The Sandman's Boyd Holbrook Weighs In On The Corinthian's Attractiveness
Neil Gaiman has long maintained that there is no overarching villain in "The Sandman," insisting, "It's not that kind of story." However, while Season 1 of Netflix's "The Sandman" had multiple antagonists for Dream (Tom Sturridge) to tangle with, none were more archetypally villainous than Boyd Holbrook's character, The Corinthian.
Created as a nightmare, The Corinthian left The Dreaming to live in the Waking World among the people while Dream was imprisoned. But whereas some nightmares who escaped chose to help people, The Corinthian fed on the humans he was created to serve. After Lord Morpheus's return, he became obsessed with tracking down Rose Walker (Vanesu Samunyai), a Dream Vortex who he hoped could kill Morpheus for good, thus allowing him to stay among the Waking. His plot led to a final showdown with Dream in the Season 1 finale.
Aside from having sets of teeth where his eyes should be — a deformity he covers with some stylish shades — The Corinthian is shown to use his good looks to get what he wants. While he kills many of the people he encounters, he charms or seduces others, whether to pry information out of them, or simply to get them alone before plucking out their eyes. Now, in a recent interview, Boyd Holbrook explained how he found his way into the role vis-a-vis The Corinthian's attractiveness.
Holbrook was uncomfortable with The Corinthian's seductiveness at first
Speaking to Polygon, Boyd Holbrook discussed the magnetic charm exuded by his character, The Corinthian, on "The Sandman," explaining how he had to find his way into the sexual energy of the role by working past some initial discomfort. "I think there was a sexuality to The Corinthian that I ... had never wanted to do, nor asked to do, so that was definitely something that was uncomfortable in the beginning that I had to work my way into," he said.
Of course, The Corinthian is a serial killer with a penchant for eating people's eyeballs, so his particular brand of seduction is emotionless, his charm a façade. While Holbrook says he was given latitude to find a way of making the character work, his initial apprehension was that he would be tied down to a particular version. "I really thought that I would have to do, or I [would feel] some obligation to bring something else to the role that wasn't on the page. But Neil Gaiman and Allan Heinberg, our showrunner, really just put me at ease with that," he explained.
Holbrook also said his character's ability to sway people became a valuable tool. "Because rather than a hindrance," the actor said, "it's more of a weapon."