The Corinthian is all about the eyes.
So I latched onto that," Holbrook tells EW over Zoom.
“If you have a disability, or a special ability, it’s not special to you.
Boyd Holbrook tells EW about playing The Corinthian in ‘The Sandman’ on Netflix.Liam Daniel/Netflix
It’s second nature, so you don’t really have to present it.
It’s just in a fluid motion.
So I really saw the power in that and how to make it unique.”
The Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook) shows off his horrific eye-teeth on ‘The Sandman.'.Netflix
As created by Gaiman and artist Mike Dringenberg, the Corinthian first appeared in issue 10 ofThe Sandmancomic.
Holbrook adds that the horror of the eye-teeth comes from “the surrealness of it all.
It’s familiar, but on a primordial level, it doesn’t belong there.”
Jed Walker (Eddie Karanja) is charmed by The Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook) on ‘The Sandman.'.Liam Daniel/Netflix
That was tricky to me.
But Neil and [showrunner] Allan Heinberg reassured me, like, ‘Trust us.
It’s going to be a benefit, not a hindrance.’
Dream (Tom Sturridge) and the Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook) in ‘The Sandman.'.Netflix
Once I embraced that, we took off."
But the Corinthian of the comics is also a little ratty.
“I just started investigating what kind of character this guy is.
Early on, we figured out that after living a millennia, you become quite sophisticated.
You become a connoisseur of things,” Holbrook says.
“There’s an elegance in that.
The Corinthian’s role is also expanded from the comic.
The show even presents a relatable motivation for the Corinthian.
He doesn’t just want to kill and terrify people for the sake of it.
Like a demented version of a Disney protagonist, this Corinthian wants to be real.
“I think we all yearn for something that we don’t have,” Holbrook says.
So there’s a sadness to him and definitely an outsider point of view.
There’s a lost quality that we are fumbling through life to find.
I think I really relate to that.
I’m sure a lot of people can.”
I’d love to do more scenes with the Corinthian because that was really thrilling to work with.
He’s a very exciting presence when you’re working with him."
But is that really the end for the Corinthian?
Readers ofThe Sandmancomic know that Dream later recreates the Corinthian as more of an antihero than a villain.
He’s already excited about the possibilities.
“I think you’ll have people on the hook.
you could reel them back and forth and really play with that.
I think that’s going to be even better, actually.”
Holbrook continues, “I’ve been getting some information trickling down about that.
But I love that the Corinthian has made an impact and that people dig it.”
Season 1 ofThe Sandmanis streaming now on Netflix.
