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( September 2017 ) Pennywise Stephen King character Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in the 2017 film First appearance It ( 1986 ) Created by Stephen King Portrayed by 1990 miniseries : Tim Curry ( Pennywise ) Florence Paterson ( Mrs. Kersh ) 2017 film adaptation : Bill Skarsgård ( Pennywise ) Tatum Lee ( Judith ) Javier Botet ( The Leper ) Carter Musselman ( Headless Boy ) Information Aliases Pennywise the Dancing Clown Pennywise Bob Gray The Leper The Giant Spider The Deadlights Judith The Teen Werewolf It, also known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown or Bob Gray, is the title character of Stephen King 's 1986 horror novel It. The character is a monster which preys upon the children of Derry, Maine, roughly every twenty - seven years, using a variety of powers that include the ability to shapeshift, manipulate, and go unnoticed by adults. King stated in a 2013 interview that he came up with the idea for Pennywise after asking himself what scared children `` more than anything else in the world ''. He felt that the answer was clowns. King has also acknowledged on his website that he originally wanted the title character of It to be a troll like the one in the children 's tale `` Three Billy Goats Gruff '', but who inhabited the local sewer system rather than just the area beneath one bridge. The character has been described as one of the scariest clowns in popular culture. The character was portrayed by Tim Curry in the 1990 television adaptation and by Bill Skarsgård in the 2017 film adaptation. Contents 1 Appearances 1.1 Literature 1.2 Film and television 2 Reception and legacy 2.1 2016 clown sightings 3 References 4 External links Appearances Literature In the novel, It is an eternal entity. After arriving on Earth, It would sleep for approximately 27 to 30 years at a time, then awaken to wreak chaos and feed ( primarily on children 's fear ). It is able to take many more forms than the film adaptations depict, including werewolves, bats, leeches, and sharks. It could embody any of a child 's worst fears. It apparently originated in a void containing and surrounding the Universe, a place referred to in the novel as the `` Macroverse '' ( a concept similar to the later established `` Todash Darkness '' of the Dark Tower novels ). At several points in the novel, It claims its true name is `` Robert Gray '', and is named `` It '' by the group of children who later confront it. Throughout the book, It is generally referred to as male ; however, late in the book, the children come to believe It may be female ( due to It 's manifestation as a large female spider ). In addition, upon seeing its true form Audra Denbrough says `` Oh dear Jesus, It is female. '' Despite this, the true form of It is never truly known. The final physical form It takes is that of an enormous spider, but this is the closest the human mind can understand. It 's actual form is not precisely what the children actually see. Instead, the natural form of It exists in an inter-dimensional realm referred to by It as the `` deadlights ''. Bill Denbrough comes dangerously close to seeing the deadlights, but successfully defeats It before this happens. The deadlights are never seen, and their true form outside the physical realm is never revealed, only described as writhing, destroying orange lights. Coming face to face with the deadlights drives any living being instantly insane ( a common Lovecraftian device ). The only known person to face the deadlights and survive is Bill 's wife Audra Phillips, although she is rendered catatonic by the experience. It 's natural enemy is the `` Turtle '', another ancient dweller of King 's `` Macroverse '' who, eons ago, created our universe and possibly others. The Turtle shows up again in King 's series The Dark Tower. The book suggests that It, along with the Turtle, are themselves creations of a separate, omnipotent creator referred to as `` The Other ''. The Turtle and It are eternal enemies ( creation versus consumption ). It may, in fact be either a `` twinner '' of, or the actual one of the six greater demon elementals mentioned by Mia in The Dark Tower VI : Song of Susannah, as the Spider is not one of the Beam Guardians. It arrived in our world during prehistoric times in a massive, cataclysmic event similar to an asteroid impact, in the place that would, in time, become Derry, Maine. Throughout the novel It, some events are described through It 's point of view, through which It describes itself as the `` superior '' being, with the Turtle as someone `` close to his superiority '' and humans as mere `` toys ''. It explains it prefers to kill and devour children, not by nature, but rather because children 's fears are easier to interpret in a physical form and thus children are easier to fill with terror. It says this is akin to `` salting the meat. '' It is continually surprised by the children 's victories over It, and near the end, It begins to question if It is not as superior as It had once thought. However, It never feels that the individual children are strong enough to defeat It, only through `` the Other '' working through them as a group. In the novel, It begins terrorizing a group of children in Derry, Maine, taking the form of a demonic clown called Pennywise. It intends to devour all of them one by one, but the children finally stand up to it and drive it back into its hiding place. It reappears 27 years later to confront the now - grown children, who face