American Gods author Neil Gaiman has spoken before about protecting the diversity of his characters when adapting them to screen and the latest casting reports reflect that.
Entertainment Weekly reported Sleepy Hollow star Orlando Jones and 12 Monkeys' Demore Barnes have joined Bryan Fuller's Starz series starring Ricky Whittle as Shadow Moon.
“Jones will play Mr. Nancy on the show, one of the gods Shadow meets – and, arguably, befriends – during his visit to the House on the Rock, a.k.a. the American landmark where the gods assemble,” they write. “Nancy is the human form of the West African trickster god Anansi, who is classically depicted as a spider and has a penchant for telling stories.” Gaiman fans also know Mr. Nancy is also the lead of his other novel, Anansi Boys.
We cannot wait to see what tricks @TheOrlandoJones has up his sleeve as the mythical Mr. Nancy. #AmericanGods pic.twitter.com/doU3uesX1W
– American Gods (@AmericanGodsSTZ) June 15, 2016
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If you fancy Anansi, join us in welcoming @TheOrlandoJones to #AmericanGods as Mr. Nancy! pic.twitter.com/h44Kmp57yD
– American Gods (@AmericanGodsSTZ) June 15, 2016
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The social media-savvy Jones took to Twitter to celebrate.
Damn, I was low key hoping it was gonna be #MorganFreeman or #GarrettMorris. #TrollandoIsInTheBuilding
– Orlando Jones (@TheOrlandoJones) June 15, 2016
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“I can dance like an angel, fight like a cornered bear, plan better than a fox, sing like a nightingale…” #MrNancy pic.twitter.com/F8ezU19ojr
– Orlando Jones (@TheOrlandoJones) June 15, 2016
EW notes Barnes is “set to play Mr. Ibis, 'the keeper of stories, past and present, and he recounts them with great relish.' Mr. Ibis runs a funeral parlor, is fascinated with death, and briefly takes Shadow under his wing.”
Have you been *craning* to see who'll play Mr. Ibis? Look no further, it”s @DemoreBarnes! Welcome to #AmericanGods. pic.twitter.com/bV32P7Icix
– American Gods (@AmericanGodsSTZ) June 15, 2016
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We recently reported on The X-Files and Hannibal star Gillian Anderson being cast as Media in the series and Omid Abtahi (Argo) was also just cast as Salim. Chris Obi is playing Ibis' partner Mr. Jacquel. Other casting so far includes:
Ian McShane – Mr. Wednesday
Emily Browning – Laura Moon
Pablo Schreiber – Mad Sweeney
Yetide Badaki – Bilquis
Bruce Langley – Technical Boy
Crispin Glover – Mr. World
Jonathan Tucker – Low Key Lyesmith
Peter Stormare – Czernobog
Cloris Leachman – Zorya Vechernyaya
American Gods is currently in production.