Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise Stuns in Raw ‘Welcome to Derry’ Clip
A behind-the-scenes look at It: Welcome to Derry’s finale reveals Bill Skarsgård’s chilling Pennywise performance relies on pure acting and makeup, not CGI.
A fresh behind-the-scenes promo from the eighth episode of It: Welcome to Derry has landed, and it’s a real eye-opener for anyone curious about how the show’s most frightening moments come together. The short clip gives fans a peek at both the untouched and the effects-heavy versions of the season’s big finish, where Lilly, Will, Marge, and Ronnie are desperately trying to return the cosmic dagger to its resting place and put Pennywise out of action for another 27 years.
What stands out is just how much of the terror comes straight from Bill Skarsgård himself. In the unedited footage, he’s right up in the camera, letting loose with a blood-curdling scream, decked out only in his Pennywise makeup. There’s no digital trickery, no swirling snow or ominous skies—just Skarsgård’s raw performance, and honestly, it’s even more unsettling than the final version with all the bells and whistles added in post.
Performance Over Effects
It’s not just the visuals that are all Skarsgård. That voice, the one that’s been haunting viewers since the start, is entirely his own. Unlike some productions where the actor’s voice is heavily tweaked in the editing suite to sound more menacing, Skarsgård manages to deliver that bone-chilling tone without any help. The bloke’s got a knack for sounding downright terrifying, and it’s all natural.
Even the facial expressions that have become Pennywise’s trademark are pure Skarsgård. Aside from a bit of special effects work to exaggerate the head and hair, everything else—the twisted grin, the wild eyes—is just him pulling faces. No digital edits needed, which makes the whole thing that much more impressive (and a bit more disturbing, if we’re being honest).
Comparisons and Craft
For those who’ve watched other horror series, there’s a bit of a contrast here. Take Stranger Things, for example. Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Vecna, does his own voice work, but it’s still altered in post-production to give it that extra edge. Skarsgård, on the other hand, doesn’t need any of that. He brings the menace all on his own, and the result is a performance that feels both grounded and genuinely frightening.
It’s a reminder that sometimes, the scariest things on screen aren’t the result of fancy effects or high-tech wizardry. Sometimes, it’s just a talented actor, a bit of makeup, and a camera pointed in the right direction. For punters keen on the craft behind the scares, this behind-the-scenes look is a treat.