45 Amazing Behind the Scenes Photos of Tim Curry Becoming Pennywise for the ABC Miniseries “It” (1990)

It (also known as Stephen King’s IT) is a 1990 ABC two-part psychological horror drama miniseries directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen from Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name. The story revolves around a predatory monster that can transform itself into its prey’s worst fears to devour them, allowing it to exploit the phobias of its victims. It mostly takes the humanoid form of Pennywise, an Eldritch clown. The protagonists are The Lucky Seven, or The Losers Club, a group of outcast kids who discover Pennywise and vow to kill him by any means necessary. The series takes place over two different time periods, the first when the Losers first confront Pennywise as children in 1960, and the second when they return as adults in 1990 to defeat him a second time after he resurfaces.

Behind the scenes of Curry’s iconic performance as Pennywise in It was a mix of terrifying intensity and on-set conviviality. The actor’s powerful portrayal and the minimalist makeup made for a genuinely frightening monster, both on and off-screen.

Curry initially refused the role due to his previous negative experience with heavy prosthetics as the Lord of Darkness in the film Legend. Wallace negotiated a compromise with a less cumbersome makeup design, ultimately proving that Curry’s performance was the true source of horror.

The child actors of the Losers’ Club, including Seth Green and Brandon Crane, have confirmed that Curry was so convincing that they largely avoided him on set. To help elicit authentic fear, Curry reportedly stayed in character between takes, chain-smoking and showing his yellowed teeth if the children came too close. He developed a new voice for the character, giving Pennywise a “Brooklyn accent” reminiscent of an “old-time Catskills comic.” This added a unique layer of unsettling playfulness to the monstrous clown.

The makeup designed by Bart Mixon prioritized Curry’s facial expressions over heavy prosthetics, using only a few pieces to shape his brow, nose, cheeks, and chin. Despite the lighter prosthetics, the makeup was not quick to apply. Curry’s transformation required about three hours of application each day, which proved to be a difficult process for the actor. The yellowed, unsettling teeth were custom-made from polymorph plastic, which was shaped directly onto the actor’s teeth.

Director Tommy Lee Wallace described Curry as a professional who was always prepared and easy to work with. Wallace believed his role was simply to “give Tim the stage and not get in his way too much.”

In contrast to his terrifying on-screen persona, Curry was known to be warm and humorous with the cast and crew. During long theater scenes, he once entertained child extras by leading them in sing-alongs, most of whom had no idea who he was.