It in a final battle that results in It revealing It 's true form : a giant, monstrous spider. In the novel 's climax, the group finally confronts their fears and destroy It. Film and television The 1990 adaptation of the character portrayed by Tim Curry In the 1990 miniseries, Pennywise is portrayed by English actor Tim Curry, whose performance was praised by critics. In the 2017 film adaptation, Pennywise is portrayed by Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård. Will Poulter was originally cast as Pennywise, with Curry describing the role as a `` wonderful part '' and wishing Poulter the best of luck. Poulter later dropped out of the production due to scheduling conflicts, as well as original director Cary Fukunaga leaving the project. On June 3, 2016, it was announced the role had been recast with Skarsgård. Spanish actor Javier Botet was cast as the Leper. Two original guises are made for the film : the Headless Boy, a burnt victim of the Kitchener Ironworks incident ( played by Carter Musselman ), and the Amedeo Modigliani - based painting Judith ( played by Tatum Lee ). Reception and legacy Several media outlets such as The Guardian have spoken of the character, ranking it as one of the scariest clowns in film or pop culture. The Atlantic said of the character ; `` the scariest thing about Pennywise, though, is how he preys on children 's deepest fears, manifesting the monsters they 're most petrified by ( something J.K. Rowling would later emulate with boggarts ). '' British scholar Mikita Brottman has also said of Pennywise ; `` one of the most frightening of evil clowns to appear on the small screen '' and that it `` reflects every social and familial horror known to contemporary America ''. Critics such as Mark Dery have drawn connections between the character of Pennywise and serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who would dress up at community children 's parties as `` Pogo the Clown '' ; Dery has stated that the character `` ( embodied ) our primal fears in a sociopathic Ronald McDonald who oozes honeyed guile ''. On his website, however, King makes no mention of Gacy in discussing his inspiration. The American punk rock band Pennywise took its name from the character. 2016 clown sightings `` I suspect it 's a kind of low - level hysteria, like Slender Man, or the so - called Bunny Man, who purportedly lurked in Fairfax County, Virginia, wearing a white hood with long ears and attacking people with a hatchet or an axe. The clown furor will pass, as these things do, but it will come back, because under the right circumstances, clowns really can be terrifying. '' -- Writer Stephen King 's reaction to the recurring clown scare phenomenon. The character has also been cited as a possible inspiration for two separate incidents of people dressing up as creepy clowns in Northampton, England and Staten Island, New York. In 2016, several reports of random appearances by `` evil clowns '' were reported by the media, including seven people in Alabama charged with `` clown - related activity ''. Several newspaper reports cited the character of Pennywise as an influence for the outbreak, which led to King commenting that people should lower hysteria caused by the sightings and not take his work seriously. The first reported sighting of people dressed as evil clowns was in Greenville, South Carolina, where a small boy spoke to his mother of a pair of clowns that had attempted to lure him away. After such an incident, a number of clowns have since been spotted in various American states including Florida, New York, Wisconsin and Kentucky, and subsequently in other Western countries, from August 2016. By October 2016, in the wake of hundreds of `` clown sightings '' across the United States and Canada, the phenomenon had spread from North America to Europe, Australasia and Latin America. Some explanations for the 2016 clown sightings phenomenon hypothesize that at least some of the sightings are part of a viral marketing campaign, possibly for the Rob Zombie film 31 ( 2016 ). Greenville police chief Ken Miller claimed to reporters that investigators are unsure as to whether the sightings have any connection with Zombie 's 31, whether it was one or more people looking for `` kicks '', or something more sinister. A spokesperson for New Line Cinema ( distributor of the 2017 film adaptation ) released a statement claiming that `` New Line is absolutely not involved in the rash of clown sightings. '' References ^ Jump up to : Radford, Benjamin ( 2016 ). Bad Clowns. UNM Press. pp. 29, 36, 67 -- 69, 99 -- 103. ISBN 9780826356673. Retrieved 1 May 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` StephenKing.com - IT Inspiration ''. stephenking.com. Jump up ^ Paquette, Jenifer ( 2012 ). Respecting The Stand : A Critical Analysis of Stephen King 's Apocalyptic Novel. McFarland. pp. 162 -- 163. ISBN 0786470011. Retrieved 1 May 2016. Jump up ^ Kroll, Justin ( June 2, 2016 ). `` ' It ' Reboot Taps ' Hemlock Grove ' Star Bill Skarsgard to Play Pennywise the Clown ''. Variety. Retrieved June 3, 2016. Jump up ^ Squires, John ( September 10, 2017 ). `` Muschietti Talks Paintings that Inspired Nightmarish New ' IT ' Creature ''. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved September 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Glenza, Jessica ( 2014 - 10 - 29 ). `` The 10 most terrifying clowns ''. The Guardian. ISSN 0261 - 3077. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 01. Jump up ^ `` 10 Most Terrifying Clowns in Horror Movies ''. Screen Rant. 2015 - 09 - 23. