Fans of the Neil Gaiman novel American Gods have been anxiously awaiting word on which actor would be cast in the lead role of Shadow Moon. Now they finally have an answer.
Starz has announced that Ricky Whittle, best known for his role as Lincoln on The CW’s The 100, has been cast as Shadow. Whittle was one of the top fan wishlist choices in the smart #CastingShadow hashtag campaign Starz set up to get a good idea who those most excited about the show would like to see in the role. Other favorites were Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa and True Blood star Joe Manganiello.
Of the big announcement, Gaiman said:
“I’m thrilled that Ricky has been cast as Shadow. His auditions were remarkable. The process of taking a world out of the pages of a book, and putting it onto the screen has begun. American Gods is, at its heart, a book about immigrants, and it seems perfectly appropriate that Shadow will, like so much else, be Coming to America. I’m delighted Ricky will get to embody Shadow. Now the fun starts.”
Showrunners Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) and Michael Green (Kings) also released a statement, saying:
“We searched every continent and country and all the islands in between for our Shadow Moon, and we are lucky to have found Ricky. Fans of the novel will find he has every bit of the heart of the character they fell in love with.”
Other things Whittle has appeared in include Austenland, Hollyoaks, Mistresses, NCIS, and Holby City.
More information on American Gods:
American Gods been translated into over 30 languages and earned numerous accolades including Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker Awards for Best Novel. The plot posits a war brewing between old and new gods: the traditional gods of mythological roots from around the world steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday, a conman but in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities.
Holy Crap.
This is going to be amazing.
Comment by GoodNarget — February 1, 2016 @ 11:39 am