As American Gods, the Starz adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel, moves closer to its April production start, actor Ricky Whittle has been cast in the lead role of Shadow Moon.
In the novel, about the struggle between the gods of old (mythological legends from around the world) and new (reflecting modern society's love for money, technology and celebrity, among other things), Shadow is trying to come to grips with his suddenly changing life and his connection with the Norse god Odin. For Gaiman, Whittle is the perfect choice: "I'm thrilled that Ricky has been cast as Shadow. His auditions were remarkable. The process of taking a world out of the pages of a book, and putting it onto the screen has begun. American Gods is, at its heart, a book about immigrants, and it seems perfectly appropriate that Shadow will, like so much else, be Coming to America. I'm delighted Ricky will get to embody Shadow. Now the fun starts."
A native of Oldham, the 34-year-old actor counts among his credits The 100, Hollyoaks, Mistresses, NCIS and Holby City.
Showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green issued a statement reading, "We searched every continent and country and all the islands in between for our Shadow Moon, and we are lucky to have found Ricky. Fans of the novel will find he has every bit of the heart of the character they fell in love with."
Fuller describes Shadow's arc over the course of the series to be akin to "an atheist who becomes an agnostic who becomes a believer who becomes a zealot who becomes a demigod who becomes a god."