Finding the right group of kids to lead a horror movie is usually a nightmare for casting directors. You need kids who can actually act, sure, but they also have to feel like they’ve been best friends for a decade. When the first chapter of Andy Muschietti’s adaptation dropped in 2017, the Stephen King’s IT cast didn't just meet that bar; they basically threw it into the sewers of Derry.
The Losers Club felt real.
Honestly, the horror of Pennywise is great, but the reason people keep rewatching these films is because of the kids. Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Martell, Sophia Lillis—they weren’t just reading lines. They were living in that 1980s summer. And then, when Chapter Two rolled around in 2019, the challenge shifted. How do you find adults who look like those kids but can also carry the emotional weight of trauma?
The Losers Club: Young and Old
The casting of the adult Losers was a masterclass in "uncanny resemblance." Most fans were already fancasting Jessica Chastain as Beverly Marsh the second they saw Sophia Lillis on screen. It just made sense. But some of the other picks were surprisingly spot-on in ways nobody expected.
Bill Denbrough
The leader. The kid with the stutter and the heavy heart. Jaeden Martell (formerly Jaeden Lieberher) played young Bill with a quiet intensity that was hard to shake. He actually studied Colin Firth in The King’s Speech to get the stutter right without it feeling like a caricature. Then came James McAvoy. McAvoy didn't just play an adult Bill; he captured that specific brand of guilt that comes from surviving when your little brother didn't.
Richie Tozier
Basically the soul of the group. Finn Wolfhard was already a star because of Stranger Things, but his Richie was different—foul-mouthed, defensive, and deeply insecure. When Bill Hader took over the role for the sequel, it was a game-changer. Hader is known for comedy, obviously, but the way he handled Richie’s "secret" and the eventual heartbreak of the ending gave the second film its only real emotional anchor.
Eddie Kaspbrak
Jack Dylan Grazer as young Eddie was a frantic, fast-talking ball of nerves. He nailed the "hypochondriac with a smothering mother" vibe. Then James Ransone showed up as the adult Eddie and people lost their minds. He looked so much like an older Grazer that it was almost creepy. Their mannerisms—the way they adjusted their glasses or inhaled their medicine—were perfectly synced.
Beverly Marsh
The only girl in the club and, let's be real, the bravest of the lot. Sophia Lillis had this ethereal but tough quality that made her an instant breakout. Jessica Chastain followed it up by portraying the cycle of abuse Beverly was trapped in, transitioning from a terrifying father to an equally terrifying husband.
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Ben Hanscom
The poet. Jeremy Ray Taylor played the "new kid" Ben with so much sweetness you just wanted to give him a hug. When Jay Ryan appeared as the adult Ben—now a buff, successful architect—it was a bit of a shock for the other Losers, but that same gentle spirit remained.
Mike Hanlon
The one who stayed. Chosen Jacobs played young Mike, the kid who saw the horrors of the town’s history firsthand. As an adult, Isaiah Mustafa (yes, the Old Spice guy) brought a heavy, obsessed energy to the role. He was the librarian who remembered everything while everyone else forgot.
Stanley Uris
Wyatt Oleff had arguably the hardest job as young Stan. He had to play the most skeptical kid, the one who was the most broken by Pennywise. Andy Bean took over for the adult version, and while his screen time was limited for... well, plot reasons... his performance set the stakes for the entire second movie.
The Man Behind the Makeup: Bill Skarsgård
You can't talk about the Stephen King's IT cast without talking about the clown. When it was announced that Bill Skarsgård was taking over for Tim Curry, there was a lot of skepticism. Tim Curry’s 1990 performance was legendary. It was campy, terrifying, and deeply ingrained in pop culture.
Skarsgård went a different way.
He made Pennywise an "it." The lazy eye? That was real—Skarsgård can actually move his eyes independently. The drool? Also real. He brought a physical, animalistic hunger to the role that made the 2017 version feel dangerous in a way the miniseries didn't quite reach. On set, the director actually kept Skarsgård away from the kids during rehearsals so their first reaction to him in full costume would be genuine fear.
It worked.
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Comparing the Generations: 1990 vs. 2017
If you grew up in the 90s, the original TV miniseries cast is probably your "real" Losers Club. It’s hard to beat the nostalgia of John Ritter as Ben or Seth Green as young Richie.
The 1990 cast had a different vibe.
It was more of a "made-for-TV" drama. Richard Thomas (Bill) and Annette O'Toole (Beverly) gave very earnest, classic performances. But let’s be honest: the 2017/2019 films had the advantage of a massive budget and a much more R-rated script. The modern cast was allowed to be more vulgar, more traumatized, and more complex.
| Character | 1990 Actor (Adult) | 2019 Actor (Adult) |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Denbrough | Richard Thomas | James McAvoy |
| Beverly Marsh | Annette O'Toole | Jessica Chastain |
| Richie Tozier | Harry Anderson | Bill Hader |
| Ben Hanscom | John Ritter | Jay Ryan |
| Eddie Kaspbrak | Dennis Christopher | James Ransone |
| Mike Hanlon | Tim Reid | Isaiah Mustafa |
| Stan Uris | Richard Masur | Andy Bean |
What Most People Get Wrong About the Casting
A common misconception is that the actors were just "playing themselves." This is especially true for the kids.
Finn Wolfhard has mentioned in interviews that he’s actually nothing like Richie. He's much quieter. Jaeden Martell doesn't have a stutter. These kids put in massive amounts of work to embody characters that had been beloved by book fans since 1986.
Another weird detail? Xavier Dolan, the famous Canadian director, actually has a cameo in Chapter Two as Adrian Mellon. It’s a brutal, difficult scene to watch, but having a high-profile director take such a small, tragic role shows how much respect people had for what Muschietti was doing with this cast.
Why the Chemistry Matters
The movies live or die on the "Losers" being a family. During the filming of the first movie, the kids spent weeks just hanging out. They went to karaoke with the director, Andy Muschietti. They rode bikes together. They got into "rock fights" (with foam rocks, obviously).
That bond translated to the screen.
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When you see them laughing by the quarry, that’s not acting. That’s a group of kids who actually liked each other. And that’s the secret sauce. You can have the best CGI in the world, but if you don’t care if the kids get eaten, the movie fails.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of Derry and the actors who brought it to life, here is what you should do next:
- Watch the Behind-the-Scenes Documentaries: The "Pennywise Lives" and "The Losers Club" featurettes on the Blu-ray releases show the actual chemistry between the kids. It’s better than the movie in some ways.
- Check Out "Castle Rock": If you liked Chosen Jacobs (Mike) or Bill Skarsgård (Pennywise), they both appear in the Hulu series Castle Rock, which is another Stephen King property. Skarsgård's role in the first season is particularly unsettling.
- Follow the "New" Pennywise: Bill Skarsgård is returning to the role in the upcoming prequel series Welcome to Derry. Keep an eye on the casting for that, as it will feature a whole new set of characters set in the 1960s.
- Read the Book (Again): No matter how good the cast is, Stephen King's 1,100-page novel has nuances that a movie just can't catch. Seeing how the actors interpreted the internal monologues of the characters makes the performances even more impressive.
The legacy of the Stephen King’s IT cast isn't just that they made a scary movie. It's that they made us remember what it felt like to be thirteen, terrified, and totally alone—until we found our friends.
To fully appreciate the evolution of these characters, your next move should be to watch the 1990 miniseries and the 2017 film back-to-back. You'll notice how different eras of horror emphasize different parts of the Losers' personalities, from the earnestness of the 90s to the gritty realism of the 2010s.