<P> It, also known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown or Bob Gray, is the title character of Stephen King's 1986 horror novel It . The character is a monster which preys upon the children of Derry, Maine, roughly every twenty - seven years, using a variety of powers that include the ability to shapeshift, manipulate, and go unnoticed by adults . </P> <P> King stated in a 2013 interview that he came up with the idea for Pennywise after asking himself what scared children "more than anything else in the world". He felt that the answer was clowns . King has also acknowledged on his website that he originally wanted the title character of It to be a troll like the one in the children's tale "Three Billy Goats Gruff", but who inhabited the local sewer system rather than just the area beneath one bridge . The character has been described as one of the scariest clowns in popular culture . </P> <P> The character was portrayed by Tim Curry in the 1990 television adaptation and by Bill Skarsgård in the 2017 film adaptation . </P> <P> In the novel, It is an eternal entity . After arriving on Earth, It would sleep for approximately 27 to 30 years at a time, then awaken to wreak chaos and feed (primarily on children's fear). It is able to take many more forms than the film adaptations depict, including werewolves, bats, leeches, and sharks . It could embody any of a child's worst fears . </P>

Who plays the clown in the first it