Tim Curry and Bill Skarsgård's portrayals of Pennywise the Dancing Clown in IT have both become iconic cinematic character performances, yet both are dramatically different from one another. Tim Curry first portrayed the character in a two-part miniseries in 1990, and immediately cemented Pennywise as one of the biggest figures in horror. Stephen King's reign over cinema continued and in 2017 IT was adapted into a film, with a second part released in 2019, this time casting Bill Skarsgård as the horrifying clown. As a result, both actors' interpretations of the character have been endlessly compared to one another, and their differences are a huge stand-out.
Before starring in IT, Tim Curry had appeared in lively comic films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Clue, and his casting as Pennywise raised doubts as to how scary he could be. Curry, though, went on to make Pennywise a fixed figure in pop culture, with his performance setting a standard as to how to portray the fearsome clown. For the 2017 reboot, Skarsgård took on the role, facing the intimidation of Curry's previous work on the character. Yet, he managed to bring something new and unlike Curry's portrayal, leading to mass debates of who gave the best Pennywise, and why the characterization strayed from the original.
While Tim Curry's Pennywise undoubtedly set a precedent, Skarsgård's version had to have its differences so as not to repeat covered ground. 2017's IT needed to bring something particularly different from the 1990 miniseries, hence why Skarsgård's Pennywise comes across as so hysterically non-human. While the two are inevitably compared, being the only two prominent actors to play the character, the subtle differences in their approach to Pennywise ensure that the 2017 film would not be a cut and dry repetition of the original adaptation.
One argument for Curry's performance being superior is that his Pennywise is not outwardly sinister at first, therefore making his unanticipated and unhinged violence a lot more terrifying. It also explains why Georgie would be so trusting of a clown in the sewers. Whereas, Skarsgård's Pennywise is demonic from the outset, quick and vicious and otherworldly. His clown trades a Bronx accent for a high-pitched caricature voice, almost imitating exactly how a demonic entity would imagine a clown to sound. These small changes make the character scary in new ways, rather than rehashing the same concept.
Both actors in IT brought something to the character that has had a lasting effect on audiences. The effort of both Curry and Skarsgård has ensured that the demonic, shape-shifting and ambiguous Pennywise clown will be a staple of horror and general pop culture for years to come. Pennywise has given kids and adults alike the scare of their lives, guaranteeing that anyone is unable to look at a clown without a small feeling of trepidation.