[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Sandman.]After more than three decades and many failed attempts, the beloved award-winning DC comic seriesThe Sandmanhas finally been brought to life as a 10-episode drama for Netflix, developed and executive produced by authorNeil Gaiman, showrunnerAllan Heinberg, andDavid. S. Goyer. Set in a world where the Master of Dreams, aka The Sandman (Tom Sturridge), must travel across different worlds and timelines to restore the order that devolved while he was held prisoner for over a century, he’s required to visit old friends, foes and family from his vast existence, to re-balance the dreaming and waking worlds.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Sturridge andVivienne Acheampong(who plays Lucienne, the chief librarian and trusted guardian of the Dreaming) talked about playing a character that goes by as many different names asThe Sandmandoes, the long audition process, the immediate connection Acheampong had with her character, getting to be on such insanely detailed sets, the piece of Lucienne that Acheampong got to keep, the responsibility of taking on this project, and which characters they’d love to interact with more.
Collider: Tom, have you ever played a character that goes by so many different names? It’s quite amazing, how many different names he has.
TOM STURRIDGE: That’s a good question. No, I don’t think I have. But I love that he has so many different names. I think what’s so important about this story is that it’s about dreams, which is the one thing that unifies so many different kinds of people, as in all of us. We’re all different, and we all dream. There are people who perceive him in entirely different ways, as Morpheus, as the King of Dreams, as the Prince of Stories, as the Oneiromancer, as Kai’ckul, and I think that there’s something beautiful about that.
I know that they’d seen around a thousand auditions for your character. Did you have any idea that was going on?
STURRIDGE: I did have an idea, simply because it was a very long process that took months and months. I imagined they were probably looking around. But what was amazing about that was that, to take on something that is so beloved, you really want to have confidence in the people who are making the decision, that they’ve had the opportunity to really think about it, and specifically it’s creator, Neil Gaiman. It definitely allayed some of the ocean of fear I had inside me, knowing that he had had a significant amount of time to ponder, and that he made this decision.
What was going through your head while you were waiting? Were you confident and thinking, “Yeah, I’ve got this. It doesn’t matter how many people they see, this role is mine”? Did you not think that way, at all?
STURRIDGE: I don’t think that way. What was going through my head was the books themselves. Having that time gave me the opportunity to read all 2,500 pages, over and over again, just to get it into my skin.
Vivienne, what was your process like with your role? Did you immediately connect with the character? Did you immediately understand her?
VIVIENNE ACHEAMPONG: I definitely immediately connected. I think I was like, “Okay, I’ve got work to do,” because that’s how you feel, as an actor. We’re so lucky because the material is there already, which is so rich and amazing. And then, you’ve got the creator, himself, Neil Gaiman, actually able to talk to you and you could discuss things. And then, you’ve got Allen Heinberg, who has adapted this amazing script. You’ve got all of the things in order to make the character come to life and come from a place of truth. And then, on set, everything is basically real, so you’re just getting to experience this magical and amazing world. It was an amazing and extraordinary experience, it really was.
Especially with the library, what was that like to be in? What is the coolest thing about that set, that we wouldn’t even see, just from watching it?
ACHEAMPONG: The first time that I went into that library, I was like, “Oh, my God, this is mine.” It was amazing. There’s a compass. There are little things that I don’t even know what they’re called, but they’re just amazing. It’s true, some of the stuff, I didn’t know it was, but it’s just amazing. Just being able to touch that and feel that, I loved that when Lucienne is moving books around, they’re real books. They have words in them. It feels like more than props. I wanted to take a lot of the stuff, but I couldn’t. I didn’t. I asked props for some stuff, and they were just like, “We can’t.” I definitely wanted the compass. I wanted a census book, but it’s huge. I get why they didn’t let me have that. I wanted the glasses, but again, they won’t let me have the glasses. But I have got some ears in a glass box.
STURRIDGE: Oh.
ACHEAMPONG: Why are you saying it like that?
STURRIDGE: Well, I didn’t get anything.
ACHEAMPONG: But I asked.
STURRIDGE: That’s true.
When you play someone like Lucienne, is it putting on the glasses? Is that what gets you there, on the day-to-day basis?
ACHEAMPONG: I think it’s everything, really. And having Tom. I’m so lucky that most of my scenes are with Tom. The detail that he has put into Morpheus. He knows him so well. He embodies him tremendously. It’s hard for me not to do my job because that’s what I’m being faced with. He just made me up my game and was so amazing. I already felt so connected to him because he is Morpheus in this. He’s extraordinary and mind-blowing. For me, it just made my job very easy. He’s so brilliant and it was such a joy to work with him. Tom is so generous, as an actor. He just allowed me to play and discover things with him. It was amazing.
I feel that way about watching everybody in this. It’s clear that you all made very specific choices with the characters and you really owned who you were playing, which I love.
STURRIDGE: And I think part of that is because this was made by Neil.
ACHEAMPONG: Yeah, literally.
