One of the most eagerly anticipated adaptations of 2017 is Starzâs âAmerican Gods,â and executive producers and showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green said issues of representation and inclusion were on their minds not just during the casting process but during the writing of the show, which is now in production in Toronto.
The lead of âAmerican Godsâ is Ricky Whittle, who is black, and there was ânever any questionâ that the characterâs race would be otherwise, Fuller noted during a panel at the summer Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills.
âIt just felt like in order to be true to the book, you had to cast the character who was written, who is not white,â Fuller said. Thatâs not to say the process was easy; Fuller said that by Whittleâs count, the actor auditioned for the role 16 times before booking it.
âWhen you have so much that is about peopleâs cultures coming in, you need to be culturally literate in all respects,â Green added. âYouâre dealing with ancient mythologies and gods. Those come from places and look a certain way. That just set the tenor of the whole thing.â
The producers said they frequently consult Neil Gaiman, who wrote the book the series is based on, as they adapt and cast his story for TV.
âThe fun thing is, weâre not colorblind casting, weâre actually very consciously aware of color in the cast and ethnic specificity, because the book is so culturally specific,â Fuller said. âThere have been times where a character has been described as having very dark skin, and weâve made a suggestion to Neil, and heâs like, âOh, that actor is black. The character needs to be Indian. Even though itâs written that they have very dark skin, the character is absolutely Indian and it needs to be an Indian actor.â Thatâs been kind of a great relief, because itâs a map that we just stick to.â
As they began elaborating on the vision of Gaimanâs novel, theyâve paid special attention to the roles for women.
âIn the novel, itâs very much a sausage party. Itâs about two guys on a road trip,â Fuller said. âWe have such fantastic female characters in the piece, we wanted to expand that.â
Speaking of casting, Fuller briefly addressed the casting of comic and actor Dane Cook, who joins fellow cast members Whittle, Kristen Chenoweth, Ian McShane, Gillian Anderson, Yetide Badaki and Bruce Langley, among others.Â
They needed an actor who could play âa really entertaining dick,â Fuller said.
âWhen his name came up, it was really hard to see [the role] in a different way,â Green said.
âHeâs really very savvy as an artist and understands the perception of his brand, and how to subvert it with the show,â Fuller added.
Religion can be a divisive element in the culture, but âAmerican Gods,â according to the producers, largely sidesteps that, spending almost no time on the biggest religions in the world.
âLargely itâs about forgotten myths and forgotten cultures,â Green said. âIt manages to discuss religion in an inclusive way that invites all,â including agnostics.
âWe were both raised with religion,â said Fuller, who was raised in the Catholic faith (Green was raised Jewish).
âWe have an affection and respect for religion and itâs hard not to recognize the inspiration that religion gives people,â Fuller said. âWe want to continue to reinforce the positive aspects of it.â
On a different note, Fuller called upon California politicians to come up with tax incentives that would keep more TV and film productions in the state. âAmerican Godsâ is filmed in Toronto, which has âstellarâ crews, he noted, even as he acknowledged the production is in the city due to Canadian tax breaks.
âUntil California gets competitive, and I really, sincerely hope it does ⊠weâre going to be hemorrhaging productions to places that offer better tax incentives.â Fuller said. âI really hope the state of California steps up.â
