Pennywise Actor Reveals the Origins of His Creepy Smile From ‘IT’

Bill Skarsgård, the actor behind Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the latest adaptation of Stephen King‘s IT, is revealing how his interpretation of the character’s disturbing smile first came about.

During Skarsgård’s appearance on Conan, host Conan O’Brien praised the 27-year-old actor’s crazed smile present throughout many points in the new film, calling it “the most evil, demonic smile in all of horror.” O’Brien then asked about how he developed the look, which Skarsgård said originated from his childhood.

“My older brother Gustaf, he had this ability to point his lip in a very strange way,” the actor said.

After seeing his brother’s creepy expression, he realized he could do the same thing. He took that knowledge and developed a character around the look to scare his younger brother.

“I came up with this character called Yodigan, which is a Swedish name. I would pull my t-shirt up over my head, and I would do this face, and chase my little brother and scare him.”

Skarsgård also took the opportunity to show off his Pennywise smile without the clown makeup.

Watch the full interview below.

IT is currently in theaters.

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