Bill Skarsgard had nightmares for weeks after ‘It’ shoot wrapped
BILL Skarsgard had nightmares for “weeks” after he finished filming ‘IT’.
The 27-year-old actor stars as the iconic horror villain Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the new Andres Muschiettidirected movie, and he’s revealed the film continued to haunt him even after the shoot wrapped.
He shared: “It was weird. I really enjoyed myself doing it, but the day after we wrapped, I went back home to Stockholm, Sweden, and it’s always a weird experience when you work really hard on something and then you go back to regular life at your childhood home.
“And that’s when I finally realised what an impact the character had had on me. For the following two weeks I would have these really disturbing dreams about Pennywise.
“It was very strange, it was almost like a really slow exorcism to completely let go of him.”
Bill likened his post-filming experience to ending a “very destructive relationship”.
Explaining the scenario to non-actors, he told PEOPLE: “The closest thing I can liken it to is being in a very destructive relationship, because you never really realise you’re in one until you’re out.
“And then as soon as you’re out of it, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I can see it all so clearly now.’ Doing characters is almost like being in a relationship with a made-up person, and you don’t really see the journey clearly until it’s over.”
Despite the subsequent nightmares, Bill insisted he relished his time on set.
He said: “I did have so much fun with the character, and I’m really looking forward to getting back under that clown make-up for the sequel.”