The newest adaptation of Stephen King's It took a few creative liberties with the story
setting and events, so it's probably no surprise that some of the characters described in the
1986 novel don't come through quite same as they'd been written.
Although the Losers and their nemeses certainly carry the spirit of the source material through
to the big screen, let's take a look at how they stack up to the book's original descriptions.
Bill Denbrough
Jaeden Lieberher was previously seen in Midnight Special and Showtime's Masters of Sex before
becoming Bill Denbrough for It.
Bill — also known as Stuttering Bill — is the de facto leader of the Losers' Club and
is described as having a "goofball grin" and anxious blue eyes.
He's also the tallest and most authoritative member of the group.
After the group's childhood years, he'd later be compared to a teenage JFK for his reddish
hair.
Onscreen, Lieberher looks quite different than the Bill described in the book.
He's not particularly taller or more imposing than the others, but he still makes it clear
he's the one who's lost the most — and has the most at stake down in the sewers.
He doesn't have book-Bill's shock of red hair, either.
Considering he manages to pull off Bill's passion for the Pennywise chase, however,
it still works.
Richie Tozier
Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard doubled down on his '80s horror appeal by starring
as Richie Tozier, the scrawny, bespectacled kid who makes up what he lacks in size with
zingers.
In the book, Richie is described as having such oversized teeth that he earns the nickname
"Bucky Beaver," and has lenses so thick that he'd be blind without them.
Those glasses are also constantly being broken, dropped, kicked, and bent in the book, and
they're almost always lopsided and mended with tape.
And his mouth constantly gets him into trouble, which is what earns him the childhood nickname
"Trashmouth."
Since most of the book's physical descriptions of Richie revolve around his glasses and chompers,
Wolfhard is halfway there to perfection.
He might not have those prominent teeth, but his specs and sass are definitely on point.
Ben Hanscom
Relative newcomer Jeremy Ray Taylor may be familiar to fans of the Marvel Universe thanks
to his role as a bully in Ant-Man.
In It, however, he made a change of pace by playing Ben Hanscom, the boy who's actually
on the receiving end of so many taunts.
Ben is described as wearing very loose-fitting clothing because of the constant ridicule
he receives for his weight.
Inside, he's a very sweet, intelligent, and dependable dude, but all anyone can see when
they look at him is his size.
He's estimated to weigh around 150 to 160 pounds and seems quite insecure about his
appearance.
In the role, Taylor pulls off not just the physical attributes of Ben, but the emotional
presence of the character as well.
Beverly Marsh
Sophia Lillis is a relative newcomer to the movie business, but fans of It won't soon
forget her name.
Starring as Beverly Marsh, the lone lady of the Loser's Club, Lillis manages to bring
forth some of the subtler qualities of the character that hadn't quite been seen in the
1990 TV mini-series adaptation.
In Stephen King's original version, Beverly is described as being less financially fortunate
than the others — a fact that comes through in her wardrobe, with her thrift-store clothes
and scuffed shoes.
From the boys' perspective, she's described as being very pretty, with hair that is long
and auburn, eyes that are grayish green, and a pale complexion.
She's also got a smattering freckles and a smile that is seen as "wise, cynical, and
sad all at the same time."
For all those reasons, Lillis' casting is essentially perfect.
Although her long hair does look a little false in the beginning of the movie, she still
pulls off the look with convincing poise.
More importantly, she captures that subtle strength and world-weariness that made the
character such a force in the novel.
"I can take that."
Eddie Kaspbrak
Jack Dylan Grazer capped a brief string of early supporting roles with the part of Eddie
Kaspbrak, one of Bill's longtime closest friends and a charter member of the Losers' Club.
Most of King's descriptions of Eddie center around his asthma.
Plagued by his helicopter mom, he's small, slight, and fragile — even as an adult,
when his face is described as "thin and delicate-looking."
Eddie doesn't get much of a physical description in the book, so there weren't many ways the
filmmakers could go wrong.
While Grazer's Eddie looks entirely different than the 1990s version, he still captures
his character's apparent frailties while still being a lot stronger than he looks.
Mike Hanlon
Hawaii Five-O vet Chosen Jacobs traded the tropics for Maine when he took on the role
of It's Mike Hanlon.
A farm kid growing up on the outskirts of town, Mike is from the only black family in
Derry and is constantly tormented by Henry Bowers and his bully crew.
As described in the book, Mike has been toughened up by physically laborious work, and is fast,
agile, and slim.
Jacobs is a brilliant casting choice for Mike.
Not only does he have the big, tough, farm kid physicality in play, but he also has an
emotional vulnerability that makes his narrative arc so much more interesting to watch unfold.
Stan Uris
You might recognize Wyatt Oleff as the young Star-Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies,
but there's no doubt everyone will remember him now as Stanley Uris from It.
In the book, Stanley is described as having black hair and a nose that doesn't quite suit
the stereotype for a person of the Jewish faith.
He's also a little older than the other children due to being held back a grade as a kid.
Oleff's version doesn't have the black hair that Stan's described to have in the novel.
But he does have his fussy mannerisms, neatness, and sense of shaken faith down to a science.
Henry Bowers
It's secondary antagonist Henry Bowers is only 12 in the book, but he looks much bigger
to the Losers because of the fact that he's flunked enough to still be in their same grade.
Unlike the film, which moves the action to the '80s, the book is set in the '50s.
And Henry is the embodiment of the prototypical bully from that era, with a flat top haircut,
a pink motorcycle jacket, and the physical wear of his father's heavy hand.
For the 2017 version, Nicholas Hamilton's Henry Bowers got a complete wardrobe overhaul
to match the new time period, and instead of the slick hairstyle, he sports a mullet.
The new Henry Bowers is still just as classically mean as prior versions, though, so that's
what counts.
Patrick Hockstetter
Although Henry Bowers was bad enough, his sidekick Patrick was really horrible at his
core.
Played by Owen Teague from Bloodline and Black Mirror, Patrick is the student who triggers
a whole different level of fear in those he terrorizes with his wandering hands and pencil
case full of dead flies.
In the novel, he's heavyset with a "slack and pallid moonface."
One of his teachers even describes him as "a big lump of clay that had been crudely
fashioned to look like a boy."
He's also the kind of completely deranged guy who would murder his infant brother in
his crib.
Teague, who already has a slew of credits to his name, looks nothing like the heavyset,
expressionless pre-teen of the book.
And in the film version, the essence of the character has been dialed down dramatically
to the point that he's really no more than a schoolyard bully with an aerosol fire gun.
Pennywise
Although he's scary in his own right, Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise represents a significant
visual change from the novel.
His new costuming was inspired by Elizabethan and medieval-era clown and jester costumes
rather than the baggy silver suit with orange buttons that's described in King's book.
King also describes him as having yellow eyes, and reminds poor Georgie of Bozo the clown.
He's later compared to Ronald McDonald for his painted-white face and massive smile,
and in addition to his long, sharp teeth, he's also mostly bald, except for an orangish-red
tuft of hair on each side of his head.
The Pennywise of the movie doesn't quite resemble what King originally imagined — but he's
still the kind of clown you wouldn't want to run across at a carnival, so it works.
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