David Howard Thornton was almost talked out of playing Art the Clown in Terrifier films
'Terrifier' actor David Howard Thornton was almost talked out of his role as Art the Clown in the horror franchise by his agent.
David Howard Thornton was nearly talked out of playing Art the Clown in the 'Terrifier' franchise.
The 44-year-old actor reprises his role as the killer clown in the new movie 'Terrifier 3' – which has shocked audiences with its sheer amount of gore – but revealed that his agent didn't want him to take the part.
David told The Hollywood Reporter: "I had never auditioned for any film roles before, and I wanted to get into film. I then came across this audition for 'Terrifier', and I was like, 'Oh, he's like an evil Mr. Bean. I would love a chance to play a character like this.'
"So I submitted myself for it, and my agent actually fought me on it. She was like, 'This is such a low-budget independent film. You really don't need to do stuff like this.'"
Thornton believes that the role of Art the Clown is different from a typical slasher villain as he kills for "entertainment" purposes.
He said: "There was this line in the first film that really helped me nail who the character is, and it's what the cat lady said about him: 'He thinks what he's doing is funny because he's laughing.'
"He's not doing any of this out of revenge. He's not angry or anything like that. He finds killing people to be a source of entertainment for himself, and that really helped me solidify him because he's the anti-clown."
A fourth 'Terrifier' film is in the pipeline and David is eager to see what's next for Art after the dramatic ending to the third flick.
He said: "I love where ('Terrifier 3') leaves the characters at the end of the film. It is almost like an 'Empire Strikes Back'-type ending.
"So I am very excited to see where this character is going to go moving forward because he's in such a different state than he's ever been in before."
