Bill Skarsgård Wiki: 7 Facts To Know About The Young Star From 'It'

Bill Skarsgård was bigger than life this summer in the new hit adaptation of Stephen King’s 'It'. With his down to earth attitude, flip hairstyle, angular face and deep eyes, Skarsgård was not what many imagined when the baton was taken from Time Curry, in 'It' as Pennywise the dancing clown. With a smile as terrifying in 'It', he proved those neigh-sayers very wrong. As Pennywise the dancing clown, Skarsgård went from a rising star to a bright, shining star. From his hairstyle to his net worth, whether he has a girlfriend or is even dating, everyone wants to know all about the fiercely private Skarsgård. Newspapers, magazines, and websites - all are knocking on his door since he became one of horror’s most recognizable symbols. Keep reading below to find out 7 of the most interesting facts we could find about the new face of the iconic Pennywise; the new embodiment of 'It'.

Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård, as it says on his birth certificate, was born in 1990 in the country of Sweden, in a suburban area known as Vällingby which is located in the western part of the Stockholm Municipality. He is 27 years old, and his birthday is August 9th. This was the same year the original miniseries of Stephen King’s 'It' would be released on television, scaring an entire generation and forever making clowns the thing of nightmares. When asked about it, Skarsgård is clear that he has no true affinity anywhere, even calling himself without a home base. He has said however, he feels like he is truly home whenever he goes back to Sweden – not as a pride thing, or a country, nationality or acceptance thing, but simply that he started out there, he grew up there and Sweden will always be a part of him.

One of seven children, Bill Skarsgård is not the only one of his family that is a famous actor. His father, Stellan Skarsgård, heads up this family of actors. Stellan Skarsgård is a well-known and established actor, lending his talent to movies like 'Good Will Hunting', the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series where he played Bootstrap Bill, who is revealed to be the father of Orlando Bloom’s character Will Turner, and more recently his recurring part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (aka the MCU) movies as Doctor Erik Selvig. As Dr. Selvig in 'Thor', 'The Avengers', 'Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron', Stellan Skarsgård has become a beloved character in a popular series. Though he was not seen in the 2017 fall MCU release of 'Thor: Ragnarok', he has a five-film deal with MCU, and it is likely we will see him in one of the many slated MCU releases in upcoming years. Bill Skarsgård’s older brother Alexander may be the most recognizable Skarsgård since he had a long-standing role in the HBO smash hit 'True Blood' as the sinister and brooding vampire, Eric Northman. He has transitioned from one HBO hit to another, appearing most recently in 'Big Little Lies'. He also has been seen onscreen in a range of movies from a turn in 'Zoolander' to the lead in 'The Legend of Tarzan'. Bill Skarsgård has 2 other siblings that are little-known actors thus far, Gustaf Skarsgård and Valter Skarsgård, as well as a sister who models. Bill Skarsgård is coming up fast on his famous relations and attempting a run at the top of the Skarsgård family acting pyramid. He started out in films, forayed into series work and burst on to the scene in a huge way in 2016 in the third movie of the Divergent film series, 'Allegiant'. In total, 2017 would see Bill Skarsgård releasing 5 projects. In April of 2017, he was in the short film, 'Alteration'. He was in 'Atomic Blonde', starring Charlize Theron, released in July. It exploded into theaters in September. November saw the release of 'Battlecreek' and he will be one of the voices in the yet to be released (in Finland) animation 'Moomins and the Winter Wonderland'. Out of these, 'Atomic Blonde' and 'It' would help Bill Skarsgård to spring up the family pyramid landing nearer the top.

Bill Skarsgård became entranced with acting when he got to see his father’s career start to blow up as a young child. He was fascinated by the character work he got to see, people playing the coolest characters, getting attention for dressing up and becoming someone else. As he grew to know more about the industry, he initially resisted following in the famous footsteps of his father and older brothers. Skarsgård has said that he worried that if he went into acting as a kid, he would be seen as capitalizing on his father’s name and would not be assessed on his own merits. In 2000, at the ripe age of ten, acting's drawing was too strong and he landed his first role as Klasse in the film 'White Water Fury'. The acting bug bit him hard and took deep hold. From there he would eventually end up as Roman Godfrey in the Netflix original series, 'Hemlock Grove' in 2013 – his so-called breakthrough role. Ironically, it was a horror series in which he played a half human, half vampire. He would return in the series for its duration from 2013 – 2015. The role was a nice precursor for his turn as Pennywise in 'It', where he would continue to make the full transition to fully adult roles while sharing the screen with a gaggle of child actors. With the release of 'Atomic Blonde' earlier in 2017, it was clear that more adult roles would be the norm for Skarsgård, who shared the screen with Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron. 'Atomic Blonde' was action-packed ​but also sensual with material definitely meant for an older audience and in a different way than his upcoming horror flick 'It'.