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 01. Jump up ^ `` The Scariest Clowns in Pop Culture ''. Nerdist. 2015 - 10 - 22. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 01. Jump up ^ Gilbert, Sophie. `` 25 Years of Pennywise the Clown ''. The Atlantic. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 01. Jump up ^ Brottman, Mikita ( 2004 ). Funny Peculiar : Gershon Legman and the Psychopathology of Humor. Routledge. p. 1. ISBN 0881634042. Retrieved 1 May 2016. Jump up ^ Skal, David J ( 2001 ). The Monster Show : A Cultural History of Horror. Macmillan. p. 363. ISBN 9780571199969. Retrieved 1 May 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` It ''. public.wsu.edu. ^ Jump up to : `` 11 Creepy Facts About Stephen King 's ' It ' ''. Jump up ^ Dery, Mark ( 1999 ). The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium : American Culture on the Brink. Grove Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780802136701. Retrieved 1 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` StephenKing.com - IT Inspiration ''. stephenking.com. Jump up ^ Frasier, David K. ( 2005 ). Suicide in the Entertainment Industry. McFarland. p. 314. ISBN 9780786423330. Retrieved 1 May 2016. Jump up ^ Burnham, Emily ( September 8, 2016 ). `` Stephen King weighs in on those creepy Carolina clown sightings ''. Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Stableford, Dylan ( March 25, 2014 ). `` Pennywise, the clown foolish ? ''. Yahoo. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 01. Jump up ^ `` At least 9 ' clown ' arrests so far in Alabama : What charges do they face ? ''. Jump up ^ Chan, Melissa. `` Everything You Need to Know About the ' Clown Attack ' Craze ''. Time. Jump up ^ Flood, Alison ( 6 October 2016 ). `` Stephen King tells US to ' cool the clown hysteria ' after wave of sightings ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2016. Jump up ^ Teague, Matthew ( October 8, 2016 ). `` Clown sightings : the day the craze began ''. The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Flood, Alison ( October 6, 2016 ). `` Stephen King tells US to ' cool the clown hysteria ' after wave of sightings ''. The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ CNNwire ( September 2, 2016 ). `` Creepy clown sightings reported in more communities in South Carolina ''. WJW. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Rogers, Katie ( August 30, 2016 ). `` Creepy Clown Sightings in South Carolina Cause a Frenzy ''. The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Reuters ( September 3, 2016 ). `` Clown sightings spook South Carolina, perplex police ''. Yahoo !. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Harris, Chris ( September 2, 2016 ). `` South Carolina Police Chief to Creepy Clowns : ' The Clowning Around Needs to Stop ' ''. People. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Zuppello, Suzanne ( September 29, 2016 ). `` ' Killer Clowns ' : Inside the Terrifying Hoax Sweeping America ''. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Khomami, Nadia ( October 10, 2016 ). `` Creepy clown sightings spread to Britain ''. The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ BBC Editors ( October 7, 2016 ). `` Clown sightings : Australia police ' wo n't tolerate ' antics ''. BBC. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ BBC Editors ( October 20, 2016 ). `` Creepy clowns : Professionals condemn scary sightings craze ''. BBC. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Guarino, Ben ( September 7, 2016 ). `` Clown sightings have spread to North Carolina. Now police are concerned about creepy copycats ''. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Lee, Anna ( September 1, 2016 ). `` Police chief says clowns ' terrorizing public ' will be arrested ''. The Greenville News. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Reuters ( September 4, 2016 ). `` South Carolina clown sightings could be part of film marketing stunt ''. The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Gardner, Chris ( September 29, 2016 ). `` Stephen King 's ' It ' Movie Producer Denies Creepy Clown Sightings Are Marketing Stunt ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. External links It on IMDb Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=It_(character)&oldid=804983692 '' Categories : Characters in American novels of the 20th century Drama television characters Fictional androgynes Fictional characters introduced in 1986 Fictional characters who have mental powers Fictional clowns Fictional deities Fictional demons and devils Fictional extraterrestrial characters Fictional mass murderers Fictional serial killers Fictional shapeshifters Fictional spiders Fictional telepaths Horror film characters Horror television characters Stephen King characters Literary villains Fictional child killers Fictional characters who can manipulate probability Fictional torturers Fictional characters with immortality Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Articles needing additional references from August 2016 All articles needing additional references Wikipedia articles needing style editing from September 2017 All articles needing style editing Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Italiano Magyar Português Русский Simple English Suomi Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 12 October 2017, at 09 : 38. 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Question: who plays the clown in the first it
Answer: Tim Curry