David Howard Thornton from the film Terrifier talks about the origins of clown art – and its future.

With the news that Terrifier 3 has made its way to the top of the box office this weekend, there is more excitement about what’s to come in the bloody film from writer/director Damien Leone and starring Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton). In a new interview, Thornton – who delivers another notably expressive performance, a feat always impressive because art doesn’t speak and is covered in theater makeup – sheds light on the past of his charming killer character as he looks ahead to what’s next (not yet announced, but definitely coming) Terrifier 4.

In his conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Thornton described the art as “anti-clown,” explaining that “clowns are supposed to bring joy and entertainment to others, but he’s here to bring pain and misery to others for his own joy and entertainment.” As for how he got this way – well, Thornton appreciates that Leone was extremely cautious in unraveling the dramatic background of the art.

The actor told THR: “I like the idea that we slowly revealed his origins.” “We have a line or two early on in this film that hint at his origins, and I think that was really smart. I also don’t want to spoil the surprise early on and ruin things, because often when you find out the reason or who the villain is, the mystery disappears and you lose a lot of the fun you had. They didn’t really reveal the true identity of Freddy Krueger until five films (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and I feel like we’re kind of going down that path… yes, we might show how he became art (in a future film or films), but we may not necessarily say who he was before that. So a little mystery makes it more interesting this way.”

Thornton is very excited to don the black and white costume again (maybe without it). Terrifier 3 was a hit, who knows?) for the next round of delicious finger waves and gruesome violence. “I was very happy with the ending of Terrifier 3 when I read the first draft of the script… I love where the characters are left at the end of the film. It’s almost like The Empire Strikes Back kind of ending, and I love that. So I’m really excited to find out where this character is going next because it’s in a different place than it was before, and I’m excited to see the avenues we can explore with him in this way. So I’m very happy with the ending and we’ll see where it goes… I’m very eager to return to it once again Terrifier 4.”

The full THR interview is worth reading; Thornton talks about the short-sighted advice he received from his agent before the first Terrifier – and reveals the specific piece Terrifier 3 that really hit his stomach. One word: rats! Terrifier 3 is now playing in theaters.

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