It: Welcome to Derry: Arian S. Cartaya on Rich, His Co-Stars & More

Posted in: HBO, Movies, TV | Tagged: it: welcome to derry, welcome to derry

It: Welcome to Derry: Arian S. Cartaya on Rich, His Co-Stars & More

It: Welcome to Derry star Arian S. Cartaya offered us some insights into Rich, Andy & Barbara Muschietti, his co-stars, and much more.

Published Tue, 16 Dec 2025 19:37:03 -0600
by Tom Chang
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Arian S. Cartaya is a child star on the rise, and what better way to jump-start and elevate your career than to be part of a Stephen King franchise? Since breaking out in HBO Max's Gordita Chronicles, the actor has also made waves in the Telemundo series Juego de Mentiras and Apple TV's Bad Monkey before landing the role as Rich Santos, one of the youths in the HBO prequel series It: Welcome to Derry, which predates the events of the 2017 and 2019 It films from Andy Muschietti. The prequel series from Andy and Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs is set in 1962 and before that traces the supernatural demonic forces responsible for Pennywise, with Bill Skarsgård reprising his role. Cartaya spoke to Bleeding Cool about his audition process, his familiarity with King, working with the showrunners, bonding with co-stars Blake Cameron James (Will Hanlon), Matilda Lawler (Marge Truman), and Clara Stack (Lilly Bainbridge), and his character's fate in this season's penultimate episode, "The Black Spot."

It: Welcome to Derry Star Arian S. Cartaya on His Journey as Rich, Muschiettis, Rich-Marge, and More

How did you get involved with It: Welcome to Derry?

I went through the whole auditioning process. I started auditioning as Rich, and right off the bat, when I read the character, I fell in love with him. I found out that we had a lot of things in common, and then they wanted me for the callback. I did a chemistry read with my co-star Matilda Lawler, and it went well. Then, I got to Toronto, started filming, and now I'm here.

How familiar were you with Stephen King's original book, or just his work in general?

I haven't read anything up until this point. I didn't read the Stephen King novel. I didn't watch the (90s) miniseries, but obviously, being a part of this universe, it's such an honor, and now I understand the backstory.

What's it like working with Andy, Barbara, and Jason as creatives on the series?

It was amazing, such a great experience. Andy and Barbara, their imagination is always so good, and they always have something to come up with. They're so caring with all the kids, and they love what they're doing. Jason's just great and such a nice guy.

Did the material ever feel like…I know you guys go through some dark stuff and everything. Did it ever feel too cathartic? Was it one of those things where I mean obviously, what you filmed versus what came out in the series isn't the same? Did you see the episodes you're involved with?

About a month ago, we got episodes one through five to rewatch them, and get familiar with all the questions for the press junket that we did. After that, a few weeks ago, we got the last three episodes, and I was in shock, like, "Wow! This is amazing!" Other than that, it was the script, and we went off the script for our imagination, but it was super fun.

Did you bond with any of your co-stars, like Blake, Matilda, and Clara, and get to know them?

We became pretty close friends. For the time we spent together in Toronto, LA, and Savannah (GA), it felt like a family reunion. We treat each other as family. We hang out and FaceTime all the time, and it was great.

Was there any particular scene in this entire run that was difficult to film? I imagine "The Black Spot" was pretty rough on you.

So, "The Black Spot," we had a ton of rehearsals for that, like they wanted the coordination to be exact. Obviously, Andy's imagination is incredible; he knows what he wants, and so he wants everything perfect. We had a lot of rehearsals for that, but it was also very emotional. The Black Spot sequence had so many emotions throughout that you don't know what to say after you watch the whole thing. That surprised the fans, and I guess they're happy with their reactions, though.

It was such an intense scene, and I liked how you carried yourself in the scene, however tragic your character's fate. What's your favorite memory of filming?

I mean everything. Being in the studio all day filming with my best friends, it was a great experience, no, the best experience ever! Also, we had some scenes in the Standpipe where we couldn't stop making everyone laugh, and we were having the time of our lives.

The season finale of It: Welcome to Derry, which also stars Taylour Paige, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Amanda Christine, Clara Stack, Miles Ekhardt, Mikkal Karim-Fidler, Jack Molloy Legault, Matilda Legault, Chris Chalk, Peter Outerbridge, and Madeleine Stowe, premieres December 14th on HBO.

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