Bill Skarsgård teaches Stephen Colbert the Pennywise smile, is only a little terrifying
Aux Features Clips
Whether you know it or not, we are living in the age of Skarsgård. Showing a photo to guest Bill Skarsgård on Monday’s Late Show of father Stellan and brother Alexander, Stephen Colbert only touched the tip of the Skarsgård iceberg, leaving out younger brother Valter and everyone’s favorite Viking holy fool, Gustaf. (There are even more Skarsgård siblings who haven’t gone into acting… yet.) Still, the outwardly amiable Bill gave Colbert a pass, even shouting out older brother Gustaf for coming up with the unnerving lip portion of Bill’s Pennywise the clown’s pants-wetting visage. (That eye thing is all Bill, however.)
And while It Chapter Two is receiving similarly so-so reviews to Andy Muschietti’s first installment in this two-film adaptation of Stephen King’s infamous breeze-block of a horror novel, Skarsgård and company can take comfort in the sequel taking the top spot at the box office last week. (While unanimously praised movie-stealer Bill Hader no doubt remains characteristically humble about the whole thing.) Still, Skarsgård was as charming and disarming as an unmasked 6-foot-5 clown-demon can be, gamely admitting that he follows the Instagram account dedicated to comparing his sleepy-eyed mug to Steve Buscemi’s and that he’s bemused at people’s assumption that Peter Sarsgaard is somehow a long-lost Skarsgård, and telling Colbert that he hit the nature documentaries to come up with just the right combination of predators upon which to base Pennywise’s boogeyman physicality. (Hyena and grizzly bear, if you’re wondering.) Showing Colbert how his naturally lazy eyes and ability to turn his lower lip into a drool-catching rain gutter transforms his amiable (if Buscemi-like) countenance into a flesh-toned mask of pure nightmare fuel in an instant, Skarsgård attempted to teach the Pennywise look to Colbert, who… sort of got there. Colbert’s no Skarsgård (who got gasps from Colbert’s audience when he turned on the clown), but he gave it a shot.
25 Comments
Ah yes, Bill Skarsgard. I own several jars of his anti-scarring medication, the Skarsgard Scars Guard.
Are you going to be ok?
I have this gaping wound, but I’ll survive.
is the jar on par with the stars car? Have I gone too far?
I may need to begin Pon farr with Teri Garr and Kenneth Starr in the back of an Aerostar.
This has gotten too bizarre, I’m going to the bar for a cigar
Need a ride in my car? Just ignore all the tar, steak tartare and the bloated corpse of William Barr.
But if a pirate Tasha Yar yells “ARR!” with a cigar it could mar the whole soir…ee.
Princess Carolyn would be proud.
Fucking magical.
My theory is the so-called Skarsgard family is some crazy military expeirment from Denmark to manufacture clones. Within 4 generations, the Skarsgard family will completely control the world. First they infiltrate the entertainment industry, then politics.
That’s very anti-Skarsgametic redderick right there.
Americans tried to combat this with the Culkin family, to varying degrees of success.
I’m OK with anything that puts more Skarsgårds out there in the world. That is one good looking family.
So… It begins.
Not to mention infiltrating Sweden, since that’s the country the Skarsgård family are from.
Alexander Skarsgård cast as Randall Flagg in new TV production of ‘The Stand’Ok, you may be onto something.
I actually found Colbert more terrifying there.
awww…the camera cut away too fast.
Pronounced “skashgohd”.
I know they’ve anglicized it for the purposes of their careers, and I’m sure after a point they don’t mind (and even play along with it, as in the video below), but I so prefer the Swedish pronunciation. Colbert’s pronunciation in particular really clangs off the ear. He hits both “A” sounds really hard. It almost makes me flinch.
Colbert actually pulled off a pretty good Nicholson joker, actually…
Tales from the least attractive Skarsgard.
“is only a little terrifying”Hey that’s better than the It movies