Bill Skarsgård has found an unusual way to bring a little discipline into his household: occasionally unleashing his terrifying Pennywise voice when his children misbehave. The actor, whose portrayal of Stephen King’s fearsome clown turned him into one of modern horror’s most recognizable faces, revealed that fatherhood comes with a few unexpected character appearances. Apparently, the children are not the only ones who get to experience his impressive range of transformations.

But Pennywise is apparently not the only character who occasionally makes an appearance outside the screen, and Skarsgård has a rather entertaining explanation for that.

Bill Skarsgård brings Pennywise home when his children misbehave

During an appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Bill Skarsgård opened up about his experience playing Pennywise as the conversation revisited a decade of his association with the character. When Horowitz asked whether his children had heard him use the infamous voice, the actor admitted that he occasionally brings it out when they misbehave. 

“Yeah, if they misbehave…He can slip in there, slip out and then Nosferatu can pop in. There’s a whole colorful bunch of schizophrenic daddy,” he shared. 

Considering that Skarsgård also played Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu (2024), his household apparently has access to quite an unusual collection of bedtime personalities.

The revelation is particularly amusing given how much effort Skarsgård put into making Pennywise so frightening. Rather than relying exclusively on the traditional horror-clown playbook, he developed an unpredictable physical performance, using unusual facial expressions, movements and vocal shifts to make the character feel distinctly inhuman. His transformation became one of the defining elements of Muschietti’s adaptation, which grossed over $700 million worldwide. 

And while his children might have to contend with Pennywise and Count Orlok at home, Skarsgård has another supernatural character in mind for his next potential big-screen transformation.

Bill Skarsgård has his eyes on Constantine after X-Men speculation

Bill Skarsgård has addressed speculation surrounding Marvel’s upcoming X-Men movie during his appearance on Happy Sad Confused. In July 2026, industry insider Jeff Sneider reported that Bill Skarsgård and Ozark actor Tom Pelphrey were among those being considered for a role in the film. However, Marvel ultimately cast Christopher Abbott as Charles Xavier in August, putting an end to speculation about Skarsgård taking on the iconic mutant leader.

He did, however, express enthusiasm for the idea of playing another comic-book character.

That character is John Constantine, DC’s supernatural detective and occult investigator. Skarsgård revealed that he had previously imagined collaborating with his It director Andy Muschietti on a Constantine project, describing the combination of visual horror and superhero storytelling as particularly appealing. The timing is interesting, considering DC Studios is now developing a new Constantine movie, with The Last Stop in Yuma County filmmaker Francis Galluppi tapped to write the screenplay. 

For now, Skarsgård continues to demonstrate that his talent for unsettling audiences does not disappear when the cameras stop rolling. 

Would you let Pennywise babysit your children if it meant they would behave, or is Bill Skarsgård taking his parenting tricks a little too far? Share your thoughts in the comments.