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!

Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer

Gwendoline Christie plays Lucifer, the Ruler of Hell. Her casting officially put to rest rumors that The Sandman would crossover with Netflix’s Lucifer TV show, where Lucifer is played by Tom Ellis. He’s set the bar pretty high, and Christie has the challenge of clearing it.

Lucifer will play a big role in the first season. In the comics, after Dream escapes imprisonment, he sets out to reclaim his three totems of power, one of which is in Hell. That marks Lucifer’s first appearance.

When creating his version of Lucifer, Gaiman was inspired by rock star David Bowie, who made a career out of toeing the line between male and female. “I imagined Lucifer as a junkie angel, and young Bowie was the closest we got,” he told the Chicago Tribune a few years back. Bowie made a career out of toeing the line between male and female. At 6’3” with statuesque looks, Christie also has a bit of an androgynous vibe to her, something Game of Thrones put to good use when they cast her as Brienne of Tarth. She already seems like a natural fit for the role.

And if that’s not convincing, check out this amazing piece of fan art imagining Gwendoline Christie as the Ruler of Hell. If this doesn’t get you psyched about seeing her in the role, I don’t know what will:

Moreover, Christie most definitely has the presence to nail the part of the ruler of the underworld. Of all the casting announcements so far, this is of the most exciting!

Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne

Like Gwendoline Christie, Acheampong plays a gender-swapped character. Instead of Lucien, she plays Lucienne.

In the comics, Lucien is among Dream’s most trusted advisors. Mild-mannered and pointy-eared, he is the chief librarian of The Dreaming, Dream’s realm. A very special library, it has not only millions of books, but millions of books that were never written, only dreamt. For example, in one panel Lucien is holding a copy of The Emperor Over the Sea by C.S. Lewis, a book that was never finished.

Acheampong has acted in movies in shows like The Witches (2020) and Death in Paradise (2011). She also starred in the BBC comedy show Famalam for two years. Maybe she can bring a comedic twist to her character. Lucien isn’t exactly known for his jokes, after all.

Could Acheampong’s Lucienne become our new favorite fictional librarian? Let’s hope so.

Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess

Probably the biggest name to be announced in the cast so far, Game of Thrones veteran Charles Dance will play Roderick Burgess!

(SPOILERS incoming!) Roderick Burgess is not in the comics for very long. He dies quite early on. But that’s not to say he doesn’t play a big role. In fact, it’s Burgess who really gets the plot rolling. He’s the founder of the Order of Ancient Mysteries. At the beginning of the saga, he mistakenly captures Dream in an attempt to trap his sister Death. His aim is to control Death and thus achieve immortality. As a result of his failed attempt, Dream is left imprisoned for decades. Once Dream finally escapes, he seeks to reclaim his totems of power and rebuild his kingdom. Thus begins The Sandman.

As you can see below, Dance bears some resemblance to Burgess. His name was actually mentioned around in fan cast lists prior to the announcement. The Netflix team would be hard-pressed in finding a better actor to portray the character. I don’t think we can have any complaints here:

As Dance is such a big name, I wonder if the writers will keep him involved for longer. It would seem a little wasteful for him to only be involved for a couple of episodes. Then again, maybe they could only land a respected actor like Dance for a short while. Either way, I’m super excited to see him in the line-up.

Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian

We’d heard about several actors for the part of the Corinthian, a disturbing nightmare creature escaped from the Dreaming, including Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery and The Hunger Games veteran Liam Hemsworth. Ultimately, the part has was given to Boyd Holbrook, and I’m so thankful for it.

The Corinthian has a very distinct look and is perhaps the most recognizable of any character in the comic. He wears a lotta white, for one thing, but you simply cannot talk about the Corinthian without mentioning his most striking feature: he has two sets of razor-sharp teeth in place of eyes, which is why he wears sunglasses most of the time. Pretty terrifying, right?

Holbrook has real human eyes, which is great, but otherwise he looks so much like the Corinthian it’s nigh-unsettling. All he needs to do now is practice that seductive, charming voice that Riz Ahmed nailed in the Sandman audiobook. He also has to perfect the menace. As any Sandman fan will tell you, the Corinthian is not a very nice guy. In his most memorable appearance, he runs what he calls a “Cereal Convention,” which is really a convention for serial killers, with him as the star attraction.

Holbrook has appeared in many big movies and TV shows throughout his career, such as Narcos and In the Shadow of the Moon. This won’t be his first foray into the world of comic book adaptations, either: he played the villain Donald Pierce in Logan (2017), so we know he had the ability to play someone cruel.

Sanjeev Bhaskar as Cain and Asim Chaudhry as Abel

In The Sandman, Cain and his brother Abel live in the Dreaming, playing out their archetypal roles as the first murderer and the first victim. Cain kills Abel over and over again throughout the series, which is just as cruel as it sounds.

The duo are neighbors in Dream’s realm. Cain lives within the House of Mystery, while Abel resides in the House of Secrets.

Sanjeev Bhaskar will play Cain. He’s best known for his comedy work on shows like Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42. Asim Chaudhry (Abel) is also a comedian, so it looks like these two will give us some comic relief, which I know sounds weird given what they get up to but it does track with the comics.

“I was thrilled that you got the part!” Neil Gaiman tweeted to Bhaskar when the cast was announced. I’ve got a feeling we’re going to love his performance. As for Chaunry, he takes the award for looking most like his comic book counterpart:

Like Bhaskar, Asim Chaudhry is well-known for his comedy roles in British shows look People Just Do Nothing. He also played Mohan Thakur in Netflix’s interactive 2018 film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.

