Why The Kids From It Look So Familiar

On its opening weekend, the Stephen King adaptation It broke multiple box-office records when it pulled in $123 million—the biggest-ever September opening for a film, horror or otherwise. While Bill Skarsgård undoubtedly stole the show with his menacing portrayal of It, a.k.a. Pennywise the Clown, we can't ignore the impressive performances from the young cast comprising the members of the Losers' Club. Let's take a closer look at this group of fictional misfits, and the talented young actors who brought their characters to life on the big screen.

William "Bill" Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher) emerges as the Losers' Club's natural leader, in spite of his nervous stutter. When the demon Pennywise tries to tear apart the group, Bill does his best to keep their friendships strong in the face of unspeakable evil. His motivations are deeply personal—his little brother Georgie was brutally murdered by Pennywise after chasing a paper boat Bill had made.

Before landing a starring role in It, Jaeden Lieberher started his acting career with appearances in commercial spots as a talented eight-year-old with no professional training. He was soon being cast in films—appearing in St. Vincent, Playing It Cool, and Aloha before getting his first starring role in the 2016 science fiction film Midnight Special. You may also recognize Lieberher from his recurring role as Johnny Masters in the Showtime period drama series Masters of Sex.

As the sole female in the Losers' Club, Beverly "Bev" Marsh (Sophia Lillis) is an obvious target for the boys' adolescent crushes, and every member of the club harbors feelings for her at one point or another. Sexually abused by her father at home and verbally abused by her peers in school for being poor and a "slut," Beverly finds a welcoming group of friends with the Losers, and helps them as they set out to destroy Pennywise. Fans of Stephen King's novel may be pleased to know that the scene with Beverly in the sewers (you know the one) does not appear in the movie. Instead, a different pivotal series of events involving Bev spurs the rest of the Losers' Club to action.

Sophia Lillis started off her acting career with appearances in several small-budget shorts and feature films, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, 37, and The Garden. In addition to It, you can spot her this year in a role as the younger version of the lead character in an episode of the upcoming HBO series Sharp Objects.

Benjamin "Ben" Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor) is smart and extremely talented when it comes to inventing and engineering, but because of his weight, he's frequently targeted by town bully Henry Bowers and his gang of cronies. Bowers and his buddies ambush and injure Ben, which leads him to join the Losers' Club after they take care of him following the attack. Having a bookish nature and spending lots of time in the library, Ben is the one who first discovers the bloody history of Derry and its recurring spates of murdered and vanished children.

Before being bullied in It, Jeremy Ray Taylor portrayed a bully himself in the 2015 superhero movie Ant-Man. He's also had parts in 42, Good Behavior, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.

For fans of Stephen King's work, Richard "Richie" Tozier (Finn Wolfhard) might bring to mind Corey Feldman's character Teddy Duchamp from Stand By Me. Both have a tendency to chatter incessantly, as well as an overwhelming amount of bravado for their age. Although Richie doesn't have the troubled home life that Teddy does, he still manages to have a considerable vocabulary of curse words at his disposal—which duly earns him the nickname "Trashmouth."  

Of all the Losers' Club cast, Finn Wolfhard is perhaps the most easily recognizable, due to his leading role as Mike Wheeler in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. In addition to that role, Wolfhard has also appeared in The 100 and Supernatural, as well as directing and starring in the music video for the song "Sonora" from Spendtime Palace. His next project will be as the voice of the primary "Player" character in the upcoming Netflix animated series Carmen Sandiego.

Edward "Eddie" Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer) inadvertently helps form the Losers' Club when he befriends Ben following Henry Bowers' attack. Where Richie is filled with bravado and appears fearless, Eddie seems terrified of everything. Due to his overbearing mother, Eddie is a chronic hypochondriac, afraid of his own shadow and clutching his asthma inhaler like a holy relic to ward off evil. That being said, a healthy dose of fear injected by Eddie manages to keep the Losers' Club from charging off into extreme danger, which Bill would gladly do if he thought it would bring his brother Georgie back.

As the nephew of Hollywood producer Brian Grazer, Jack Dylan Grazer's talents run in the family. He made his first appearance in 2014 on an episode of The Greatest Event in Television History, followed by roles in Comedy Bang! Bang!, Tales of Halloween, and Scales: Mermaids Are Real. Following It, Grazer can be seen in the CBS comedy series Me, Myself & I.

Along with Ben, Michael "Mike" Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs) often finds himself the target of Henry Bowers' brutal bullying because of his outsider status as an African American and a homeschooled orphan. Mike is also intelligent and bookish like Ben, and so Mike serves as an unofficial "historian" for the group—helping them connect the dots between events in Derry's past, like the fire at the Black Spot, the Bradley Gang shootout, and the mass murder at the Silver Dollar.

