Bill Skarsgårdhas become a braggy name in the horror musical genre by playing some truly iconic scoundrel , such asIt’sPennywiseandNosferatu’sCount Orlok , and while both are great performance , only one can win this conflict . Bill Skarsgård ’s acting vocation start in the 2000s with various Swedish projects , but his breakout part come in 2017 when he was honk as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in Andy Muschiett’sIt . Although Skarsgård had already starred in the repugnance goggle box seriesHemlock Grovein 2013 , Pennywise made him a widely known name in the horror genre .

Skarsgård reprised his persona of Pennywise in 2019 in the sequelIt Chapter Two , and before that , he starred in the black comedy repulsion movieVillains . In 2022 , Skarsgård returned to the horror genre inBarbarian , though not as a scoundrel , and in 2024 , he starred in two very dissimilar repulsion movies : The CrowandNosferatu . The latter earned Skarsgård a lot of congratulations for his operation as Count Orlok , and that has made way of life for a grownup question : which is Skarsgård ’s best horror role between Pennywise and Count Orlok ?

Nosferatu’s Count Orlok vs. It’s Pennywise: Which Bill Skarsgård Performance Is Scarier

One Is A Rotten Vampire, The Other A Shapeshifting Creature

Based on Stephen King ’s 1986 novel of the same name , Ittakes the audience to 1989 to meet Bill Denbrough and his champion Richie Tozier , Eddie Kaspbrak , Stanley Uris , Ben Hanscom , and Beverly Marsh , who call themselves the “ Losers Club . ” The Losers endure in Derry , Maine , where ugly things happen every 27 years as an evil shapeshifting animal ( that the Losers call “ It ” ) awake to feed from the concern of its targets . After Bill ’s younger buddy , Georgie , is killed by this tool in the form of Pennywise , the Losers come face to face with this creature .

IT is known for waiting 27 eld between attack , but what on the button happens during that time and why does it wait so long ? Here ’s the account .

It Chapter Tworeunites with the Losers 27 year after the events of the first movie , as the now grownup Losers come back to Derry to face up It one last time and kill the creature once and for all . Now , Robert Eggers’Nosferatutakes viewers to the other 1880s to play Ellen ( Lily - Rose Depp ) , a untested woman ghost by a mystic presence after , when she was a young girl , she pleaded for a supernatural being to ease her loneliness . When her husband , Thomas ( Nicholas Hoult ) , travels to Transylvania for work , he meet the terrific Count Orlok , who hides a disturbing enigma .

It Chapter 1 2 Losers Pennywise

Skarsgård ’s performance makes Orlok even scarier , as he strike slowly , his vocalism is very inscrutable , and his overall front is quite commanding .

What make Count Orlok terrifying is the whole mystery around him , as Eggers made sure to keep the big reveal of his full appearance until much after in the first human activity . When the moment eventually arrives , it ’s a pretty scary one , as , up to that distributor point , Orlok had been hidden in the shadows , with only his hands being picture or penny-pinching - ups of his eyes . Skarsgård ’s functioning makes Orlok even scarier , as he moves slow , his voice is very inscrutable , and his overall presence is quite commanding .

The Losers never know when Pennywise is pop off to show up , nor if what they see is real or not , making Pennywise unpredictable and more terrifying .

Nosferatu 2024 Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlok and Ellen screaming

In bothItmovies , Pennywise terrorizes not just the Losers but other Derry occupant , and what it does with most , like with Georgie , is win their corporate trust so it can then attack . The Losers never know when Pennywise is going to show up , nor if what they see is real or not , cook Pennywise unpredictable and more terrifying . Both Orlok and Pennywise are disturbing and threaten in their own way , butSkarsgård ’s execution as Pennywise is scarey .

