Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman comics and executive producer of the Netflix adaptation calls Tom Sturridge the perfect Morpheus

“We saw 1500-2000 Morpheuses”: Neil Gaiman Reveals How Tom Sturridge Surpassed Every Single Actor and Was Always His Dream

A whopping 75 issues of comic book collection as source material and millions of
fans who have devoured every inch of all the graphic novels— that’s Neil
Gaiman’s The Sandman. If you think adapting The Sandman would be easy, think
again. And if that’s a task, we cannot fathom how massive the challenge would be
to embody the titular character. So hats off to the English actor, Tom
Sturridge, who had some big shoes to fill. He plays Morpheus/Dream/Sandman in
the Netflix live-action rendition of the epic comic series. 


HOW DID TOM STURRIDGE BECOME DREAM?

While a director is the captain of the ship for a show or a movie, it’s the
actors who anchor it. Every cinematic masterpiece needs the perfect cast
[https://netflixjunkie.com/coming-soon-meet-the-endless-and-other-mortal-and-immortal-characters-of-the-sandman/].
And the showrunners of The Sandman definitely left no stone unturned to get one.
Neil Gaiman, the author of The Sandman comics and the show’s executive producer,
recently shared about recruiting Tom Sturridge.

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]

By Neil’s own admission, “Tom was in the first email we got from casting, and we
went ‘oh my gosh, Tom is the best, Tom is magnificent.’” While they obviously
couldn’t just cast Tom Sturridge without giving the others a fighting chance,
they “saw 1500-2000 Morpheuses, and there was no one who was Tom.” Sturridge was
probably destined to play the often misunderstood entity
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-the-sandmans-tom-sturridge-feels-dream-is-a-misunderstood-entity-he-feels-everything-that-every-other-being-feels/].

https://twitter.com/NetflixGeeked/status/1555315143092977670?s=20&t=_PVoJh0DzIHhh4wI6t3_DA

Tom definitely had his hand full playing a complicated being like the Sandman.
But his love for the comics made him take up the challenge despite being
“cripplingly afraid.” In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, Sturridge
admitted
[https://www.newsweek.com/sandman-tom-sturridge-interview-frightening-play-dream-neil-gaiman-1729998],
“It was enormously daunting, it was frightening even. Frightening because I am
one of the people who regards this [comic book series] so highly, I care about
it intensely, it’s so important to me as a piece of literature.

ALSO READ: “I was given a lot of creative freedom”: Kirby Howell-Baptiste Talks
About Her Expereince in ‘The Sandman’
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-originals-i-was-given-a-lot-of-creative-freedom-kirby-howell-baptiste-talks-about-her-experience-in-the-sandman/]


WHO IS MORPHEUS?

Morpheus, or the Sandman, is one of The Endless
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-beings-in-some-ways-more-powerful-than-gods-neil-gaiman-unravels-the-lore-for-the-sandman-and-who-are-the-seven-endless/].
They are a family of seven fantastical and immortal characters who are also the
anthropomorphic manifestations of forces of nature, like Destiny, Dream, Death,
Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium. Morpheus is the personification of
dreams and the ruler of the realm known as The Dreaming. 

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/sh03sfyy23w81.webp

He is a shape-shifter that controls the dreams and nightmares of every mortal
and immortal being in both worlds. Morpheus also has magical abilities,
including teleportation and the power to alter reality. The story of The Sandman
[http://netflixjunkie.com/tag/the-sandman] follows Morpheus’s quest to regain
his powers and control of his realm after this century-long imprisonment.

ALSO READ: A Pumpkin From the World of the Dreaming, an Exclusive Clip
Introduces Mark Hamill’s Mervyn Pumpkinhead From ‘The Sandman’
[https://netflixjunkie.com/what-to-watch-a-pumpkin-from-the-world-of-the-dreaming-an-exclusive-clip-introduces-mark-hamills-mervyn-pumpkinhead-from-the-sandman/]

What do you think of Tom Sturridge as Morpheus? Watch
[https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81150303] The Sandman, now streaming on
Netflix, and let us know your thoughts.

Natasha Vijan

Comment

“We saw 1500-2000 Morpheuses”: Neil Gaiman Reveals How Tom Sturridge Surpassed Every Single Actor and Was Always His Dream - Netflix Junkie

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Natasha is a writer at Netflix Junkie. Despite completing her Masters in Architecture from Hochschule Anhalt in Germany, she decided to follow her passion for storytelling.

Apart from working as an architect in the past, Natasha currently also ghostwrites for various travel and lifestyle blogs like italyfoodies.com, mypureplants.com and more. Moreover, she has also been involved as a screenplay analyst with Outstanding Screenplays London.

