Why do dreams and nightmares exist? Researchers have studied the meaning behind why people and animals have dreams. Yet one author offered an unimaginable and fantastical answer about what happens when everyone closes their eyes. The author of popular books such as Coraline, American Gods, and Stardust, Neil Gaiman, brought viewers into a world where Morpheus controls dreams and nightmares in the book, The Sandman.
Filmmakers developed his book into a television series that will debut on Netflix on August 5, 2022. Morpheus is the principal character on the show, but there are a few other characters that are as mysterious as Morpheus and aspire to gain his power.
Kirby Howell-Baptiste
Her character might not sport the hood and wield a scythe, but her presence makes individuals know that their time on Earth is up. Kirby Howell-Baptiste plays Death, Dreams' older sister and a member of The Endless. In some TV series such as Supernatural, Death, is seen as a cold and hardheaded figure, but Howell-Baptiste's take on Death presents a kinder side to Death.
Viewers might have previously heard Howell-Baptiste's voice as she voiced Dr. Mae Turner, the scientist studying dinosaurs' behavior, in the TV series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2021 - 2022). She also appeared in the TV series Killing Eve (2018 - 2022), where her character Elena Felton worked as Eve's assistant. Killing Eve is available on Hulu, and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is available on Netflix.
Mason Alexander Park
Mason Alexander Park plays Desire in the TV series, a gender-fluid figure. Desire and Despair are twins, and they both are considered The Endless. Desire enjoys causing trouble. Even though, at one point, Desire was considered Dream's favorite sibling. Desire doesn't consider the consequences of their actions regardless of how severe they turned out to be.
Before playing Desire in Sandman, Alexander Park appeared in an episode of iCarly (2007 - 2012). Their most recent role includes playing Gren in the science-fiction television series, Cowboy Bebop (2021). Gren survived the Titan War, despite being arrested for spying. iCarly and Cowboy Bebop are available on Netflix.
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt voices Matthew the Raven. In Gaiman's book, Matthew once took the form of a human named Matthew John Cable. Because he suffered severe injuries from a car crash, he fell into a coma. While he died in reality, he still existed in Dreaming and agreed to take on the form of a raven.
Oswalt might not have always appeared in TV shows. In some cases, his voice served as narrator. In The Goldbergs, he was the narrator telling the story of what the 80s looked like in a multigenerational family. Aside from narrating, Oswalt played Principal Ralph Durbin in the TV series A.P. Bio (2018 - 2021). The Goldbergs is available on Hulu, and A.P. Bio is available on Pluto.
Gwendoline Christie
The comics created by Vertigo borrowed elements of Neil Gaiman's work to tell the story of Lucifer Morningstar, the fallen angel, and ruler of Hell. In 2016, the comics were adapted to the television series Lucifer. In Sandman, Gwendoline Christie portrays the chilling yet soft-spoken Lucifer. Lucifer and Morpheus (Dream) have a tense relationship, and Lucifer doesn't vow to bend the rules to meet Morpheus's needs.
In 2022, besides Sandman, Christie will appear in the 2022 Netflix TV series Wednesday as Larissa Weems. Her recognizable roles include playing Brienne of Tarth, the knight of the House of Tarth, in the acclaimed TV series Games of Thrones (2012-2019). Games of Thrones is available on HBO Max.
Boyd Holbrook
The Corinthian, Boyd Holbrook's character, is mischievous and lives to create chaos. He creates nightmares, but he doesn't limit himself to only planning nightmares. He also murdered a man and manipulated people to act on their homicidal thoughts.
Before Sandman, Holbrook appeared in the 2022 film, Vengeance, where he played Ty Shaw. In 2021, he starred alongside John David Washington in the thriller Beckett. Holbrook played Stephan Tynan, who worked in the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece. In 2020, he played Mike Ferro in the TV miniseries, The Fugitive, available on The Roku Channel. Vengeance is currently in theaters, and Beckett is available on Netflix.
Jenna Coleman
Jenna Coleman portrays Johanna Constantine in Sandman. Johanna Constantine was born and lived in an aristocratic family until her parent's death. She longed to return to that life, even if that meant finding and returning the most dangerous and powerful weapon in the world, Pandora's Box.
In 2021, Coleman played Marie-Andrée Leclerc in the TV series The Serpent. Her character in the TV series is based on the real Leclerc, the girlfriend of the convicted murderer, Charles Sobhraj. In addition to The Serpent, Coleman led the TV series Victoria (2016 - 2019) about the young Queen Victoria. The Serpent is available on Netflix, and Victoria is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Tom Sturridge
Tom Sturridge portrays a mysterious character named Morpheus. His character is referred to by other names such as Dream and Sandman. The existence of humankind rests on dreams, but for centuries, Morpheus lived in a glass bottle and lost the tools needed to control dreams.
Sturridge's first acting role was in 1996 when he played Tom Gulliver in the miniseries Gulliver's Travels. He starred in the romantic comedy, Waiting for Forever (2010). He played Will Donner. Will was devoted to reuniting with his childhood friend and crush Emma. Sturridge's most recent role prior to Sandman was in the TV series Irma Vep (2022), where he played Eamonn. Eamonn was Mira's (Alicia Vikander) ex-boyfriend. Mira was an actress that had difficulty separating her professional life from her personal life. Irma Vep is available on HBO Max, Waiting for Forever is available on Prime Video, and the 1996 miniseries Gulliver's Travels is available on Tubi.