Count Orlok vs. Pennywise: Which Bill Skarsgård Character Has A Better Design

Both Made Bill Skarsgård Unrecognizable

One ingredient that has also made most ofBill Skarsgård ’s repugnance charactersstand out is the use of prosthetics and makeup that make him unrecognizable . Pennywise ’s design in Muschietti’sItis nearer to King ’s verbal description of the horrifying buffoon in the Holy Writ , but still with a modernistic skin senses to make him unlike from Tim Curry ’s 1990 reading . The stylus of Skarsgård ’s Pennywise costume is reminiscent of 1920s clown , but it ’s the constitution that really work up the character .

Skarsgård ’s facial expressions and eubstance movements elevate Pennywise and make it extra terrifying .

The white war paint on Pennywise ’s os frontale is crack , and he has a red - painted nose , flushed lips , and agate line that go from the niche of his lips all the way to above his brow , creating a disturbing , distorted smiling . Of naturally , Skarsgård ’s facial expression and body move elevate the role and make it extra terrifying , so it all blend to bring one ofStephen King ’s chilling villainsto animation .

Nosferatu 2024 Thomas Hutter and Pennywise from It

Skarsgård ’s Count Orlok , on the other hand , is an altogether unlike matter . Orlok is a vampire , but not the physically attractive type . BeforeNosferatu ’s release , eggar spoke about his desire to make vampires shivery againthrough Orlok , and he definitely reach that . Orlok is , as accurately account by Eggers , a walking corpse , with stinking pelt , overleap peel on unlike section of his body , remarkably large fingers and nails , and he ’s very thin and marvelous , making him a spate more threatening and scary . goof can be shivery , but Orlok ’s design is scarier , more elaborate , and well .

Robert Eggers ' Nosferatu features an unsettling and terrifying Count Orlok , and that ’s in large part thanks to its design and make - up event .

Count Orlok vs. Pennywise: Which Character Bill Skarsgård Gets More Screentime As

They Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time

A large similarity , that terminate up being a strength for both , is that Count Orlok and Pennywise do n’t get a lot of screen metre . According toScreen Time Central’sMatthew Stewart on Twitter / X , Pennywise appear for a total of 11 bit and 17 arcsecond inIt , and 13 minutes and 29 moment inIt Chapter Two . At the time of writing , there ’s no prescribed data on Orlok ’s entire screen clock time inNosferatu , but it ’s not much , and he ’s hidden in the trace throughout most of that time .

Nosferatu asterisk Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok , and it retell the best trick from Skarsgård ’s breakout horror movie from eight years ago .

reduce screen clip solve for both character as they are supposed to be lurking presences , so the focus is on how this affects their victim at a psychological level , rather than having them literally tag them the whole time ( like in slasher movies ) . However , the way Pennywise and Orlok use their little screenland time is unlike : Orlok lurks in the shadows before round , while Pennywise is more direct in how it torment its prey .

Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok in Nosferatu and as Pennywise in It 2017

Custom image by Ana Nieves.

Sorry Count Orlok, But Pennywise Is Bill Skarsgård’s Better Performance

Sorry Orlok, But The Clown Wins This Battle

Both Count Orlok and Pennywise are terrorise theatrical role through which Bill Skarsgård was able to show his work compass – but in a battle , only one can be the winner . Neither is a character one would like to encounter in any scenario , but Orlok is passably gentle to defeat than Pennywise , and his methods are n’t as horrifying and torturing as those of Pennywise . It take the shape of its dupe ’s deep fear and tortures them through that , as awe is what earn the marrow look tastier ( allot to the creature itself in the volume ) .

There ’s a great deal of volatility in Pennywise , too , and Skarsgård perfectly brought this into his performance .

Pennywise , in particular , can be equal parts charming and terrifying when approaching his victims – look no further than how he lured Georgie and Victoria into its trap . There ’s a peck of unpredictability in Pennywise , too , and Skarsgård utterly brought this into his public presentation , fix him even scarier . Count OrlokandPennywiseare two different villains and thus differentBill Skarsgårdperformances , and both were primal to the success of their respective movies .

Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise smiling In IT

Headshot Of Bill Skarsgård In The New York Premiere Of ‘Boy Kills World’

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