Welcome to Derry is entering its final stretch of episodes. Over the past weeks, viewers have reintroduced themselves to Derry, the haunted town created by Stephen King four decades ago. This iteration of characters is helmed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti, series veterans who’ve been involved in the franchise for years, first starting with the 2017 hit film “It.”
Mancuso has collaborated with the Muschiettis in the past
With “Welcome to Derry,” streaming on HBO Max, the Argentine siblings have taken us to an older era of the town, set in the early ‘60s and exploring the origins of Pennywise, the horrors that have been embedded in the place since its inception, and the political and racial tensions of the times.
Episode five, titled “Neibolt Street,” aired this past Sunday, and is one of the season’s most important episodes, featuring large set pieces and uniting two of the key storylines: the children’s investigation of the monster that’s edging closer and closer to them, and the military mission into the sewers of Derry, hoping to capture a monster that they don’t understand in hopes of using the terrifying force to their advantage.
It’s an important episode for Rudy Mancuso. The New Jersey actor and musician plays Pauly Russo, a character he describes as a “heightened” version of himself. In a spoiler-filled interview with HOLA!,Mancuso discussed his friendship with the Muschiettis, his experience on the stunning and period-accurate sets of ‘Welcome to Derry’, and his character’s tragic and heroic unraveling.
Before we get into the episode, I wanted to talk to you about your experience working on the show and with Andy. You guys have collaborated in the past.
Yeah, I'm very lucky that Andy and Barbara are my older brother and older sister.
I was a fan first, and then I became a friend, and now we're family, and it's the most comfortable place to work and explore creatively. We worked on ‘The Flash’ together. I put Andy in my film ‘Musica’ and of course, we did ‘Derry.’ And now we have an original film that I'll be directing, which is a musical, and it’s very weird. They’re the best.
And then being a part of the iconic ‘It’ universe and franchise. As a fan of Stephen King, and the novel, and mostly as a fan of Andy and Barbara’s iteration of ‘It,’ it’s been really cool.
Your character Pauly is this military guy. Can you tell me about your experience as an actor where you got to wear these uniforms and be on scenes where you’re shooting guns and piloting planes?
I don't know what the hell I was doing, but I got the freedom to tap into a character that is in some ways a heightened version of who I really am. This Italian American guy who has this Napoleon complex, and he's quick-witted and always trying to talk his way out of things and very reactive and defensive.
And I know that person because he lives inside of me. So that was as far as his characteristics and personality traits. I got the freedom to roam. I don't have experience flying planes or anything to do with the military, but I know people who do and I got to tap onto that.
Everything in the show is very accurate and photorealistic. These costumes are accurate to the times and the guns are real and while they’re not functional they have the same weight and they're accurate to the times.
So whether you have experience or not, once you put those things on, you believe it. And of course these sets, a lot of them are practical and were in an actual military base. They transformed a real city into Derry, Maine. We’re in real helicopters and military choppers. So, when you have all of this production value, it makes it very easy to immerse yourself.
(Laughs). So much happens, but he dies a hero and on his own terms, which feels rare in this universe and in this particular show. Can you tell me how you approached that moment and the end of that character?
Well, I really liked that it was a grounded death, and it wasn't some big, gruesome, supernatural Pennywise-induced death. And I don't think it's very expected of this character. Pauly is a small character, but he's an important one, as we see in this episode. And he's out of his depth. He's pretty scared. Leroy (Jovan Adepo) has been sort of holding his hand throughout the past episodes and explaining what to expect. And the beautiful irony of it is that it ends up being Pauly who ends up protecting Leroy, not the other way around, even though that’s what you’d expect, because Leroy is fearless and much more courageous and has a more grounded understanding of what’s going on. And here’s Pauly, who’s confused and annoyed and deeply frightened.
I like to believe that Pauly’s backstory is that he believes he doesn’t have a lot to lose, whereas Leroy has a family. So they operate from different places. I think that’s why Pauly ends up feeling at peace, because the whole time, he’s sort of been like, ‘What’s the point? What’s going on? What’s my purpose?’
Then, once he sacrifices himself, he realizes what his purpose was, that this is what it’s all been about.
I also wanted to ask about your work with Jovan Adepo. You guys had a lot of scenes together. How was it to develop that dynamic?
It was so easy because Jovan's a really great guy, and we connected almost instantly. Andy gave us the space to become friends in real life so that we didn't have to do a ton of deep diving and do any backstory work because me and Jovan sort developed the relationship that you see Leroy and Pauly have.
You can tell these guys have seen it all and done it all together and love playfully antagonize each other. And no matter what, they'll be there for each other, like in the first episode. Like, I don't know what the hell was going on, but I knew I needed to protect him. And then the same thing happens in Episode 5, in a much higher-stakes environment.
What do you think Pauly’s death means for the series and for the final batch of episodes?
The truth is, I don't really know because I haven't seen the rest of the episodes, and I try to consciously stay away from reading them. But I guess I can say that in this universe a death can have many meanings. A death doesn't mean that somebody is gone.
One of my favorite parts about the ‘It’ universe is its focus on childhood fears. Do you have any childhood fears that you remember or that you’re still not over?
I don't think I've gotten over any of them. Spiders, heights, processed foods, and most of all people.
I was bullied when I was young, and I had a hard time connecting to people. And I was very reclusive and living in my own little world and bubble, and I still am that way. But it's shaped me to become who I am and to connect with people like the Muschiettis and you.
I think ‘Welcome to Derry’ reminds us that while we all experience fear, arguably the scariest things are real and not fantasy, like hate, malice, prejudice, racism, and all of these things that are thematically woven into the show that are still relevant today.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
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© Brooke Palmer
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