How well do The Sandman actors match their characters?

Netflix is making a show based on Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman! Did they get the casting right? And who should they cast in the remaining roles? Let’s explore.

Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is a sprawling epic that draws on everything from myth and legend to fairytales and horror; even William Shakespeare makes several appearances! First published in 1989, the comic series follows Dream of the Endless, the personification of Dreams, as he rules his kingdom and enacts his duties. He and his siblings — Destiny, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium — each embody different aspects of the human condition. Somehow, Gaiman manages to take these far-flung ideas and tell one story that is at once coherent and wild, full of imagination and firmly rooted in human drama.

It’s great, and have been waiting decades for a screen adaptation. There have been numerous attempts over the years, including a failed try by Logan director James Mangold. Finally, in 2019, Netflix announced that they would finally make it happen. The first season will adapt the first of the comic series’ 10 volumes, “Preludes and Nocturnes,” and a bit of Volume 2, “A Doll’s House.”

Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman) is the showrunner for the new series. Neil Gaiman and David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight) are on board as executive producers. We know several of the actors involved, as well, including who’s playing Dream, the villain Roderick Burgess, Lucifer, as well as several inhabitants of The Dreaming. How well suited are the actors to the roles they’re playing? Has Netflix got the casting right (and later, who should play the characters yet to be cast)? Let’s explore.

Tom Sturridge as Dream

Let’s address the elephant in the room: English actor Tom Sturridge bears an almost uncanny resemblance to Neil Gaiman in his younger days. Take a look:

Since Sturridge is playing Dream, this makes a lot of sense. It’s long been said that Dream in the comics looks like Neil Gaiman. I personally see it, particularly in  J. H. Williams III’s illustrations in Sandman: Overture. However, I’m still not sure if the idea to make Dream look like Gaiman was intentional or not.

Dream’s appearance changes throughout the series — in one story, he even takes the form of a cat. He’s an eternal being, after all, and he adjusts his style to fit whatever age he shows up in. For the most part, he is tall and slender with almost ghostly pale skin and black hair. Possibly his most recognizable feature is the stars in place of his eyes.

Overall, I’m impressed with the casting of Tom Sturridge. Fans have been waiting for years to see who would play a live-action Dream, and a lot of names have been thrown around in that time. Sturridge stands up to any of them. I’m really looking forward to seeing him in costume!