An avid cinephile, Natasha especially enjoys quirky dark comedies and gangster films. She can talk about films by Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie for days and even aspires to make her own film someday. When not at work, she can be found at at outdoor music concert or a stand-up gig. Additionally, she’s a feminist, LGBTQIA ally and a strong mental health advocate.

https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-we-saw-1500-2000-morpheuses-neil-gaiman-reveals-how-tom-sturridge-surpassed-every-single-actor-and-was-always-his-dream-the-sandman

“We saw 1500-2000 Morpheuses”: Neil Gaiman Reveals How Tom Sturridge Surpassed Every Single Actor and Was Always His Dream - netflix-junkie

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A whopping 75 issues of comic book collection as source material and millions of fans who have devoured every inch of all the graphic novels— that&#8217;s Neil Gaiman&#8217;s The Sandman. If you think adapting The Sandman would be easy, think again. And if that&#8217;s a task, we cannot fathom how massive the challenge would be to embody the titular character. So hats off to the English actor, Tom Sturridge, who had some big shoes to fill. He plays Morpheus/Dream/Sandman in the Netflix live-action rendition of the epic comic series. 
<h2>How did Tom Sturridge become Dream?</h2>
While a director is the captain of the ship for a show or a movie, it&#8217;s the actors who anchor it. Every cinematic masterpiece needs the <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/coming-soon-meet-the-endless-and-other-mortal-and-immortal-characters-of-the-sandman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">perfect cast</a>. And the showrunners of The Sandman definitely left no stone unturned to get one. Neil Gaiman, the author of The Sandman comics and the show&#8217;s executive producer, recently shared about recruiting Tom Sturridge.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-14049 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/sandman.png" alt="" width="1536" height="790" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/sandman.png 1536w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/sandman-300x154.png 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/sandman-1024x527.png 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/sandman-768x395.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px" />
By Neil&#8217;s own admission, &#8220;Tom was in the first email we got from casting, and we went ‘oh my gosh, Tom is the best, Tom is magnificent.&#8217;&#8221; While they obviously couldn&#8217;t just cast Tom Sturridge without giving the others a fighting chance, they &#8220;saw 1500-2000 Morpheuses, and there was no one who was Tom.&#8221; Sturridge was probably destined to play the often<a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-the-sandmans-tom-sturridge-feels-dream-is-a-misunderstood-entity-he-feels-everything-that-every-other-being-feels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> misunderstood entity</a>.
https://twitter.com/NetflixGeeked/status/1555315143092977670?s=20&#038;t=_PVoJh0DzIHhh4wI6t3_DA
Tom definitely had his hand full playing a complicated being like the Sandman. But his love for the comics made him take up the challenge despite being &#8220;cripplingly afraid.&#8221; In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, Sturridge <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/sandman-tom-sturridge-interview-frightening-play-dream-neil-gaiman-1729998" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a>, &#8220;It was enormously daunting, it was frightening even. Frightening because I am one of the people who regards this [comic book series] so highly, I care about it intensely, it&#8217;s so important to me as a piece of literature.
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-originals-i-was-given-a-lot-of-creative-freedom-kirby-howell-baptiste-talks-about-her-experience-in-the-sandman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“I was given a lot of creative freedom”: Kirby Howell-Baptiste Talks About Her Expereince in ‘The Sandman’</a>
<h2>Who is Morpheus?</h2>
Morpheus, or the Sandman, is one of <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-beings-in-some-ways-more-powerful-than-gods-neil-gaiman-unravels-the-lore-for-the-sandman-and-who-are-the-seven-endless/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Endless</a>. They are a family of seven fantastical and immortal characters who are also the anthropomorphic manifestations of forces of nature, like Destiny, Dream, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium. Morpheus is the personification of dreams and the ruler of the realm known as The Dreaming. 
<a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/sh03sfyy23w81.webp"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-43524 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/sh03sfyy23w81.webp" alt="" width="1400" height="700" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/sh03sfyy23w81.webp 1400w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/sh03sfyy23w81-300x150.webp 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/sh03sfyy23w81-1024x512.webp 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/sh03sfyy23w81-768x384.webp 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px" /></a>
He is a shape-shifter that controls the dreams and nightmares of every mortal and immortal being in both worlds. Morpheus also has magical abilities, including teleportation and the power to alter reality. The story of <a href="http://netflixjunkie.com/tag/the-sandman">The Sandman</a> follows Morpheus&#8217;s quest to regain his powers and control of his realm after this century-long imprisonment.
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/what-to-watch-a-pumpkin-from-the-world-of-the-dreaming-an-exclusive-clip-introduces-mark-hamills-mervyn-pumpkinhead-from-the-sandman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Pumpkin From the World of the Dreaming, an Exclusive Clip Introduces Mark Hamill’s Mervyn Pumpkinhead From ‘The Sandman’</a>
What do you think of Tom Sturridge as Morpheus? <a href="https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81150303" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch</a> The Sandman, now streaming on Netflix, and let us know your thoughts.

“I was given a lot of creative freedom”: Kirby Howell-Baptiste Talks About Her
Expereince in ‘The Sandman’

A Pumpkin From the World of the Dreaming, an Exclusive Clip Introduces Mark
Hamill’s Mervyn Pumpkinhead From ‘The Sandman’

https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/netflixjunkie-logo-2.jpg

https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/sandman-netflix.jpg

Natasha is a writer at Netflix Junkie. Despite completing her Masters in Architecture from Hochschule Anhalt in Germany, she decided to follow her passion for storytelling. Apart from working as an architect in the past, Natasha currently also ghostwrites for various travel and lifestyle blogs like italyfoodies.com, mypureplants.com and more. Moreover, she has also been involved as a screenplay analyst with Outstanding Screenplays London. An avid cinephile, Natasha especially enjoys quirky dark comedies and gangster films. She can talk about films by Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie for days and even aspires to make her own film someday. When not at work, she can be found at at outdoor music concert or a stand-up gig. Additionally, she’s a feminist, LGBTQIA ally and a strong mental health advocate.

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description

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“We saw 1500-2000 Morpheuses”: Neil Gaiman Reveals How Tom Sturridge Surpassed Every Single Actor and Was Always His Dream

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