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Bill Hader on Richie's sexuality in IT: Chapter 2: You’ve got to go the full way, let’s just say what it is
Richie Tozier's sexuality is one of the prominent subplots in IT: Chapter 2. Bill Hader, who plays adult Richie, spoke about how he discussed with director Andy Muschietti about not being coy and going all the way when it came to Richie's sexuality. Read below to know more about what Bill had to say on the same.
IT: Chapter 2 has finally released this week and was one of the anticipated horror sequels, this year. Back in 2017, when IT released, it became the highest-grossing horror film of all time with $700 million, worldwide. This time, The Losers Club is all grown up and the adult losers cast includes James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, and Andy Bean. While the major plot surrounded the losers' quest to defeat Pennywise for good, a subplot delved into Richie Tozier's sexuality, which was mentioned vaguely in the 1986 namesake novel by Stephen King.
In an interview with New York Times, when Bill, who plays adult Richie was asked if he discussed the character's sexuality with IT: Chapter 2 director Andy Muschietti before filming, the actor revealed, "Andy and I talked about how overt we should make it, and I said if it’s not overt, then why is he in the movie? You can’t do a half measure on it. You’ve got to go the full way or don’t even allude to it. Let’s not be coy. Let’s just say what it is."
Furthermore, Hader confessed that knowing details about his sexuality gave him more to play with. *Spoilers Alert* Talking about Eddie's death scene, there were different versions to Richie's reaction. In one, Richie refuses to accept that Eddie is dead and in another, he's tender with Eddie, "where I’m caressing his face — this is the person I love, and it wasn’t just lust. It’s truly love."
For the other scenes, Bill would play off James (who played adult Eddie) knowing on some level that he 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,'" Hader shared.
What did you think of the Reddie storyline in IT: Chapter 2? Let us know your views in the comments section below.
