Tim Curry Opens Up About Why He Didn’t Revel in Playing Pennywise
Tim Curry says playing Pennywise was no joyride. In his new memoir Vagabond, the It star calls the 1990 role an unsettling challenge he embraced but never enjoyed.
Tim Curry has a new memoir out, 'Vagabond,' and yes, he finally talks about Pennywise. Short version: he didn’t have fun playing the clown. Not because the job was bad, but because the character hit him in a way that wasn’t exactly party time.
The 1990 'It' role that never felt like a victory lap
We’re talking about the 1990 TV miniseries 'It' (if you’ve seen anyone say 1999, that’s just a mix-up). Curry says the role excited him because it was a challenge, but he never celebrated it. He actually has a fear of clowns, which made stepping into Pennywise extra weird for him. Not to the tabloid-extreme of not being able to look in the mirror, but he definitely wasn’t admiring his reflection between takes.
Why he signed on anyway
He writes that the idea of embodying a killer clown made him uncomfortable and curious at the same time. That tension is what pushed him to do it. He said 'Yes, I’m interested' with a lot of uncertainty baked in. It wasn’t a rah-rah decision; it was more like testing himself to see if he could pull it off.
No, he doesn’t secretly hate Pennywise
Curry also addresses the long-running rumor that he refuses to talk about the role because he regrets it. Not true. He admits he hasn’t said much publicly for years, but not because he’s haunted by it. He just didn’t revel in the part. He respects Stephen King, thinks the miniseries is a strong adaptation, and then he slips in a wonderfully dry aside that tells you a lot about his taste:
'It wasn’t exactly a Stoppard experience.'
Translation: this is Tom Stoppard he’s referencing, the gold standard for dense, witty stage writing. Pennywise was TV horror, not highbrow theater, and Curry knew exactly what lane he was in.
How people bring it up to him (and why that’s awkward)
Curry, who’s 79 now, says the character hit people hard. When fans approach him, it usually falls into one of two buckets:
- They’re awed by the performance.
- They’re still scared of Pennywise.
And as he points out, that second one isn’t a great icebreaker. It tends to steer the conversation somewhere less than delightful, which made him even less eager to keep revisiting the role in public.
Bottom line: he respects the work and the legacy, but he didn’t bask in it. For Curry, Pennywise was a tough, uneasy challenge he met head-on — then quietly moved past.