On the Sunday before Halloween, It: Welcome to Derry arrived on HBO to extend Spooky Season into the holidays. Developed by the minds behind It and It: Chapter Two, HBO's original prequel series returns viewers to Derry, Maine, 27 years before the events of the 2017 and 2019 film adaptations of Stephen King's iconic novel. Set in 1962, Welcome to Derry takes place during an earlier active cycle where IT (the shapeshifting evil that sometimes appears as Pennywise) awakens to terrorize and feed on the town's children.
Ahead of Welcome to Derry's debut on October 26, 2025, HBO kept character and plot details under wraps. Now that viewers know just how much the series connects to both IT and King's other novels, it's time to meet the kids and adults set to take on the entity in the horror series. Below, read on for everything we know about the cast of It: Welcome to Derry as of episode 2, "The Thing in the Dark."
Miles Ekhardt as Matthew "Matty" Clements
It: Welcome to Derry kicks off with the disappearance of Matty, a 12-year-old boy who still uses a pacifier and likes to sneak into movie screenings. Fleeing a difficult home life, Matty comes across trouble as he tries to run away from his deadly hometown.
Miles Ekhardt is a child actor who made his professional debut last year, with his role as Davis's younger brother Noah in the film adaptation of YA author John Green's Turtles All the Way Down.
Clara Stack as Lilly Bainbridge
Lilly, a friend of Matty's, is known by the moniker "Loony," as she previously spent time in the Juniper Hill Asylum following her father's tragic death. She's the first to get an unbelievable, terrifying vision.
At 4-years-old, Clara Stack began acting in local theater productions, including Annie and The Music Man. Before Welcome to Derry, she appeared in episodes of Madam Secretary, Bull, Almost Family, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. After playing young Kate Bishop in the Disney+/Marvel series Hawkeye, she appeared in the Disney original Christmas movie The Naughty Nine.
Mikkal Karim-Fidler as Teddy Uris
Teddy (above, right) was also friends with Matty; he, Phil, and Matty seemed to make up a proto-Losers Club before Matty's disappearance. While it hasn't been confirmed, Teddy is likely related to It's Stanley Uris.
Before Welcome to Derry, Mikkal Karim-Fidler had small roles in shows including Six, 50 States of Fright, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He also appeared in the 2023 Lifetime movie Boy in the Walls.
Jack Molloy Legault as Phil Malkin
Phil (above, right) is a nerdy, chatty kid who's obsessed with aliens and may remind viewers of IT's Richie Tozier. As the kids investigate Lilly's vision, Phil's younger sister Susie tags along.
Jack Molloy Legault, 15, made his screen debut in 2020 with the Lifetime movie Christmas Ever After. He previously appeared in the Prime Video mystery-thriller Three Pines, and he voiced Slippy in the animated series Interstellar Ella.
Fun fact: Susie Malkin is played by Jack's real-life sister Matilda Legault, who played young Maxine in Ginny & Georgia season 3.
Amanda Christine as Veronica “Ronnie” Grogan
Ronnie spends her free time helping her dad, Hank Grogan, run Derry's movie theater. She was one of the last people to see Matty alive and has been experiencing visions, too.
Amanda Christine, 16, grew up in Virginia and landed her first commercial at age 4. She made her TV debut in 2016 with small roles on How to Get Away With Murder and Black-ish, going on to appear in several movies as well as episodes of Colony, 9-1-1, and A Black Lady Sketch Show. She also had a major role in the Prime Video horror movie Black Box.
Matilda Lawler as Marge Truman
Marge (above, wearing glasses) is one of Lilly's best friends, but she also wants to join the popular clique in their class, the Pattycakes (led by Patty). Unfortunately, her fear of not fitting in means she can be a less-than-helpful friend to traumatized Lilly.
Matilda Lawler, 17, is a child of actors who made her Broadway debut in the 2018 production of The Ferryman. She went on to star as Young Kirsten in HBO Max's TV adaptation of Station Eleven, for which she received a Gotham Awards nomination for Outstanding Performance in a New Series. She is also known for playing Frances Montgomery on HBO's The Gilded Age.
Jovan Adepo as Major Leroy Hanlon
Major Leroy Hanlon is a decorated pilot and Korean War veteran who has recently been assigned to the Air Force base in Derry. Early in his move, self-described optimist Leroy has to deal with both racism from his fellow soldiers and danger surrounding the base's secrets.
