Sandman Star Mason Alexander Park Landed The Role Of Desire In The DMs

Tweeting at a celeb at 4 a.m. while “delirious” is rarely a good idea. But for nonbinary actor Mason Alexander Park (Cowboy Bebop), it lead to them landing a role of Desire on one of the most highly anticipated series coming to Netflix this summer, The Sandman. 

Park shared the story with Entertainment Weekly over the weekend during San Diego Comic-Con. “I was a big fan of [The Sandman] comic, and I found out it was being made while I was in production on another project,” Park recalled. “I was very delirious at 4 in the morning in New Zealand, losing my mind in quarantine because they took everything very seriously, and I was like, ‘You know what? I think I’m gonna tweet at Neil [Gaiman] and see if Desire’s been cast yet.’ That sort of started the conversation around doing the show. I’m very honored that was my introduction to everything. It’s been the gift that keeps on giving.”

For those unfamiliar with the source material, Desire is a member of The Endless, god-like embodiments of the natural forces they personify. In Park’s case, they represent everything you’ve ever wanted, including love and lust. They’re depicted as being strikingly beautiful and genderfluid. In other words, a perfect role for Park.

The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman agreed, recalling the tweet and saying that part of what made it stand out, despite the late hour, was the professionalism.

“You did the clever thing,” Gaiman said. “Instead of just going, ‘Hey, cast me as Desire,’ you asked, ‘Has Desire been cast yet?’ But the other half of your tweet, which was really important, was ‘who’s the casting director?’ I was like, oh, this is a real person reaching out. So I told you who the casting director was... and also quietly checked out a few of your videos and sent them over to [showrunner] Allan [Heinberg] and said, ‘Hey, I think we may have found Desire.”

The Sandman premieres August 5 on Netflix. Watch the trailer for season one below. 

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