[This article contains spoilers for “It Chapter Two.”]

All the member s of the Losers’ Club in “It Chapter Two” have a secret to hide — a detail or experience dating back to childhood and their initial encounter with the evil force of the film’s title that they are desperately hoping is never revealed. Some of these secrets are already known to viewers who watched the original movie, which was released in 2017, while others are disclosed over the course of “Chapter Two,” which opened on Friday.

We learn that Richie Tozier, the fast-talking, foul-mouthed teenager (played by Finn Wolfhard) who grew up to be a popular stand-up comedian (Bill Hader) is gay and has been secretly in love with his friend and fellow club member Eddie Kaspbrak (played as an adult by James Ransone). Alas, Richie is never able to share these feelings with Eddie, who is killed in the final confrontation with It (Bill Skarsgard). (Both films are directed by Andy Muschietti and adapted from the Stephen King novel, in which some of these scenes play somewhat differently.)

In a previous interview, Hader discussed how he had been sought to play Richie in “It Chapter Two.” Here, he talks about the specific decision to reveal Richie’s love for Eddie and how it factored into his performance. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.