Bill Skarsgård`s eerie and otherworldly gaze - aberration or peculiarity?
Bill Skarsgård emerges as one of the most vibrant young talents in Hollywood. His appearance harbours a unique characteristic, riveting attention and rendering him perfectly suited for roles of villains, psychopaths, and other ambivalent characters. Among these, the demonic clown Pennywise from "It" (2017) that catapulted him to stardom. It's his strabismus, a feature this charismatic individual has turned into his own personal hallmark.
"My aspiration is to portray an expansive array of diverse individuals"
From an early age, Skarsgård nurtured a fondness for transformations and grimaces, spending considerable time with his father, the actor Stellan Skarsgård, on set. He observed adults dressing up as a myriad of characters, impersonating different individuals, and then receiving monetary compensation for it - a concept that intrigued him greatly.
Bill Skarsgard
Following his first debut in the Swedish thriller "White Water Fury" at age nine, he did not ascend to popularity as a child actor. Nevertheless, after making a brief appearance in the adventure action film "Arn: The Kingdom at the End of the Rainbow" (2008) alongside Stellan and his elder brother Gustaf, he came to the realisation that existing in the expansive universe of film was his true calling. Since then, his oeuvre has only continued to flourish."
Distinctive Perception
Indeed, audiences could not overlook the actor's strabismus. Skarsgård perceives this minor peculiarity as no impediment to his profession. In one interview, he elaborated that his strabismus was not merely a physical attribute, but integral to his persona and individuality. He asserts that it assists in crafting his characters to be unique and multifaceted, acknowledging that achieving such an effect without this characteristic would be considerably more challenging. IT Pennywise Audition tape For instance, during the filming of "It", he endeavoured to explore the warped essence lurking behind Pennywise. The creators intentionally withheld Skarsgård's full appearance from the young actors, ensuring that their initial encounter in the film seemed authentic. Consequently, their terror upon first contact with their colleague was palpably real, these scenes making their way into the final film. All thanks to his "wandering pupils" - though many viewers, not yet familiar with Skarsgård, presumed it to be computer-generated imagery.
I have a slight strabismus, and if I relax the muscles in my eye, my left eye seems to glass over. We thought it would be great to incorporate this into the film, so throughout the movie, Pennywise's eyes are pointing in two different directions.
Skarsgård's gaze did not only unsettle the child actors from the first part, but also his adult colleague from the second part of "It" - Bill Hader. At the start of filming, Hader asked Skarsgård how the "eye effect" was achieved. Skarsgård, already made up as Pennywise, replied, "Oh, you mean THIS?" The photographers captured Hader's priceless reaction.
Bill Skarsgard and Bill Hader on the set of It 2
Strabismus (more accurately, this is the "lazy eye" syndrome or, scientifically, amblyopia) does not inconvenience Skarsgård in his everyday life: he experiences no vision-related issues. He leverages this "peculiarity", transforming it into uniqueness, so the personas of his characters become even more memorable. Detailed information about the career and personal life of Bill Skarsgård can be found in his biography on zoomboola.com."