Chosen Jacobs started his career as a musician in Atlanta, and after moving to California, he landed his first acting role at age 13 in a commercial for Hot Wheels. After being cast as Will Grover in the CBS police drama series Hawaii Five-0, he landed his breakout role as Mike Hanlon in It with only a single audition.

Just as Eddie's overwhelming fears help balance Bill and the rest of the Losers' Club in their quest to defeat Pennywise, Stanley "Stan" Uris (Wyatt Oleff) has a healthy dose of skepticism that keeps the group grounded. He's a bit eccentric, and his Jewish heritage paired with his bird-calling hobby make him a natural target for Henry Bowers and his gang. A pragmatic and logical boy, Stan's sound reasoning helps the Losers' Club on more than one occasion.

Of all the Losers' Club cast, Wyatt Oleff has the longest list of acting credits, with roles going back to 2012. He's appeared in television shows like Once Upon a Time, Shake It Up!, and Scorpion, and you might recognize him for his role as a young Peter Quill in both 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy and 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Georgie Denbrough (Jackson Robert Scott) is Bill's cheerful and innocent seven-year-old younger brother. On a rainy October day, Bill folds a piece of paper into a sailboat for his little brother, who happily takes it outside to play with. The rain washes the boat into a sewer drain, Georgie chasing after it in his yellow rain jacket. Afraid that Bill will be upset he lost the boat, Georgie kneels down to try and retrieve it, which is when he encounters It. It introduces itself as "Pennywise the Dancing Clown," and encourages Georgie to reach for the sailboat. When he does, It attacks and kills the child, dragging him down into the sewer. His death serves as the impetus for the battle between the Losers' Club and It the following summer.

At only eight years old, Jackson Robert Scott's budding acting career is just beginning. Before appearing as George in It, he also had single-episode roles in the television shows Criminal Minds in 2015 and Fear the Walking Dead in 2017.

Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton) leads a gang of high school kids on a campaign of torment aimed at the various members of the Losers' Club—Ben Hanscom and Mike Hanlon in particular. It's no surprise that the sociopathic Henry has an abusive father himself. Eventually, Pennywise uses Henry's deteriorating mental state and extreme dislike of the Losers' Club to turn him loose on a hunt for the kids who want to kill It forever.

It wasn't the only Stephen King adaptation to feature Australian actor Nicholas Hamilton in 2017—he also appeared as Lucas Hanson in The Dark Tower alongside Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba. Hamilton has racked up an impressive list of roles in his short acting career, including the television series Wanted, in the feature film Strangerland, and in Captain Fantastic with Viggo Mortensen.

Patrick Hockstetter (Owen Teague) is a psychopathic high schooler who likes to lock small animals inside an abandoned refrigerator until they die, which makes him a perfect fit for Henry Bowers' gang. After Ben Hanscom escapes from Henry and his buddies' ambush, Patrick wanders the sewers in search of Ben—where he finds much more than he expected.

Owen Teague made quite a few appearances in television shows and films before landing the part of the psychopathic Patrick. You may recognize him as the young version of Walt Disney in the 2015 film Walt Before Mickey, from other movies like Echoes of War, Wild in Blue, or the 2016 adaptation of another Stephen King tale, Cell. Additionally, Teague played the role of Nolan Rayburn in over twenty episodes of the Netflix original thriller series Bloodline.  

Although Reginald "Belch" Huggins (Jake Sim) isn't the brightest crayon in the box, his size, strength, and loyalty makes him a valuable asset to Henry Bowers' crew. In addition to his role as the "muscle" for the Bowers Gang, Belch is noted for his ability to burp on command—which earned him his nickname.

Jake Sim's acting career really got going in 2010 when he landed a voice role as Tommy Tibble, one of the troublesome young twins in D.W.'s class in the animated series Arthur. He also provided his voice talent to another animated children's' show, Stella and Sam, in 2013. Onscreen, Sim has had roles in several other TV shows, including Grizzly Cup, The Amazing Gayl Pile, and Raising Expectations.  

At age 27, Bill Skarsgård is definitely not one of the "kids" from It, but no article about this film would be complete without acknowledging the actor that carried the terror and suspense of the movie on his shoulders as Pennywise. As viewers learn, Pennywise/It isn't a terrifying clown at all; that's just one of the many guises that the ancient evil terrorizing Derry, Maine can take. After the events shown in the first film, there's a planned sequel chronicling a later showdown between adult members of the Losers' Club and Pennywise, which will likely make it to the screen sometime in 2019.

Before taking on the role that Tim Curry made famous in 1990, Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård appeared in a number of films and television shows, starting with roles in primarily Swedish productions like Simple Simon before transitioning to English-language feature films and television shows like Hemlock Grove, Atomic Blonde, and The Divergent Series: Allegiant. Although he will presumably be back for the It sequel, Skarsgård's next project is a recurring role in the upcoming Hulu original series Castle Rock—also based on the works of Stephen King.