If there was ever a perfect casting, this comes remarkably close. I can’t wait to see how they work together.

Okay, that’s everyone we know is in the cast. Now that’s talk about some people we want in the cast:

Dream cast: Kat Dennings as Death

There are a few prominent characters we still don’t have actors for. They’ll be announced down the line, with Gaiman tweeting that “hundreds” of cast members are still to come.

Who should be involved? Let’s start our dream cast off with Kat Dennings as Death of the Endless!

After recently reprising her role as Darcy Lewis in WandaVision, Kat Dennings is seeing a revival of her MCU career, which has been dormant since her last appearance in Thor: The Dark World. But while she’s lighting up our screens on Disney+, she also has a connection to the DC universe. In last year’s audiobook adaptation of The Sandman from Audible, she portrayed — you guessed it — Death of the Endless!

Despite her youthful appearance, Death is the second eldest of the Endless siblings. She is one of if not the most popular character from The Sandman. Death has a goth kind of look, but she tends to be happy, calm and optimistic. Pale — a common look among the Endless — she has long dark hair and can be identified immediately by the Eye of Horus on her eye. She also wears an Ankh.

Kat Dennings fits the bill. Her impressive vocal performance as Death in the audiobook satisfied the vast majority of fans, so much that many have called for her to be included in the live-action show. In addition to her voice, she definitely has the Death look.

Still, if they don’t want to include the audiobook cast, I think Jessica De Gouw (Dracula, Arrow) would make a fantastic Death.

Gaiman has confirmed that the first season of The Sandman will adapt “Preludes and Nocturnes” and some of “The Doll’s House,” which means we’ll get our best look at Death in The Sound of Her Wings, her introduction and possibly her most famous appearance.

Could the Netflix show follow in the footsteps of the Audible drama and cast Kat Dennings as Death? Will it be someone else? Hundreds of names have been thrown around, but I think Dennings should at least be considered.

Dream cast: Michael Fassbender as John Constantine

Moving away from the Endless, occult detective John Constantine will be a major character in the first season of The Sandman. He’s involved in Dream’s quest to recover his pouch of sand.

The best onscreen portrayal of Constantine so far probably goes to Matt Ryan, who played him on the NBC show Constantine. He’s definitely set a standard anyone else will have to meet. However, I would not be keen on seeing Ryan reprise his role for Netflix’s The Sandman. But as Lucifer isn’t being played by Tom Ellie, I doubt John Constantine will be played by Matt Ryan. We’ll need someone new.

Michael Fassbender would make a great John Constantine. The Sandman has cast several high-profile actors already, so why not another? Known for his role as Magneto in the X-Men franchise, he would be a huge name if cast.

Fassbender has been rumored for Constantine in the past. Fans called for him to play the occult detective in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War back when the cast was unannounced.

And if we want a third option, this fan art imagining Riz Ahmed as Constantine has me thinking thoughts:

One thing I hope Netflix tries to get right (and that the 2005 Keanu Reeves movie didn’t both with) is Constantine’s scouse (Liverpudlian) accent. If Fassbender tackles the part, he might have to practice.

Dream cast: Ned Dennehy as Doctor Destiny

Dee is for lots of things. Death. Dust. Darkness. Demons. Dennehy?

John Dee, aka Doctor Destiny, is the main antagonist of the first Sandman volume, so he will most likely be the big bad in season 1 of the TV show, too. I’m convinced Ned Dennehy is the perfect actor to play him.

The Irish actor is no stranger to Neil Gaiman projects. He played Hastur in Good Omens, the Amazon Prime adaptation of the novel Gaiman wrote with Terry Pratchett. Fans might also recognize him as Lionel Brown in Outlander. He’s not quite an A-lister, but he’s got a solid filmography.

As you can see below, he has the general look for Dee. With the help of the costume and makeup departments, he has everything he needs to be a perfect Doctor Destiny:

Doctor Destiny is responsible for the events of “24 Hours,” one of the most horrifying comic issues of all time. Doctor Destiny uses the Dreamstone to manipulate the fabric of dreams. We watch what happens over the course of a day as Dee plays with a group of people stuck in a diner. According to Gaiman, this episode recently started filming!

I’ll also accept master of voices Michael Sheen as John Dee. That man can do anything, and I’m willing to bet he’ll perfect the deep, breathy, dour tone of Doctor Destiny.

Dream Cast: Andy Serkis as Matthew

For the part of Matthew the raven, I’m dipping into the Audible adaptation again and suggesting Andy Serkis.

Serkis, who provided the voice (and the movement) for Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and King Kong in King Kong, is ideal for this role. His voice acting for Matthew in The Sandman was close to perfection, using a harsh, grating voice that contrasted wonderfully with the character’s laid-back, charismatic personality. It worked extremely well and I can’t imagine anyone else doing it.

Formerly known as Matthew John Cable, who died in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing comics, Matthew was brought back as a raven of the Dreaming in The Sandman. He first appears in issue #11 meaning the Netflix adaptation would just be able to sneak him in.

In the past, Gaiman has admitted that it would be silly not to look at the incredible Audible cast for inspiration of who should be involved in the Netflix show.  “It would be definitely fair to say that I’ve been taking notes,” he told the Radio Times. I can only dream that he wrote down Serkis’ name.

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