Neil Gaiman, creator of Amazon Prime Video’s Good Omens, has revealed an interesting tidbit about how star David Tennant almost lost out to Johnny Depp for the role of Crowley.
As Gaiman explained on his official Tumblr page, proving that the site serves a purpose other than questionable Sonic fan art, The Sandman author said he had lobbied Amazon hard for Dr. Who’s Tennant to helm Crowley throughout the pre-production process.
“They thought he was too much like Michael Sheen, they wanted a movie star, particularly Johnny Depp. I didn’t,” Giaman wrote.
This back and forth between the author and Amazon over who would play Crowley went on “for months,” Gaiman said.
“Finally David was one day away from agreeing to make someone else’s movie, and I phoned Amazon and told them that if they didn’t agree to cast David we didn’t have a show as I didn’t have another choice, and they had to trust me. And they sighed and said ‘Well, if you’re that passionate about casting David, okay.'”
Gaiman said the people at Amazon later admitted he “might have had a point,” adding that the company is now “very happy” that he stuck to his guns.
For those not familiar, Good Omens is a comedy-drama about an angel and a demon trying to stop Armageddon. It stars Tenant as the demon Crowley and Michael Sheen as Aziraphale.
The first season adapted the whole of the best-selling book of the same name upon which the show is based, which was co-written by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Pratchett has now passed away, but the upcoming second season is based on ideas the pair had for an unwritten sequel.
Good Omens season two is reportedly under production but does not yet have a release date.