Brad Donovan

Bradley "Brad" Donovan is a minor character in the first season of It, and a recurring character in the second season. He was a resident of Derry, Maine, and a childhood friend of Bill Denbrough.

In 1985, after hearing of Stanley Uris' suicide at his home, Mike Hanlon and Bill Denbrough seek the aid of Bradley, knowing he's the closest they could get to finding a 7th member again. After begrudgingly joining the Losers, Bradley is finally able to put his childhood troubles behind him and change for the better.

Early Life
Brad was born in 1946, the son of Tim Donovan and his wife Aneta. Raised in the town of Derry, Maine, Brad would eventually attend Derry High School in 1957, alongside Bill Denbrough, Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom and Mike Hanlon.

1958
In the summer of 1958, Brad accompanied Bill, Eddie Kaspbrak and Ben Hanscom to the Barrens, where they play Pitching Pennies. One day, after Beverly Marsh almost won one of the games, Brad accused her of cheating, causing Ben to tackle him to the ground. Scared by this encounter, Brad left their group. Later on that summer, the Losers' Club would encounter and aid Mike Hanlon in escaping from Henry Bowers and his gang of bullies, facing them in their self titled "Apocalyptic Rock Fight".

Life between 1958 to 1984
Brad graduated from Derry High School in 1964. Brad never went to college, and like Mike Hanlon, remained in Derry for the 27 year gap between 1958 and 1985. He found a cushy job as a jack of all trades in Derry, working as a Plummer, technician, carpenter and construction worker, even being trained in part by Alvin Marsh. He would often visit Mike at the Derry Town Library, where Mike eventually became the town librarian.

Brad had heard of Bill, Eddie, Beverly, Richie and Ben's return to Derry in 1985, and he began remembering them and Mike's trip down into the sewer, and the storm that occurred after. After her encounter with Pennywise at her fathers now abandoned house, Brad meets Beverly again and decides to give her a lift back to the motel. Brad takes this opportunity to apologise for accusing her of cheating when they were kids, as well as telling her he was sad when he heard that her father passed away. Beverly forgives him, but tells him she'll do anything to forget and move on from her past, including her father and his death. Later that night, Brad receives a call from Mike, telling him about Stan's suicide. Brad says he barely knew Stan, but told Mike that it wasn't his fault.

Appearance
As a kid, Bradley was a bit overweight, but not noticeably overweight like Ben Hanscom was. He had simple brown hair and eyes. He retained the same coloured hair and eyes as an adult, and had lost weight by 1985.

In the book
In the book, Bradley Donovan is a former childhood friend of Bill Denbrough and a minor character in the horror novel, It. A sustained lisper with a severe case of warts, he went to the same speech impediment classes that Bill (who suffered from chronic stuttering) had also attended.

During one summer evening in 1958, he played a brief match of “pitching pennies” with Eddie Kaspbrak, Ben Hanscom, and Beverly Marsh (a group of eleven year olds who were also friends of Bill). Beverly comfortably won the trivial contest by a large margin.

In the aftermath of the game, Bradley frantically accused her of cheating (much to Ben’s annoyance). While fleeing away from the three of them in tears, he made cruel, insolent remarks to Beverly and her mother (even after she had offered to give his money back).

Trivia

 * This is the first adaptation to include Brad Donovan as a much larger character in the story, instead of a minor supporting character.