Nicholas Hamilton terrorized a generation of moviegoers as homicidal teen bully Henry Bowers in the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King’s horror classic “It.” Six years after the release of that blockbuster, the Australian actor and musician is back ― only this time he’s embracing his real-life, hopelessly romantic side.
Hamilton, 23, honored LGBTQ+ Pride Month by dropping a new single, “Spins,” last week. The tender piano ballad, he said, was inspired by an intimate evening in New York with his current boyfriend, Jackson Tremblay.
“We went on our first date in March of last year, and we really liked each other, but it took a week for him to reach out again for another date,” Hamilton told HuffPost in an interview. “On the night he finally did, I’d already been drinking in the city, so I was a little bit tipsy. Even though I probably shouldn’t have gone out, I said yes.”
Before long, Hamilton and Tremblay were feeling a bit worse for the wear, but that didn’t stop the two men from sharing a quick smooch or two on a park bench overlooking Manhattan.
“I had to stop my drunk blabbermouth from telling that I already loved him on the second date, because I did,” Hamilton said.
Check out the lyric video for Nicholas Hamilton’s “Spins” below.
Released last week, “Spins” is the first of three singles that Hamilton plans to unveil this summer in advance of “Fate,” an EP due out in October. The new tracks reflect his flair for moody balladry in the vein of Adele and Lewis Capaldi, albeit with a queer-inclusive twist.
“I really like to write songs that mean something to me, where the words feel like I’m telling a story about myself and letting people in on a facet of me that they might not already know about,” Hamilton said. “I really enjoy telling my story the way I want to tell it.”
Though Hamilton is focused on his original music at present, his acting career is still going strong. He recently wrapped filming on an independent crime drama, “Brave the Dark,” as well as a forthcoming Amazon Freevee series, “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh.” He’s also an avid mixologist, with more than 1.8 million fans who tune in for his cocktail recipes on TikTok.
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Fans eager to see Hamilton reconnect with his horror roots can rest assured that the actor and singer hasn’t turned his back on the genre. He’ll also be seen in the ensemble cast of “Do Not Enter,” based on David Morrell’s 2005 novel, “Creepers.”
“I play a very similar psychotic villain character like Henry Bowers, but even crazier,” he said. “I just got to completely unleash and cackle and scream and just be covered in blood. That’s always fun.”
When it comes to what he’d like listeners to take away from his new music, Hamilton said, “A sense of community.”
“Whether you’re part of a community or not … I think everyone should try and find one. Being able to feel like you’re a part of something is extremely underrated.”