Jovan Adepo, 37, is a familiar face for both HBO viewers and fans of Stephen King adaptations. The British-American actor previously starred in the films Fences, Mother!, and Babylon, as well as the shows The Leftovers, When They See Us, and Watchmen (which earned him an Emmy nomination for his role as Hooded Justice). Adepo also played Larry Underwood in Paramount+'s 2020 adaptation of The Stand. Next up, Adepo's set to appear in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, and to reprise his role as Saul Durand in season 2 of Netflix's 3 Body Problem.
Taylour Paige as Charlotte Hanlon
Leroy's wife, Charlotte Hanlon, was active in the civil rights movement in Louisiana, where the Hanlons lived before moving to Derry. As reported by Gizmodo, "Derry has its share of injustices that catch Charlotte’s interest, and it’s hard for her to resist speaking up for what’s right."
Taylour Paige, 35, grew up a dancer in Inglewood, California, including stints training under Debbie Allen and performing as a Laker Girl. She has previously appeared in movies including White Boy Rick, Zola, Boogie, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Sharp Stick, and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. She earned a Grammy nomination for appearing on Kendrick Lamar's spoken-word track "We Cry Together."
Blake Cameron James as Will Hanlon
Blake Cameron James plays Will Hanlon, Leroy and Charlotte's young son who, as an adult, will be the father of IT's Mike Hanlon. The 15-year-old actor is best known for starring as Malik in the acclaimed indie drama We Grown Now, for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Youth in a Motion Picture. He also appeared in an episode of the short-lived crime drama Found.
Arian S. Cartaya as Rich
On Will's first day in Derry, he becomes friends with Rich, a band kid with a crush on Marge.
Arian S. Cartaya is a young actor who made his TV debut in the first season of HBO Max's short-lived comedy Gordita Chronicles. He has also appeared in the telenovela Juego de mentiras and the Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey.
Stephen Rider as Hank Grogan
Hank Grogan, the projectionist at a Derry movie theater, is a widower who raises Ronnie with his mother (BJ Harrison) after the death of his wife. He's played by Stephen Rider, 46, who had previously auditioned to play adult Mike Hanlon in IT: Chapter Two.
Rider made his film debut in the 2007 drama film The Great Debaters after being discovered by Denzel Washington. He has since appeared in 2013's The Host and The Butler, the Showtime series Shameless, the Netflix/Marvel shows Daredevil and Luke Cage, and the CBS procedural Instinct.
Rudy Mancuso as Captain Pauly Russo
Pauly is Leroy's loyal friend and fellow pilot, who served with him in Korea and also moved to Derry. The captain is played by Rudy Mancuso, 33, who rose to fame with his popular musical-comedy videos on Vine and YouTube. He co-wrote, directed, starred in, and composed the soundtrack for the 2024 Prime Video rom-com Música, which co-starred Riverdale alum Camila Mendes. After falling in love while filming Música in July 2022, Manusco and Mendes got engaged a few days before Welcome to Derry's premiere.
Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann
Dick Hallorann is a fellow soldier at Derry's Air Force base, who has a supernatural talent—you could call it a "shine"—and an important role in a top-secret mission. Stephen King fans better know the man from another famed novel, The Shining. (Yes, it's the same character, who's also mentioned in the IT novel.)
Chris Chalk, 47, is a long-time TV actor and scene-stealer who previously starred in Homeland, The Newsroom, Underground, Gotham, When They See Us, Shining Girls, Perry Mason, and Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. He has also appeared in the movies 12 Years a Slave, Detroit, Godzilla vs. Kong, and All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt.
Kimberly Norris Guerrero as Rose
Rose is the owner of the thrift shop Secondhand Rose, and a member of Derry's fictional Shokopiwah tribe. Readers who recall the tribe's mention in the novel know that Rose is hiding some big secrets.
Kimberly Norris Guerrero is a Native American actor and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, who also has Salish-Kootenai heritage, per UC Riverside. Notable roles in her career include appearances on Seinfeld, Charmed, Grey's Anatomy, The Wilds, and Rutherford Falls, as well as playing Auntie B in Reservation Dogs. She also originated the role of Johnna in August: Osage County, performing the role in the play's Chicago, Broadway, London, and Sydney premieres.
