Bill Hader Discusses Richie Tozier’s Storyline in ‘It Chapter Two’
For "It Chapter Two," Bill Hader says he and the director, Andy Muschietti, debated how much to reveal about his character. They also filmed several versions of the death of Eddie (James Ransone). https://t.co/KKgSv6iH4f
- New York Times Arts (@nytimesarts) September 6, 2019
In “It Chapter Two,” Bill Hader's Richie Tozier is revealed to be secretly gay and in love with his friend Eddie Kaspbrak, played by James Ransone. Hader talked about the role and how he played his character.
"We did a lot of different versions of Eddie’s death scene. We did one where he’s clearly dead, and I’m refusing to recognize it. And some where I was very tender with him, where I’m caressing his face - this is the person I love, and it wasn’t just lust. It’s truly love.
[In other scenes] I was playing off James, but knowing on some level that I loved him. It’s something [Richie] can’t connect to, so he has to hate that thing. It’s very adolescent. 'I have a crush on you, but I don’t want to tell you that, so I’m going to push you away. But man, if he made the first move, that’d be the best thing ever.'"
"I think with Eddie, it’s frozen like that. It’s like when you’ve known someone forever. My best friend, Duffy, we’re good, but we’re kind of stuck in the age we first started hanging out, at 15. Or like when you get together with your siblings. You revert back because your relationship’s been established at a certain age.
There’s little moments where I tried to play that. [When the Losers’ Club has its first adult reunion] Richie might be in a place where, he’s like, I don’t really care about him anymore. And then he immediately gets smashed. He sees Eddie’s there. He’s like, oh yeah, feelings still there - I’m going to get drunk."
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