hader plays an older version of Richie in the film, which I thought was perfect casting in terms of the character. The director of the film, Andy Muschietti, just had to push him a little harder to bring the fear. According to the former SNL actor, he would smile while shooting the scary scenes in the film, which is pretty hilarious.
While talking to Conan O’Brien, Hader explained:
"This is my first horror movie, and I'm terrible at acting scared, apparently. When I'm scared, I think I smile. Like, I get nervous and I smile... We would do takes and the director Andy Muschetti would come and he's like, 'Bill, you need to be scared, man.' I go, I was terrified! He goes, 'No man, you're smiling the whole time. What's wrong with you?'
He went on to do a mock act of a scene with a grin on his face:
"And it's true. Yeah, I'm just like, 'Oh guys! We gotta get out of here! Pennywise is here!'"
Conan went on to joke that Hader is single-handedly ruining the It sequel and, well… Hader didn't deny it. I’m not worried, though. I’m sure they figured it out and that we’ll see him look terrified in the film.
When previously talking about being truly terrified by Pennywise the Clown while shooting the film, McAvoy said:
"He’s amazing. The guy who plays the clown is terrifying. He’s a lovely guy, and yet he really freaked me out. I remember standing there with the rest of the cast, all these adults, and we’d all done weird freaky stuff. And we are all looking at each other going, ‘I don’t like being here. I don’t like being an actor today.’ He really did, he really freaked me out. I never liked clowns as a kid."
I don’t know many people that did like clowns as a kid, so I don’t blame him.
The sequel is set 27 years after the Losers Club defeated Pennywise the Clown when they were kids. As they've grown up, they've forgotten about what had happened. When bad things start to happen in Derry again and kids begin to go missing, Mike Hanlon, who stayed behind in Derry to keep watch over the town, calls up his old friends and reminds them of the promise they made to come back and stop it if it ever came back.
The movie is shooting in Toronto, and the cast also includes Jessica Chastain as Beverly, Jay Ryan (Beauty and the Beast) as Ben, James Ransone (Generation Kill) as Eddie, with Andy Bean (Here and Now) as Stanley Uris, and Isaiah Mustafa as Mike. The younger versions of these character are played by Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, and Jack Dylan Grazer.
It has previously been revealed that Chapter 2 will include more of the interdimensional turtle, which was teased in the first film a few times. It will also have a much darker tone to it, and it has been said that Mike Hanlon's character will be drastically changed, as he will be a junkie. You can read more about that here.
The sequel will also most likely explore Pennywise the Clown a little more. We've heard that the sequel may include elements from Pennywise's history in Derry such as the story behind The Black Spot, and there was a deleted scene from the first film that was revealed to have included Pennywise eating a baby. That could be included in the sequel as well if they really do plan on giving us a history of the monster. Bill Skarsgard hopes that it will explore the twisted mind of Pennywise.
The writer of the film, Gary Dauberman, also previously teased a heartbreaking ending for the movie.