The Clown
Art is a silent, expressive, and supernatural slasher who uses weapons and wears makeup and clothes devoid of color.
Art the Clown is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the Terrifier film series and related media. Created by Damien Leone, the character first appeared in the short films The 9th Circle (2008) and Terrifier (2011). Both shorts were included in the anthology film All Hallows' Eve (2013), which marked the character's feature film debut. In these early appearances, he was portrayed by Mike Giannelli before his retirement from acting. He was replaced by David Howard Thornton, who portrayed Art in Terrifier (2016), Terrifier 2 (2022), and Terrifier 3 (2024). Thornton also appears as the character in a short film that serves as the music video for the song “A Work of Art” by the heavy metal band Ice Nine Kills, in which Art murders several concertgoers; the song is based on the film series and was commissioned as the theme song for the release of Terrifier 3.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Terrifier
- First
- The 9th Circle (2008)
- Creator
- Damien Leone
- Portrayed by
- Mike Giannelli (2008–2013); David Howard Thornton (2016–present)
- Also known as
- The Miles County Clown
- Species
- Human (formerly); Undead demon
Lore & Background
Art debuted as a background character in Leone's directorial debut short film to test out different horror concepts. Audiences responded strongly to Art, leading Leone to develop the character into a recurring slasher villain over the next decade. Art became a pop culture figure and iconic evil clown after the critical and commercial success of Terrifier 2. The character's background remains ambiguous, although all of his appearances show him possessing supernatural abilities. His archenemy is the final girl Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera), with Leone writing Sienna and Art to reflect biblical undertones of good and evil. Leone's idea of Art originated from his concept of a woman getting off work and taking the city bus home, where a clown gets on and sits across from her, taunting her. He envisioned Art as a combination of being uncomfortable and comedic to viewers—but with the character becoming 'progressively more intimidating and aggressive.'
Reader's Guide
Art the Clown is a silent killer who is highly expressive and emotional, in contrast to silent killers such as Leatherface, Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. He uses weapons and wears makeup and clothes devoid of color. Leone aimed to make Art the opposite of Pennywise the Dancing Clown both in characterization and appearance; Art is bald, does not speak, uses weapons, and wears makeup and clothes devoid of color. David Howard Thornton, who portrays Art, saw a posting on the digital casting website Actors Access for a 'tall, skinny, comedic actor that had experience in clowning and comedy.' After improvising a kill scene during his audition, he got cast in the role. Leone describes the difference in casting as, 'Mike may as well have been a guy dressed as a clown, whereas David is a clown. If you know him in person, he is a walking cartoon. He is Roger Rabbit in real life, and you'd never believe that he's Art the Clown, but he knows how to flip the switch and bring it to a dark place.' Art appears in other media including a comic book adaptation of the 2016 film, a Christmas jumper from Terror Threads, the comedy series Bupkis, Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, a music video for Ice Nine Kills, A Very Special Terrifier Christmas, the video game Terrifier: The ARTcade Game, and as a playable killer in Fortnite. In 2026, Art was announced to be added as a playable character in Dead by Daylight for the game's tenth anniversary.
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