Since we have already watched The Sandman, there may be places that can be considered as light spoilers in the interview, if you wish, you can leave the reading of the interview until after the series.
Honor: My first question will be to Mr. Holbrook. As far as I can remember, Corinthian was in the role of a full-time nightmare in the comics. In the series, it functions partly as a nightmare and partly as a fantasy. Was this an improvisation you did?
Boyd Holbrook (The Corinthian): Corinthian is only available in the Doll House. We had 10 episodes to explore the character and take it to the Serial Killer Fair. Of course, we couldn’t make him an annoying bully to justify his situation like the cult leader at the fair. It had to fit perfectly on top of sophisticated, phenomenal. The Corinthian, to me, is a chameleon, someone who takes on a shape that suits the task he has to handle. The character has this element in the comic as well, but we had the opportunity to expand on that in the series, and it’s not me who should be praised for it, it’s the creative team behind the show. They just showed me a way, and I walked that path.
Honor: My next question is for Ms. Samunyai. Rose Walker is one of the characters that proves to us how important people are even in a universe full of immortal beings like Morpheus. One of the things that makes him such a colorful character is that his companions are so colorful. Who was your favorite among Rose’s assistants?
Vanesu Samunyai (Rose Walker): Should I answer the question as myself or as Rose?
Honor: You can approach it from both perspectives.
Vaneus Samunyai: If I answer on behalf of Rose, I would say Lyta so as not to betray the trust between them. Rose and Lyta have a deeper emotional bond, and they need each other. On the other hand, the most important person for Rose is Jed, but they are not side by side for most of the story, so it is not possible to call her a true comrade.
Speaking for myself, I love everyone individually, but Chantal and Zelda have a special place for me. Chantal and Zelda are a very entertaining duo.
Honor: Morpheus is an epic figure; neither a god nor a man. There are also very humanoid features of his personality, as well as parts of him that are far from human. What kind of experience did you experience to switch between them, and what was the most difficult point when reflecting this dual nature of the character?
Tom Sturridge (Morpheus/Dream): I think the key to the character is these transitions. As the person who curates the subconscious of the universe, the conscious is responsible for the dreams of each being. Since he understands everyone’s dreams, he is also aware of everyone’s feelings. That’s why he has an extraordinary empathy skills, he feels what others are feeling. In order to embody this entire chorus of sacred feeling, one has to be disciplined and attentive, to suppress them all. This being we are facing has to suppress enormous emotions that are blazing, and it does this by not venting any of them. The parts where the character was most exciting were the parts where he couldn’t stop all those feelings from coming to the surface.
Honor: Lucien and Morpheus have an interesting relationship both in the comics and in the series. In your opinion, what was the most interesting part of this relationship and what kind of experience did you have while bringing it to the screens?
Vivienne Acheampong (Lucien): What’s interesting is definitely their hierarchy. Morpheus is Lucien’s boss, but there is a mutual respect and understanding between them. I got that from the comics. Lucien has faith in the land of dreams, he knows how important the work Dream does is. The Dreaming is a place we all go. It doesn’t matter who we are because we all dream. Preserving this, Lucien understands, is crucial. When Morpheus is freed from the relentless bondage he had to endure and returns, he has seen the worst of humanity. Lucien internalized who Morpheus really was, what he represented. At the same time, he is aware that in order for him to perform his function, the rules must be enforced and order must be maintained. As a result of what has happened to him, he sees that Morpheus has partially forgotten who he is, and his heart has cooled. Lucien serves as Morpheus’ conscience, allowing him to vent the empathy within him a little more. In this context, we see that there is a wonderful relationship between them because when Morpheus is gone, Lucien stays in place and waits for him, although he does not know if he will return.
Honor: In the American Gods series, we saw that you changed the story told in the book a little, but rather expanded it. The Sandman, on the other hand, is very loyal to the comic not only in terms of the feeling it gives, but also in terms of the progress of the story. Do you have plans to add extra material in future seasons or expand some of the stories in the comics, or do you intend to stay as faithful to the source material as possible?
Neil Gaiman (Writer/Producer): I didn’t make American Gods, others made those choices and expansions. But I did Good Omens, for example, and I loved detailing some pre-existing things and building on top of others. I wholeheartedly want to continue The Sandman, and I don’t mind saying that if we do that, it will be very, very faithful to the comics. On the other hand, just like in the first season, no matter how much you deal with the comics, there will be parts where you can’t predict what will happen next. We have such plans in mind, and almost all of these plans are based on giving you more material related to the characters you already love very much and want to know more about. I didn’t have the “plot” to tell them at the time; I would have 24 pages per fascicle and 6 panels per page.
Honor: I’m guessing the reason Morpheus didn’t have the “star eyes” he did in the comics is that it wouldn’t be portrayed very well on the big screen. You’ve tried to do it anyway, but haven’t you?
Neil Gaiman: If you look carefully, you can see that we did this in the first episode where Morpheus meets Alex in The Dreaming.
Allan Heinberg (Producer): In the second part, there’s also the part where he looks at the water.
Neil Gaiman: Yes, there is also in the second part where he looks at the water. So it’s not that we never do it, you see Morpheus eyes every now and then. On the other hand, yes, when we were just getting started, we had in mind to put on tar black contact lenses for Tom Sturridge and do his pupils with CGI. We tried it and it didn’t stop like Morpheus. It was the kind of scenery you’d see at ComicCon; Morpheus, not Morpheus, looked like a cosplayer. It was a pretty good Morpheus cosplay, but somewhere we felt like we were losing something of the character’s identity. Tom Sturridge was already giving us that thing with his eyes. Batman has white eyes in all the comics that have come out so far, but in every single screen adaptation ever made, Batman’s eyes are normal human eyes. His face is partially covered because of the mask, and his eyes are one of the only tools he can use while pretending. And we said at one point, “If Batman can have normal human eyes on the big screen, Morpheus can have them in most cases.”
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