John Cameron Mitchell -- writer, director and star of the 2001 Sundance Award-winning film Hedwig and the Angry Inch -- has joined the cast of Netflix's The Sandman in the role of Hal Carter."Music to our ears: John Cameron Mitchell will be bringing the iconic role of Hal to life," the official Sandman Twitter account wrote today, Aug. 2. Mitchell's involvement in The Sandman was quietly announced in a Netflix Tudum article published on July 28.
Hal Carter first appeared in 1989's Sandman #11, written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Mike Dringenberg, inked by Malcolm Jones III, colored by Robbie Busch and lettered by John Costanza. A drag queen, Hal owns a house in Florida, renting out its rooms to various eccentric tenants. One person who came to live in Hal's house was none other than Rose Walker (played in the Netflix adaptation by Vanesu Samunyai), who possesses the rare ability break down the barriers between the Dreaming and the waking world.
"Hal Carter is a drag queen who dreams of being a Broadway star but currently lives in Cape Kennedy, Florida, where he converted his grandmother's house to a B&B," Netflix's official character description for Hal reads. "He's extremely friendly and welcoming to his highly eccentric tenants who have practically become a family."
Dream the World Anew
The Sandman is slated to premiere on Netflix this Friday, Aug. 5. The live-action show is based on the comic book series of the same name co-created by Gaiman, which was originally published by DC under its Vertigo Comics imprint, running for 75 issues from December 1988 to approximately February 1996. Netflix's adaptation stars Tom Sturridge in the lead role of Morpheus, aka Dream of the Endless.
In addition to Sturridge, Mitchell and Samunyai, Netflix's The Sandman stars Boyd Holbrook as the Corinthian, Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, David Thewlis as John Dee, Vivienne Acheampong​​​​​​​ as Lucienne​​​​​​​, Patton Oswalt​​​​​​​ as Matthew the Raven​​​​​​​, Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, Gwendoline Christie​​​​​​​ as Lucifer Morningstar, Kirby Howell-Baptiste​​​​​​​ as Death of the Endless, Mason Alexander Park as Desire of the Endless, Mark Hamill as Mervyn Pumpkinhead and Razane Jammal​​​​​​​ as Lyta Hall.
The Sandman Season 1 premieres Aug. 5 on Netflix.
Source: Twitter; Netflix Tudum