Oli won’t let virus get in way of his frightful fun
YouTube star takes act online
WHEN it comes t o Hallowe’en no one does it bet ter than Ol i Keenan. Mr Hallowe’en himself had hoped to bring some trick or treat fun to his fans later this month.
As the star of the viral YouTube hit as creepy clown Pennywise, from the It horror movie, Oli has built up a reputation not just in his home town of Clydebank but far beyond thanks to the 21 million video views.
Although desperate not to let people down, Oli now feels with tighter coronavirus restrictions in place, especially surrounding live events, that the show can’t go on this year.
However, he still plans to dress up on October 31 and will deliver a virtual Hallowe’en message.
Last month Oli appealed to Glasgow Times readers for ideas on which character he could take on this year.
And we can exclusively reveal that he is bringing back the old favourite which kickstarted this journey in 2018.
Oli, 24, said: “I had asked people who they would like me to be this year and it keeps coming back to the same one – Pennywise.
“He is so scary, but there is something about him that people love. Even little children seem to be taken with him.
“He is great fun even though the takes hours.
“With everything that is happening this year we felt we had to take the responsible approach and keep people safe. to dress up as transformation
“But don’t forget to look out for my virtual Hallowe’en greeting on the night.”
Oli hopes it won’t be a full year before he can bring fans together.
He added: “I would love to do something in May and call it Halfway to Hallowe’en.
“As we have missed out this year, I would love to do a couple of things next year and aim to do an event with a new character in May.”
Crowds have gathered outside Oli’s family home for the past couple of years to see him as Pennywise and last year as Jack Nicholson’s character from The Shinning.
As well as being terrified, the crowds have also been treated to a little goodie bag of sweets. However, with coronavirus restrictions in place it wasn’t possible to bring fans anything on that scale this year.
Oli, who also dressed up as The Grinch when the Glasgow Times took him Christmas shopping in Buchanan Street, added: “I didn’t want to let people down, so I hope they will be happy with the little virtual event I can bring them.”
Meanwhile, the pandemic has affected filming for Oli’s Nextflix drama.
They had been due to begin filming earlier this year, but it has been postponed.
This year Oli has also teamed up with Glasgow clothing range Freak out which specialises in upcycling vintage clothing.
Their designs usually involve prints of art works being put on to clothing, but this year they will have a Hallowe’en theme with a couple of Oli’s characters printed on them.