Actor Jeremy Ray Taylor has had his share of scary clowns. First with series. The latter may not involve Pennywise and his sewer full of children’s body parts ” at least I hope it doesn’t ” but Taylor said his fear of clowns is still alive and well. Along with a new appreciation for horror.
“I’m still terrified of clowns,” he told io9. “But after I started filming a lot of horror things, it kinda opened it up for me. So now I’m a giant fan of horror movies.”
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/07/heres-why-the-kids-are-coming-back-for-it-chapter-2/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/jxue2pobcppjwnrp12pf.png” title=”Here’s Why The Kids Are Coming Back For It: Chapter 2″ excerpt=”The sequel to the surprise horror smash It sees the return of the Losers Club, but not like we’ve seen them before. It takes place 27 years after the original, as the now-adults are summoned back to Derry to face Pennywise (Bill SkarsgÃ¥rd) once again. However, the kids are back for It: Chapter 2… but it’s not just so we have an excuse to see them again. These flashbacks are a plot point.”]
During a visit to io9’s studio at New York Comic Con, we chatted with the cast of Are You Afraid of the Dark? about whether Taylor’s experience on It made him immune to clowns while playing Graham on this new show (it didn’t) or whether he gave the other cast members tips on how to handle filming the scary scenes (he didn’t).
“I just don’t like clowns. I don’t like Pennywise, I don’t like any other clown,” Miya Cech, who plays Akiko, said. “I feel like he should have given me pointers on that, but he didn’t.”
“I didn’t do my job,” Taylor added.
We also talked about their love of horror and favourite films in the genre, like Get Out and Us. Cech said she wasn’t the hugest fan of It because it was too scary, but the kids talked about finding a new appreciation for horror thanks to their experience on Are You Afraid? and other projects. It was a bit surprising, as they seemed pretty young to enjoy R-rated horror flicks, but they noted how their generation can handle it ” Sam Ashe Arnold (Gavin) added that Are You Afraid? had to push the envelope to “keep up with what kids can handle these days.”
“People know how the movies are made more, nowadays, and they understand that it’s not real, so that stuff doesn’t get to them as much,” Taylor said. “So you really, really have to make it personal and let them know that it can happen to you.”
You can watch the first episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? on Youtube.