Jill Winternitz, who plays The Good Doctor in Netflix‘s The Sandman, had an unlikely source of information right within her family for her murderous character’s day job.
In an interview with fan site swirlywords, Winternitz explained that her acting process “involves doing as much research and preparation as I possibly can, and then trusting that enough to throw it all away.” Asked about how her role in The Sandman, she said, “Playing The Good Doctor was fascinating on many levels. I did a deep dive into her ‘why’ — the events in her life that have brought her to this place. It was never for me to judge her, only to understand her. She (like all of us) is doing the best she can. On a practical level, it helped having a surgeon for a father as I was able to call and get surgery/scalpel tips when necessary. Thanks Dad!”
Winternitz played The Good Doctor in three episodes of Season 1 of The Sandman, which is based on Neil Gaiman‘s classic DDC horror comic of the same name. An organizer for an event called the “Cereal Convention,” The Good Doctor kept a dark secret: every attendee, including herself, was actually a serial killer.
The Sandman and Good Omens, two shows based on Neil Gaiman’s writing
Winternitz has also appeared in Prime Video’s Good Omens, another adaptation of Gaiman’s work. “There’s definitely a pressure to do justice to the extraordinary source material that is so beloved by fans the world over,” she said about the two shows. “Luckily, I was in very safe hands with the creative team and my fellow cast.”
The Sandman Season 1 came to Netflix in 2021. The story follows Tom Sturridge’s Dream, also called Morpheus or simply the Sandman, who is an immortal entity ruling over the domain of dreams and imagination. After he is held captive for decades by humans who were seeking his sister Death, Dream escapes and begins to rebuild his kingdom, approaching his duties with a somewhat changed perspective.
A release window for Season 2 has not yet been announced, but a series adapting The Sandman spin-off comics Dead Boy Detectives is also in the works at Netflix and will be set in the same world.
