*This interview contains spoilers for IT: Welcome to Derry
Our newest digital cover for November 2025 features actor Mikkal Karim-Fidler who plays Teddy Uris in the prequel horror series, IT: Welcome to Derry, set in the world of Stephen King’s IT universe. The new series premiered on HBO and HBO Max on October 26 and is set in 1962. Welcome to Derry expands stories established by Andy Muschietti in the feature films It and It Chapter Two.
In our exclusive cover chat, Mikkal talks about his reaction to being cast as Teddy, how he prepared to play a character with ties to an existing universe, working with the cast, and the widely discussed shocking movie theater scene at the end of episode one.
Exclusive Photos for Popternative Magazine by Bren MacDonald
Makeup: Rayya Akbar
Studio: Backstage Studio
Agency: Connekt Creative
Take us through that day when you found out you were officially cast as Teddy.
Mikkal: It was a Saturday morning, I woke up and went downstairs, and then as I was having breakfast, I noticed my mom and dad were sitting on the couch and they told me to sit down. I thought I was in trouble. I sat down and they both were looking at me kind of sternly, and I was like, what’s happened? What’s going on? And then my mom got her phone out and said, “do you remember that audition you did for Welcome to Derry?” And I said “yeah.” And then she went through the email and said, “you got the role of Teddy.” And I thought they were playing a joke at first. And I noticed my dad was actually recording with his phone. And then they said, “no, it’s real,” and they showed me the email and I jumped up and down 20 times or so. I had an amazing rest of the day.
How did you prepare to play Teddy?
Mikkal: I started off by making sure I was familiar with the source material; I read the IT book and watched It and It Chapter Two to see Andy’s work as well as get more insight into the world of Derry. I couldn’t find the miniseries, unfortunately, but I would have watched it if I could. After that, I memorized my lines and started putting myself into the shoes of Teddy and trying to imagine how he would react to these different scenarios.
What was it like for you working with the rest of the Welcome to Derry cast?
Mikkal: It was super great working with everyone. They were all really, really friendly, and I felt at home with them. It sort of became a little bit of a family on set. And I was able to learn from them; they were able to learn a few things from me. We had great conversations and I think we all really complimented each other’s performances.
What were some of the conversations you had with Andy Muschietti about the world of Derry?
Mikkal: I sat down with him, and we were talking with the other cast members as well about the backstory of Pennywise the clown and the creature of IT. So, although I had read through the books and seen the movies, he actually provided a bit more insight about how Pennywise came to Earth and why he took the form of Pennywise. It was really interesting to learn more about the backstory of Pennywise, and how he was around for years and years, and had been tormenting the people around Derry, and why he chose Derry as his specific haunting town.
How much in advance did you get the script for the first episode, and what was it like when you found out about that movie theater scene?
Mikkal: I got it about a week before we started filming, and I was reading through the script that whole week. I read through it all in one sitting after I got it because I was just so captivated by the story. And I knew it was a one-episode deal. So, I knew my character was going to die. But as I read through the movie theater scene, I was flipping through the script and my eyes got wider and wider, and I was like, “wow, this is really graphic.” And I was excited after I read it because I knew people would react to that scene, so I was super excited to see everyone’s reactions.
Was there any specific preparation you and the cast had to do before filming the movie theater scene?
Mikkal: We did a lot of rehearsal for it, because, surprisingly, running back and forth at top speed through cramped aisles is quite difficult technically, especially in terms of camera work. But there was a lot of rehearsal in terms of technical stuff for filming. And then we were briefed about what it would look like and what we needed to do. I had to do quite a bit of rehearsal with the crash pad and getting tackled, which was fun. Other than that, we just sat in the green room telling each other how excited we were to film it.
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A new episode of IT: Welcome to Derry airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max through December 14.
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