STURRIDGE: It’s not like he handed this over to Netflix and said, “Do what you will.” He was there, every step of the way, from the first casting moment to the final tweaks of the sound design. Every fragment and frame of what we shot, he watched every single day and was commenting and guiding. Fans should feel confident in it because of that. And also, anything that does diverge from the comics is borne from Neil going, “Okay, I’m making Sandman again, for the first time. If I could begin fresh, what would I do differently?” And the answer is very little because Sandman is utterly extraordinary, but definitely some things because you can’t help but evolve with the world.
Tom, what’s it like to play a character where you have a kingdom and a throne room? Is it just insane to walk into all of that?
STURRIDGE: It is insane, but as Vivienne said, what was so wonderful was the fact that that throne room existed. Sometimes when you do things of this scale, they have those enormous back projectors, or it’s a green screen. What everybody in production design specifically wanted to achieve here was that feeling of a dream, and that feeling in a dream is that it feels real. We don’t know that we’re dreaming, a lot of the time. A mistake can often be made, trying to exaggerate it or overcompensate for the idea that this isn’t real, whereas they built the throne room. In fact, we shot in a cathedral. Everything was tangible, and that made the leaps of imagination required for a story as fantastical as this, smaller and smaller, which is so important when you’re trying to tell the truth.
There are so many layers to your character and visual aspects that people know, from what he’s wearing to the helmet or just how he talks. Did you ever have a moment of panic, where you wondered how you were going to pull all of this off? Did you ever think about quitting, before you had started, or did you have a moment where it all clicked and came together?
STURRIDGE: I don’t think I ever wanted to quit, but I definitely was terrified because I felt responsible for the film that has been made inside the heads of the fans. Every single one of us has made a different film ofSandmanalready, and by necessity, they’re all going to be different, but hopefully will converge in some ways. I wanted it to be true to the film that I’d made in my head, and to be true to the film that Neil had made in his head. I just come back to him. I felt such security in knowing that he was there watching. But yeah, it was terrifying. And then, that responsibility that I felt I had to the fans’ dreams of Morpheus was some small comparison to the responsibility that Morpheus has for the dreams of the universe. That, actually, was a key into the character.
I love the different relationships in this. The relationship dynamics are so different between all of the characters. Because it feels like we only get little glimpses of all of that, what is the one character you would love to have another episode with, to go on a fun journey with?
ACHEAMPONG: I’ve got a few, but I’ll stick to one. I think Death, for me. That episode is so beautiful, and it’s almost quite confronting. For me, it’s just so interesting and so beautiful, that I’d love Lucienne and Death to meet. I don’t know, maybe, potentially an affair with The Corinthian. I’m just putting it out there. I don’t know, maybe something could happen there. I’m just saying. I don’t know. That would be amazing.
STURRIDGE: I love my relationship with my siblings in this. One of the things that was terrifying about approaching this was, how do you embody The Endless? I think one of the things that brings you into a safe space is the concept that they’re family, and we all understand family. I loved doing the scenes with my siblings, so I would say Desire. Mason [Alexander Park] and I only had one day together because we had one big scene together, and I would love to do me. I can’t wait, if possible, to continue to explore that relationship.
I would love a family dinner episode. I can’t even imagine what that would look like.
ACHEAMPONG: I’d love Lucienne to be there, as well.
STURRIDGE: At the head of the table.
ACHEAMPONG: At the head of the table!
What did you guys most enjoy about the relationship between your characters? It’s such an important relationship and it feels like she understands how important she is, even if he might not want to always express that to her.
STURRIDGE: I think what’s beautiful about their relationship is the time that they’ve spent together. There’s no other being who has spent more time with Morpheus than Lucienne. There is a formality to it because of the hierarchy between them, but ultimately, when you spend eons with another creature, you love them. Love is borne out of that. What I loved is the complexity of trying to keep that simmering underneath the rigor of the work that we had to do. And then, that intimacy also breeds the ability for confrontation because you feel confident enough to have that.
ACHEAMPONG: And I think Lucienne understands Morpheus’s undertaking. She understands that. She understands the gravity of it and the importance of it, and she respects that. But at the same time, there’s a deep love and connection because they have spent so much time together. She’s also very protective of him because he has this huge responsibility and she doesn’t want him to lose himself. She knows the essence of who he is. So, yeah, it is a very important and special relationship.
STURRIDGE: And it’s not a spoiler to say that, in the first episode, having been in prison for a hundred years and finally arriving back at home, the first face that he sees where he opens his eyes, broken on the beach, is Lucienne’s. It’s one of the most intimate moments in the entire season, when he just goes like, “Oh, my God, it’s you. I missed you.” Not with his eyes and not with his words. That connection is so important to the whole story.
It feels a little bit like she would just love to say, “I told you so,” if it wouldn’t get her in trouble.
ACHEAMPONG: I mean, yeah. She’d be like, “Bitch, listen. Okay.” But she’s respectful, so she doesn’t do that. She respects him. I think that Lucienne is not judgmental, and she’s compassionate. She allows him to make that mistake, and I think she appreciates when he does recognize that . . .
STURRIDGE: He’s an idiot.
ACHEAMPONG: Well, I didn’t want to say it, but yeah.
