Boyd Holbrook says ‘The Sandman’s’ Corinthian is more Hannibal Lecter than The Joker

Today Netflix unveiled a look at its upcoming The Sandman series based on the comic of the same name and, ahead of its debut in August, stars are beginning to share what to expect and Boyd Holbrook says his Corinthian nightmare is like Hannibal Lecter.

“The Corinthian is basically the metamorphosis of your worst nightmare in the matrix of The Dreaming, created by Morpheus. When I first heard about this in talking to my friends and it seemed like a larger than life really outrageous character but the more I talked about it with Alan [Heinberg]and Neil [Gaiman] it seemed like it was a person that you would welcome into your home, the sort of kindness and the ease he would put you in it was more Hannibal that like a flamboyant Joker character.”

The former Logan antagonist gives his view of the part in a panel discussion Netflix posted to YouTube alongside a first look at the 11-episode series today. While speaking alongside his peers Holbrook also noted it was difficult to adjust to the role as the character wears glasses and, much of the time in acting, un-obstructed eyes are needed to convey emotions to the audience of a particular work.

“It was just very hard to calibrate being, you know, under these glasses and just how to … a lot of acting is done with your eyes. So that for me was something to adjust to.”

The Sandman also stars Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Patton Oswalt as Matthew the Raven, and Mark Hamill as Mervyn Pumpkinhead. Creator Neil Gaiman also developed the take, and co-wrote the teleplay for the opening show episode.