Horror has become wildly popular in the last few years, not only topping the box office but becoming critically acclaimed. Still, no matter its popularity, the genre has struggled to create new icons to match big names of the past like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Ghostface. That has now changed thanks to a killer clown so gross that even Pennywise is throwing up in his sewer. Art the Clown is as sinister as it gets, and with Terrifier 3 recently becoming the number-one film in America, he has become horror's new icon. Just like Robert Englund was the force behind the makeup of Freddy in A Nightmare on Elm Street, so is David Howard Thornton to Art, but did you know that Thornton wasn't the first actor to play him? Art the Clown was born with a different face, one who could very well still have been playing the character today.

✕ Remove Ads Mike Giannelli Was the First Actor to Play Art the Clown Close

Art the Clown is the creation of writer and director Damien Leone. In 2008, he wrote, produced, directed, and even did the makeup for a short film called The 9th Circle, which featured a rather familiar-looking killer clown dressed in black and white named Art. If you watch it for the first time today, though, you'll notice that Art looks a little bit different than he does now. That's because someone else was playing him. Mike Giannelli portrayed Art here and in the 2011 short film, Terrifier, then again two years later in the anthology feature film, 2013's All Hallows' Eve. Ahead of that latter film, Damien Leone was interviewed by Forever Midnight, where he discussed how he ended up casting Giannelli. Damien and Mike were close friends, and although Giannelli wasn't an actor, Leone said, "I knew I needed someone who would be comfortable sitting in the make-up chair for at least 3 hours a day, then sitting in the make-up itself for another 10 hours."

✕ Remove Ads Related 'Terrifier 3' Director Reveals the Line Even He Won't Cross With Art the Clown On Screen

Even Damien Leone has his limits when it comes to his violent horror franchise.

As it turns out, Giannelli wasn't as comfortable with the long hours involved with the makeup process as Leone thought. The time needed to turn him into Art the Clown was also his undoing. In an interview with the Square Round Table, the original Art actor said:

"It was horrible [...] I had fake fingernails, he was making all these pus-filled holes on my arm [...] it was crazy, I hated every second of it. Love the outcome, love Damien but as you can see from this I can't sit still, so having to be there for hours, it's not fun."

When Damien Leone went to Mike Giannelli about playing Art the Clown in the Terrifier feature film, he was told no. Thankfully, the rejection didn't end their friendship, as Leone made sure to let The Austin Chronicle know in 2022 that they are still friends.

✕ Remove Ads Art the Clown Has Evolved With David Howard Thornton's Terrifier Performances

With Mike Giannelli out, Leone turned to little-known actor David Howard Thornton to play the role in his feature film debut. Immediately, you can see the difference between the two portrayals. There is something meaner to Giannelli's character, as if he is a killer dressing up as a clown, while with Thornton's wild and funny mannerisms, Art feels like a genuine clown who was born in the makeup and couldn't rip it off if he tried. This doesn't mean that Giannelli's take on Art was bad (Terrifier would have never happened if it was), only that it evolved with Thornton under the white makeup. It's similar to how Tim Curry played Pennywise in the IT miniseries like a man playing a clown, while in the later films, Bill Skarsgard acted like an alien pretending to be a clown, calling for exaggerated body language and a way of moving that didn't feel quite human.

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Horror has been on an upswing the past few years, but it has, for the most part, failed to create big new horror icons. We now no longer have to rely on the past and nostalgia, because all of that has now changed with Art the Clown. Mike Giannelli formed the mold and got people to pay attention, but with David Howard Thornton, a simple character has become a horror icon.

All Hallow's Eve R

Release Date October 29, 2013 Director Damien Leone Cast Katie Maguire , Catherine A. Callahan , Marie Maser , Kayla Lian , Mike Giannelli , Sydney Freihofer , Cole Mathewson , Michael Chmiel , Marissa Wolf , Minna Taylor , Brandon deSpain , Daniel Rodas , Christine Evangelista , Anna Maliere , Eric Diez , Jennifer Castellano , Marc Romano , Andrew Mahler , Steven Mancuso , Lori Anne Lovaglio , John Francis McCarthy , Robyn Kerr , Gary LoSavio Runtime 82 Minutes Writers Damien Leone , Jesse Baget Expand

All Hallows' Eve is available to stream for free on Tubi in the U.S.

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