Before playing Hank on the HBO prequel series, Stephen Rider went out for &34;It Chapter Two.&34; It: Welcome to Derry star initially lost out on Mike Hanlon mo

Before playing Hank on the HBO prequel series, Stephen Rider went out for "It Chapter Two."

It: Welcome to Derry star initially lost out on Mike Hanlon movie role: 'Was devastated'

Before playing Hank on the HBO prequel series, Stephen Rider went out for "It Chapter Two."

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in *Vanity Fair*, Vulture, IGN, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

October 21, 2025 5:30 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Stephen Rider at the 'It: Welcome to Derry' premiere; Isaiah Mustafa as Mike Hanlon in 'It Chapter Two'. Credit:

Monica Schipper/Getty; Brooke Palmer/Warner Bros.

When one door closes, another opens. Actor Stephen Rider knows this lesson well.

The *It: Welcome to Derry* star says he originally auditioned for the role of adult Mike Hanlon in 2019's *It Chapter Two* before being cast as Hank Grogan on the HBO prequel series. Rider got so far into the process that he tested for the character before director Andy Muschietti eventually cast Isaiah Mustafa.

"I flew out to Toronto, met [executive producer] Barbara [Muschietti], met the whole staff," Rider tells **. "They showed me what they were creating and everything. We had an incredible connection. Isaiah Mustafa ended up getting the part, and a big part of it was that [Andy] wanted the character to look and resemble all of the kids when they were younger."

Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) in 'It Chapter Two'.

Brooke Palmer/Warner Bros.

'It: Welcome to Derry' stars introduce the Hanlon family and horrors of the 1960s (exclusive)

'It: Welcome to Derry' screens first 10 minutes of premiere at Comic-Con

Muschietti's previous movie *It* (2017) adapted the first part of Stephen King's novel, about the kids of the Losers Club when they faced Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) in the 1980s. Chosen Jacobs portrayed young Mike Hanlon alongside Finn Wolfhard as Richie Tozier, Jaeden Martell as Bill Denbrough, Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie Kaspbrak, Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh, Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben Hanscom, and Wyatt Olef as Stanley Uris.

The filmmaker's sequel then caught up with the characters again as adults 27 years later, when the It entity returned.

"Mike needed to be weathered because he was the only character that stayed actually in the town, whereas everybody else got a chance to forget about everything that was going on," Rider continues. "So it came down to that. I'm not getting the part and was devastated. [Andy] sent me an email just saying, 'It was the hardest decision I had to make thus far as a director, but I genuinely want to work with you in future films.' And six years later, this came to be somehow."

Hank (Stephen Rider) and Ronnie (Amanda Christine) on 'It: Welcome to Derry'.

Brooke Palmer/HBO

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Muschietti and his sister Barbara, his longtime producing partner, successfully pitched *It: Welcome to Derry* as a prequel series where each season would go back another 27 years to the last time the child-hunting creature terrorized the town of Derry. Season 1 takes place in the 1960s when a young Will Hanlon (Blake Cameron James) moves to the Maine suburb with his father, Leroy (Jovan Adepo), and mother, Charlotte (Taylour Paige).

Rider portrays Hank, the operator of the local movie theater and the father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine). He remembers sending a self tape on a Friday to the same casting director as the movies.

"By the time they called on a Tuesday, it was already at the studio," he says. "It's one of those things in Hollywood where people say a lot of things. It just so happens that someone like Andy and Barbara actually mean it."

*It: Welcome to Derry* premieres Oct. 26 on HBO.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL TV"

Read More

---

Source: VoXi MAG

Full Article on Source: VoXi MAG

#LALifestyle #USCelebrities