The film world has been pretty crazy for Stephen King's IT lately. Andy Muschietti's triumphant movie adaptation has brought the terrifying clown to a new generation of horror fans, and the blockbuster was met with positive critical reception and major money at the box office. As such many fans of this new film have been re-exploring the original miniseries of the same name, which starred Tim Curry as the horrifying title character. Curry himself recently shared an anecdote from the set, revealing the time that he scared the crap out of a child actor co-star. And it turns out that he terrified none other than the original Georgie (that poor kid can't catch a break).
There was a point in IT, at the beginning of the movie, this little kid called Georgie is sailing his boat down the gutter and it goes down the drain, and Pennywise grabs it. And Georgie puts his hand down the drain and I grab it and I suggest that he joins me, and say, 'Down here, you'll float.' And he stopped and said, 'Tim, you're scaring me.' I said, 'Gee, I'm so sorry, but that's what I'm supposed to be doing.'
Well, I can't say I blame that kid. Georgie's interaction with IT is one of the miniseries' (and the new film's) first scares, and shows that the clown is not one to mess with. Tim Curry's performance is thoroughly unsettling, so it stands to reason that it would terrify his child scene partner.
While Georgie's abduction and attack by IT is scary enough in the original miniseries, director Andy Muschietti really amped things up for the new film. Rather than cutting away to IT's teeth, the new film showed the clown actually chomping off the arm of poor Georgie. And as the one armed kid attempted to crawl away from his attacker, Pennywise dragged poor Georgie into the sewer to finish him off.
While Tim Curry's story at Fan Expo Canada (via Bloodbath and Beyond) is an amusing anecdote, the legendary actor does seem sensitive to how challenging it is to be a child actor. With kids so often present a characters in horror films, many young actors must partake in scenes that often haunt them once they leave set. Curry addressed this dichotomy, saying:
I have a lot of sympathy for child actors. Most of them don't know what the hell they're doing there.
While the child actors in the original IT may have garnered some sympathy by Tim Curry, the modern members of The Losers Club were all pretty fantastic. The young cast provide interesting and nuanced performances to the new film, and the R-Rating allowed the kids to behave the way that 13 years olds would in real life. It should be interesting to see how their careers continue to progress, especially the absolutely fantastic Sophia Lillis.
Check out Tim Curry telling the story himself, remarkably jumping back into Pennywise's signature accent, despite his health deterioration.
Isn't he just the best?
IT is still in theaters now, if you haven't managed to see it yet. Be sure to check out our 2017 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
