Actor Tom Sturridge details the process The Sandman's creative team went through to translate Dream's iconic look from the comics for television.

Actor Tom Sturridge, the actor behind The Sandman's Dream (aka Morpheus), explained how the creative team achieved the comic book character's iconic pale skin in real life.

Apparently, it took multiple attempts. "I'm an intense fan of The Sandman, and the first thing that I wanted was a literal translation of what’s on the page onto my body," Sturridge told Netflix's Tudum. "And so we painted my skin as white as an A4 piece of paper. I had black contact lenses with stars, and the hair was huge and wild exactly as it is. And I thought I looked amazing." However, the look "just didn't work" because when the actor would walk around Shepperton Studios "people would just double take and go, 'What the fuck? Are you going to do some sort of Halloween movie?'"

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Ultimately, Sandman creator and award-winning author Neil Gaiman became heavily involved in the adaptation of his beloved series. He set the creative team on track in terms of Dream's real-world aesthetic and design. "Neil, who was there the entire time and guiding all of it, felt that the most important thing with Morpheus was as if he was walking through the streets of London or New York or wherever, that he blends in with his surroundings. That he’s at one with the fabric of the world," explained Sturridge.

"I definitely stayed away from the sun," the actor continued. "It was the height of COVID, and we were all imprisoned in our homes, so that wasn't very difficult. Part of the thing when we were doing the camera test, Neil ended up kind of coming up to me and going, 'The thing is, Tom, you are sickly pale, and your hair is always messy. And if I look very closely into your eyes, I can see the cosmos. So we're good.'"

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The story of The Sandman follows Dream as he attempts to reclaim his kingdom and power after being imprisoned for over a century by an arrogant magician, who was trying to capture his older sister, Death. Gaiman's comics were critical and financial successes, becoming pop culture icons and winning many prestigious awards, including multiple Eisner Awards and a Hugo Award. Netflix's adaptation is currently on track to mirror that success, having already achieved a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Sandman premiered on Netflix on Aug. 5, and, alongside Sturridge, it stars Mason Alexander Park as Desire and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death.

Hayley is a News Writer for CBR. In 2021, she earned her PhD in Communication & Rhetoric from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and currently works in the Department of Communication, Liberal Arts, and Social Sciences at New Mexico Tech. Her research examines the linguistic structure of storytelling and pop culture. She can often be found marathoning horror movies instead of sleeping, playing puzzle games, and reading a probably unhealthy amount of fanfiction.

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