Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: it: welcome to derry, welcome to derry

It: Welcome to Derry: Stephen Rider Reflects on Hank's Journey & More

Stephen Rider spoke with us about his journey as Hank Grogan during HBO's It: Welcome to Derry, bonding with his castmates, and more.

While Stephen King's It was previously explored as a 1990s miniseries on TV and most recently in Warner Bros 2017 and 2019 films that separate the story into two parts, It: Welcome to Derry from films' director Andy Muschietti who co-created the prequel series alongside sibling Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs represented uncharted territory that expands on the King story on screen across eight episodes and potentially, two additional seasons pending HBO's decision on its fate. Among the ensemble to be part of the series' leads is Stephen Rider, who plays Hank Grogan, Veronica "Ronnie" Grogan's (Amanda Christine) father, and local projectionist at the Derry cinema. As part of the protagonists who battle Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) in 1962 into the season finale, Rider spoke to Bleeding Cool about his thoughts on Muschietti's films that lead to the series, his audition, Hank's narrative as a fugitive framed for murder, and bonding with the cast.

It: Welcome to Derry Star Stephen Rider on Acclimating to the Stephen King World, Cast Bonding, Muschietti's & More

What intrigued you about It: Welcome to Derry, and how did you get involved?

I became a fan of It from the first movie in 2017. I thought it was a brilliant movie. I thought it had a lot of gravitas, and at the same time, it was very fun, you know, the characters and how they interacted with each other. And I just thought Andy and Barbara really hit it on the money. I also think it became the largest horror movie because I hadn't seen anything like it for a long time. I'm not the biggest horror person in the world, but it took me on a ride! It kind of reminded me of The Goonies—a really cool journey.

I had auditioned for It before Welcome to Derry, and even though things don't necessarily always go your way, I also think things are destined to happen for reasons that sometimes you don't know at the moment. When this came up, this was my opportunity, and I seized it and ran with it.

How did you prepare for the role of Hank beyond what was written? Were there any external inspirations? How does it challenge you as an actor that you haven't been before?

I think every world challenges you in a very different way, depending on what type of character you're playing. With Hank, Hank lives in life-and-death circumstances in terms of being wrongfully accused of murder, and I've never been wrongfully accused of murder—three to four people at that [laughs]. And then having a daughter who looks up to you, being the breadwinner for her, and your mom living under your roof.

For me, there were so many questions, and in a lot of ways. I was very excited, nervous, and scared at the same time. Because if you just do Hank, what I mean by that is, if you just move the play, you must understand rhythmically how something goes. But it's our job as actors to reveal the character. Why does a person do what they do?

So for me, I had to ask a lot of questions, I read the scripts numerous times, allowing myself to daydream, to write in free form, and really start to understand the melody of Hank. That was a constant thing. It's not necessarily about the questions I answer; it's more about the questions that I ask. Those questions inform the character and hopefully provide me with the canvas to enter into the world of Hank and not just play him on the surface.

What is it like working with Andy and Barbara Muschietti as creatives?

I love Andy and Barbara — truly love them. First and foremost, the fact that I had met them six years earlier, and when I sent in my tape for this project, they remembered me. It's worth noting that I didn't get this role by default; I auditioned for it, and they wanted to cast me based on the work that I had done.

They're loyal and deeply passionate about what they do. They genuinely love filmmaking, and they love creating a sense of family on set. People who have worked with them stay connected — even at the premiere for Welcome to Derry, you saw actors from the original films show up to support them because they make real connections with people. I'm very grateful and thankful that I had the opportunity to work with them on such a prolific project, and hopefully, the goal is to continue to build and evolve and see where this goes.

In the penultimate episode, "The Black Spot," how did you navigate through the chaos of that scene with the fire? Was it the most challenging sequence you've had in the series?

It was absolutely one of the most difficult sequences. That scene was a dance — it had to be choreographed like one. We rehearsed it many times, and then you add smoke, fire, isolated fires, gunshots — there were so many moving parts within that one sequence. If anything was off, the scene wouldn't work.

We rehearsed it like a play– it was really live theater. We rehearsed in a separate location with the floor taped out, just like you would when rehearsing a play before the set and props are installed. For actors like Chris (Chalk) and me who come from a stage background, we were able to draw on those muscles we cultivated being on stage. It was difficult, but incredibly rewarding.

You have such a talented ensemble that you've shared scenes with, including Jovan (Adepo), Amanda, Taylour (Paige), and Chris. What did you like about working with them?

They're all my family now; it's a rarity to work on something like that. There's something to be said about working with children—we all loved it. Sometimes people don't want to work with kids, but for us, it allowed access to our play and imagination. They brought so much more to it that allowed all of us to fly in a very specific way. Without kids, it would've been more mundane.

They bring imagination and a certain improvisation because they have more of that naturally in them. They're extremely professional, but they also are fun and play like kids. Even during lunch, we'd go hang out in their room. Amanda is family. Chris was just at my place last night. Jovan and I text constantly. I could go on; we all talk regularly. We all genuinely became friends. That can be a rarity in this industry."

Season one of HBO's It: Welcome to Derry, which also stars James Remar, Matilda Lawler, Blake Cameron James, Arian S. Cartaya, Miles Ekhardt, Mikka Karim-Fidler, Jack Molloy Legault, Matilda Legault, Peter Outerbridge, and Madeleine Stowe, is available on HBO Max.

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