Mason Alexander Park began the casting process for Desire by tweeting at the show's original creator, they said in EW's cast interview at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
The Sandman boasts a cast of colorful, high-concept characters played by many skilled actors. Some of them, like Tom Sturridge (who plays the protagonist Morpheus, the king of dreams) and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (who plays his older sister, Death) had to overcome very competitive audition processes.
Mason Alexander Park, though, earned the role of Desire by... tweeting at The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman. Park is a non-binary actor, and Desire has been depicted as a non-binary character (the living embodiment of lust and sex) since Gaiman originally created them in the comic.
"I was a big fan of this comic, and I found out it was being made while I was in production on another project," Park said as part of EW's video interview with The Sandman cast at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday. "I was very delirious at 4 in the morning in New Zealand, losing my mind in quarantine because they took everything very seriously, and I was like, 'You know what? I think I'm gonna tweet at Neil and see if Desire's been cast yet.' That sort of started the conversation around doing the show. I'm very honored that was my introduction to everything. It's been the gift that keeps on giving."
Read the rest on: https://ew.com/events/comic-con/the-sandman-actor-got-role-tweeting-neil-gaiman-comic-con-2022/
I am so very glad that tweet happened. Mason is the perfect Desire.