Find out why you're so scared of Pennywise's bottom lip with this exclusive behind-the-scenes It movie clip

2017 was the year everyone developed Coulrophobia (fear of clowns) thanks to the It movie and Bill Skarsgård's incredible performance as Pennywise. With the home release just around the corner, we have an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how the terrifying clown got his signature smile thanks to director Andrés Muschietti and Skarsgård himself. 

"Apart from being an incredibly talented actor he [Skarsgård] has an amazing control over his body and some weird control of his face in particular," says Muschietti. If you've seen the movie, you'll know exactly what the filmmaker is talking about and the actor reveals in the above clip that the creepy smile Pennywise has is actually something he's always been able to do. "I do this thing with my lip," he says. "It's a thing that I’ve been doing since I was a little kid and I always wanted to bring this lip thing into a character".

Other incredible things we found out from the video: Muschietti planned to give Pennywise a lazy eye which slides off to the side using CGI before Skarsgård revealed that he could actually make his eye do that itself! Yes, he shows how in the clip. As well as some disturbing Pennywise impressions, Skarsgård also mentions his audition for the role which he recently revealed was "one of the most bizarre things" he's ever done, as he ended up scaring passers-by on his way to see Muschietti. It's clear the actor has put his heart and soul (and the rest of his body) into the role and I can't wait for his return in It: Chapter 2

It arrives onto 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™, and DVD January 15. Own it now on Digital Download.

Lauren O'Callaghan

Lauren O'Callaghan is the former Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar+. You'd typically find Lauren writing features and reviews about the latest and greatest in pop culture and entertainment, and assisting the teams at Total Film and SFX to bring their excellent content onto GamesRadar+. Lauren is now the digital marketing manager at the National Trust.