In 'It', Bill Skarsgård plays Pennywise the dancing clown, a face of an ancient entity that feeds on the fears of kids, eventually turning their fears against them and getting them to where they can be killed by 'It.' As the main physical embodiment of the inhuman villain of 'It', Skarsgård was the sole adult in the main cast, surrounded with costars in their early teens. Skarsgård has stated that he is amazed at his young costars in 'It' because of their talent, professionalism and ability to deal with him in full character was eye-opening to him. He was initially worried he was traumatizing them but soon came to see them as full-fledged costars who could (and would) comment intelligently on his performance. Skarsgård has been open about his initial excitement at simply being allowed to audition for a role like Pennywise. As a good-looking actor in his mid-twenties, he was not sure if a transcendent role such as the leading adult in 'It' would be a possibility for him. Many roles offered to actors in such a spot are those similar to themselves, not ones that would take them from leading man material in daydreams to leading man material in nightmares. Pennywise was meant to be played by Skarsgård in this reboot of 'It'. He was not the first choice, the part was initially going to Will Poulter who was in 'The Maze Runner'. Poulter was cast by the first director, Cary Fukunaga of 'True Detective'. Fukunaga was at the helm of this 'It' reboot for years, but would eventually leave under a cloud, claiming creative differences. Poulter’s departure from the movie is less dramatic, he eventually disengaged because of the darkness needed to play the dancing clown. Enter Andy Muschietti, who would take 'It' not only to but victoriously across the finish line. Initially, he worked with Poulter but was eager to cast the Pennywise of his vision when he left. Exit light, enter Bill Skarsgård. Both Muschietti and Skarsgård are quick to credit the original Pennywise from the 1990's 'It' miniseries, the incomparable Tim Curry. Curry’s Pennywise is one of horrors iconic mainstays, making 'It' a movie that people watched as teens and still dream about as parents. Paying homage to Curry was important to them, but making Skarsgård’s Pennywise even more terrifying and completely his own was more important. Skarsgård came to the 'It' set a month after the main group of kids, known in the book and the movies as The Loser Club, had already been there shooting. They had met only once before at a table reading and Skarsgård was kept in isolation much of the time. Both Muschietti and Skarsgård felt that keeping him away from everyone else and keeping him in character would add to the tension in 'It'. Audiences seemed to agree. Though they achieved the tension they were looking for, Skarsgård has since said that 'It' was a lonely experience for him. Sequestered in the Pennywise tent, he mainly had the crew transform him into the fear-inducing clown with prosthetics and makeup. Though it may have been a long, arduous and lonely road for him, the film was a success and the rumors are that not only is It Chapter 2 is in the green light but Skarsgård is signed on to return to the world of 'It' and Pennywise.

Bill Skarsgård has established himself as a heavy hitter in the world of the horror genre. The ironic part of this is that Skarsgård himself is not a huge horror fan. He has been very open about the fact that he was never into the horror genre when he was a kid, not really getting the concept of wanting to be scared for entertainment. It seems that he is destined to make movies and portray characters that do just that, however.

Getting the scoop on Bill Skarsgård’s personal life is slightly less daunting then obtaining the nuclear codes. He guards his privacy fiercely, not having any social media accounts or thriving on having his relationships used as fodder for publicity for his professional pursuits. He goes to great lengths to keep his personal life just that – personal. One of the most popular questions fans ask is whether or not he is dating, a question he tries to dodge as deftly as a boxer avoiding a jab. It is, however, Hollywood and these things will out as they say. Website Just Jared posted a picture in 2016 of Bill Skarsgård holding the hand of a woman they said he was not only dating but was his girlfriend, but with no name. Fans are not ones to sit back and let it be and it soon was reported that the previously unnamed girlfriend was actress Alida Morberg who had some credits to her name; 'Insane' (2010) and 'Sensoria' (2015). As stated earlier, Skarsgård attempts to keep his presence on social media quiet but he does have a public presence. Magazines and talk shows are part of the deal when you do a movie and he has done plenty of both with his releases this year. At every turn he popped up, he talked about makeup routines for Pennywise here, working with children there and so forth. The only thing that remains to be seen is his risen stardom this year when magazines start doing their roundups for ​end of the year and we see how many best of lists he has or hasn't made.

Bill Skarsgård is an up and coming player in the heavy hitter’s realm of Hollywood. He is still climbing in the net worth list as well. Right now his approximate net worth is at $5 million. With the success of 2017, a rumor of reprising his role as Pennywise in 'It' Chapter 2, and an ever-growing fan base, Skarsgård is sure to continue his climb. He has nowhere to go but up all the ladders and lists Hollywood can possibly throw at him. We look forward to watching his career continue to grow.