For the most part, Andy Muschietti’s version of It has Bill Skarsgård playing the role of Pennywise The Dancing Clown – the nightmarish entity that haunts the town of Derry, Maine every 27 years. But considering the various guises the evil being takes on through the films, there are a bunch of other Pennywises out there – and the latest, as seen in the It: Chapter Two trailer, is a sweet old lady. Except Mrs. Kersh, who now lives in Beverly Marsh’s former house, is of course not just a sweet old lady.
In real life, Mrs. Kersh is actor Joan Gregson – and in the new issue of Empire, on sale now, we caught up with the latest actor to (sort of) play Pennywise. As it turned out, it was a novel experience for her. “It’s my first horror, and I had a wonderful time,” she says. “I throughly enjoyed working with Andy [Muschietti] and Jessica Chastain.” As much as she enjoyed being on set, Gregson is steeling herself to watch the finished film when it arrives in September. “I’m really looking forward to it – and I’m scared to death, actually, because I know there are lots of things that are just going to terrify me,” she admits. “One of my daughters is refusing to see it. I may jump out of my skin at some point.”
Take another look at the It: Chapter Two trailer for an extended look at Bev’s encounter with Mrs. Kersh.
Read more of Empire’s conversation with Joan Gregson in the 30th Anniversary Edition issue, on newsstands now with 30 limited edition covers – take a look at them all below. Order the issue with the cover of your choice online here.
Empire's 30th Anniversary Edition Covers
1 of 30#1 – Batman (Tim Burton, 1989)
2 of 30#2 – Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
3 of 30#3 – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (James Cameron, 1991)
4 of 30#4 – Reservoir Dogs
5 of 30#5 – Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
6 of 30#6 – The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994)
7 of 30#7 – Toy Story (John Lasseter, 1995)
8 of 30#8 – Scream (Wes Craven, 1996)
9 of 30#9 – Titanic (James Cameron, 1997)
10 of 30#10 – Blade (Stephen Norrington, 1998)
11 of 30#11 – The Matrix (The Wachowskis, 1999)
12 of 30#12 – American Psycho
13 of 30#13 – The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001)
14 of 30#14 – Spirited Away
15 of 30#15 – Lost In Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
16 of 30#16 – Shaun Of The Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)
17 of 30#17 – Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
18 of 30#18 – Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)
19 of 30#19 – No Country For Old Men (The Coen Brothers, 2007)
20 of 30#20 – The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
21 of 30#21 – Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)
22 of 30#22 – Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)
23 of 30#23 – Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011)
24 of 30#24 – Avengers Assemble (Joss Whedon, 2012)
25 of 30#25 – Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron, 2013)
26 of 30#26 – Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2014)
27 of 30#27 – Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)
28 of 30#28 – Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
29 of 30#29 – Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)
30 of 30#30 – Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018)
It: Chapter Two hits UK cinemas on 6 September.