James McAvoy on the challenges of playing Dream in Audible’s The Sandman

Before Netflix brings The Sandman to the small screen, we first get to experience the story as an audiobook dramatization. That’s right, Audible has now officially released their ambitious audiobook adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s beloved comic, The Sandman. They’ve assembled an incredibly impressive cast to bring the story to life, including Andy Serkis (Matthew), Kat Dennings (Death) and Michael Sheen (Lucifer). The title role of the Lord of Dreams goes to X-Men veteran James McAvoy.

It’s always a challenge to portray a character fans have loved for decades and make it your own. Since his comic debut in 1989, Morpheus has become one of the most iconic characters in comic book history. Fortunately, James McAvoy knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he accepted the part, and did his homework.

Speaking at a press roundtable, the actor revealed that he needed to alter his voice in order to ensure that it was in line with the mopey, dour Dream we all know. “He definitely had to be not human, he definitely had to be something different,” McAvoy said. “He doesn’t understand the human experience, and yet, he serves the human experience; he’s very connected to and a part of the human experience. He provides a vital need for humanity.”

McAvoy sees Dream’s struggles at the start of the story — being captured and imprisoned for years — as a way in to the character. “I think what’s really key for [Morpheus] is the fact that he’s been tortured for such a long time at the beginning of the story,” he explained. “He’s been stripped naked, all his power and all his strength and all the things that make him feel valid have all been taken away from him for decades…he’s not human but he is something slightly broken and he’s someone who’s unsure of himself coming out of this thing.”

"And those are all things I think we can relate to as human beings, those are experiences, emotions and contexts we can identify with. So even though he’s very, very different, he’s going through a fairly relatable human experience as well so there’s going to be growth and self-realization for him that still, in some way, allows me to be connected to him even though he’s this other thing."

At the same time, McAvoy keeps in mind that Dream is not human, however much his performance may humanize him. “Morpheus isn’t a normal man in a world gone mad, he’s a crazy man in a world gone normal. He’s the one making it mad in a lot of ways and it’s almost his role and his duty to keep it mad — which is awesome! But that’s a challenge in it of itself because you have to honor the fact that he’s not human, he is so different and strange. You can’t just do strange acting.”

And if playing the personification of Dreams wasn’t hard enough, McAvoy had to record the part from his spare bedroom, studio being off limits due to the UK coronavirus lockdown. “I was doing a play, Cyrano de Bergerac, in the West End when I was meant to record it but I just called up Dirk and went ‘Listen, my voice is f****** banjaxed from this so could we maybe do this after I’ve finished the play?’ which, I think, was February 29. So we set it for March 17 and [British Prime Minister] Boris Johnson announced the lockdown on March 16.”

The silver lining is that because McAvoy recorded his stuff after everyone else had already done their part, he got to use their performances to guide his own. “Every single cast member had done their job except me. So I got to be in this position I had never been before in my entire career where I got to listen to the entire show before I recorded my work which was absolutely fantastic, so good.”

You can listen to James McAvoy as Dream in Audible’s The Sandman dramatization, which has now released on the platform! Get it here.

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h/t CBR