Image Credit: Brooke Palmer/HBO
IT: Welcome to Derry brought horror fans back to where Pennywise began, and actor Miles Ekhardt brought the ultimate transformation to life. As viewers should know by now, Miles’ character, 12-year-old Matty Clements, is part of the monstrous clown’s hat trick in the series — and the rising star didn’t even know about it until long after he auditioned!
Hollywood Life caught up with Miles in an exclusive interview after the season 1 finale aired. Below, get to know Miles and learn exclusive details from our interview about his IT: Welcome to Derry performance.
Miles Previously Starred in Turtles All the Way Down
Miles’ acting résumé is growing! Before landing his role in IT: Welcome to Derry, he previously starred in the film Turtles All the Way Down as the character Noah.
Miles in a scene from ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ (Photo Credit: HBO)
Miles Initially Didn’t Know His IT: Welcome to Derry Character Would Be Pennywise
During his exclusive interview with Hollywood Life, Miles revealed that he didn’t know about Matty’s Pennywise revelation “for a while” — at least for a year after he first auditioned for the role.
“By the time I was on set, I had an idea of everything that my character would be in. But that — I did not [know] for a while,” Miles said about the Matty-Pennywise shocker. “That was a year after my first audition. I think, roughly until I was in Toronto, I did not know I had anything past the first episode.”
In fact, Miles thought his character was killed off in the first episode. “I thought I [my character] just died there, and that was it,” he added.
Since It fans are familiar with the one and only Bill Skarsgård‘s performance as the sewer-dwelling clown, Miles explained how he found a way to make Matty’s transformation his own — a process he told Hollywood Life was “de-Mattying” while “definitely” keeping Bill’s performance in mind.
“Throughout that entire episode, I am slowly getting a little more clown-like. It’s very, very subtle until that point,” Miles noted. “Really, it’s more of de-Mattying until then. I’m not too clown-y. I just have less fear and expression as we get deeper into the sewers.”
Miles Has an Instagram That Showcases His Film & TV Projects
Though his acting career has just begun, Miles’ Instagram is filled with his most recent on-screen projects. From on-set, behind-the-scenes clips to interviews, the young actor has shared a few glimpses into the IT: Welcome to Derry set.
