In a recent interview with Radio Times, Neil Gaiman threw out potential candidates to play Morpheus in the upcoming adaptation of his Sandman graphic novel series. Some suggestions were legitimate, as he talked about one-time candidates now too old for the role; but once he started joking about Englishmen and their cheekbones, we should have known not to take him seriously.
Gaiman explained that more than one candidate has crossed his mind, but it’s all been dependent on timing:
It’s a funny thing with Morpheus. Again, it’s that thing where you look around and think, “Yes, this person would be a fantastic person,” and then time passes. There was a time Johnny Depp would’ve been a great Morpheus, but now he’s too old and it’s fine. I think the first time I saw Benedict was as Sherlock Holmes, I thought, “Wow, that’s incredibly Morpheus.” And fans probably thought the same because they immediately started doing fan-art, meshing the two of them up.
Now that Benedict Cumberbatch is committed to playing Marvel’s Doctor Strange, he’s most likely out. Then Gaiman added a backup:
Then again, Tom Hiddleston is still out there! And the truth is, as far as I’m concerned, anybody who sounds English with great cheekbones can probably pull it off.
Alas, that one was a joke, as Gaiman clarified this morning in a tweet:
It’s not true. It was a joke in an interview I’m afraid RT @PickleAM: Please oh please let it be true that @twhiddleston will play Morpheus!
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) December 17, 2014
In many ways, Hiddleston would have been the perfect choice—perhaps too perfect because it’s so expected. Just look how so many outlets took Gaiman’s offhand comment and ran with it as legitimate news, because people love Hiddles so much they’d nominate him for any role without stopping to ponder how good he would actually be at it.
This is the kind of role where Warner Bros could be more daring with their casting picks. That includes choosing more than one Morpheus, like we did when casting the Endless. It worked to great effect in I’m Not There and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, so why not here?
Gaiman also shared how glad he is not only to be more involved in the screenwriting process, but that it’s an actually good movie. “A couple of times, to be honest, I have thrown my body in front of a bus on a couple of bad [versions],” he said. However, “with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in charge, his instincts are good and he loves the material. He wants it to be true to the material.”
Last we heard from JGL, he was working on the script with David S. Goyer. According to Gaiman, he gets to see a version just in time for Christmas: “I’m nervous, I’m on tenterhooks. But do I have good feelings? Yeah I do.”
[via The Mary Sue]
Oh, I saw the thumbnail there and thought Cozur, creator of one of the greatest mods of all time. Ahem, this may be anti geek, but I like his work more than I enjoy Gaiman’s.
“And the truth is, as far as I’m concerned, anybody who sounds English with great cheekbones can probably pull it off.”
Yes, because one of the oldest entities in the Universe, predating Earth by billions of years, *needs* to have an English accent. Nice imperialist hogwash, Gaiman.
Given that the Endless are noted in multiple instances in THE SANDMAN’s issue when appearing in English lands to sound foreign, Gaiman’s comments here are the worst sort of parochial revisionism. Compare that to character of Lucifer who, in SANDMAN and LUCIFER both was noted by Brits, Australians, and Americans alike to sound English – and had a very different style of speech balloon (as well as use of vernacular, Morpheus didn’t use a British-English vernacular) than any of the Endless.
The actor playing Morpheus could have any accent. Or could have EVERY accent – who amongst use hasn’t had voices change from the expected in our dreams? Of course, the truest way of depicting him would be to change the actor portraying him throughout a movie or series of movies (IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS-style) since that’s explicitly what the plan of changing artists on SANDMAN was supposed to entail, and why his look subtly shifts across the book, especially whenever appearing in dreams. ;)
Revisionism? People have always asked me over the years what his voice sounds like, and I’ve told them it sounds like the voice in the back of your head.
The voice in the back of MY head sounds English.
If I was dream-casting, I’d cast someone who sounds like that. (Decades ago, when Morpheus was going to turn up in the Batman Animated TV show, we were talking about John Hurt or Alan Rickman to voice him.)
He is an anthropomorphic personification. Truthfully, he doesn’t even have cheekbones.
If you are dream-casting Morpheus, you can cast anyone, of any species or kind to play him, sounding however you wish, as long as their voice comes out in white letters on a slightly globby black background.
First of all, superb grace in your answer, Mr. Gaiman. This is the kind of thing that’s made me a devoted fan.
Second, instead of snarking, why not play a casting game? For example, Lenora Crichlow would be a really fun Death. Or even Ming-Na, for Death–though Idris Elba’d make a wonderful Dream, and he’s got the right sort of resonant voice for it, too. And, yes, wonderful cheekbones.
I think that Idris Elba would be better as Destiny, though. He has the right sort of gravitas.
Obviously not a candidate now, but I loved the fact that Christophe Lambert’s voice always sounded like he was from everywhere and anywhere.
Keanu Reaves isn’t the most emotive actor, but then, Dream’s only moods are anger and angst. Keanu’s flat, detached style could work in his favor.
It is a role that would perhaps be best given to a lesser known stage actor with fabulous diction and sharp cheekbones (there must be a plethora of them in the UK), rather than to a ‘name’. It could be an amazing breakthrough role and really the draw will be that it is Neil Gaiman’s Sandman being created so an unknown could be the right move to keep the focus on the story.
Tilda Swinton for desire!