The Sandman breakout star Vivienne Acheampong on the fan-favorite Lucienne and her magical library

Even before its pages made their way to the screen, The Sandman was well-known for its vibrant supporting cast: From the spunky goth girl version of Death to the teeth-eyed serial killer known as the Corinthian, the morose Morpheus has always been surrounded by colorful characters. Now that The Sandman comic has been adapted for TV on Netflix, many of these characters have gotten new life thanks to talented actors. Weeks after release, Vivenne Acheampong's Lucienne stands as a strong breakout performance.

In the comic created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg, this character is called "Lucien" and is depicted as a white man. Since Lucien is a living dream, though, it would be wrong to say he's strictly bound to human notions of race and gender. So in Netflix's The Sandman, Lucienne is portrayed as a Black woman, while her core character traits — her job as the librarian of the Dreaming cataloguing every book ever written or dreamed, and the chief lieutenant of Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) in the administration of the realm — remain unchanged.

EW caught up with Acheampong to talk about bringing Lucienne to screen and what she would look for in the Dreaming's library.

Laurence Cendrowicz/Netflix Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was your relationship to The Sandman before taking on the role?

VIVIENNE ACHEAMPONG: I had heard of The Sandman, but I wasn't that familiar with the work. So when I first auditioned, I was told that I was auditioning for Unity Kinkaid. Then when I got a callback, it was for Lucienne, although the name was different, so I looked into it. When I had my third callback, I got some source material, and as soon as I did a deep dive, I was obsessed.

I loved it because I just love the whole concept of dreams. Dreams are something that I've really always been interested in. So as soon as I found out about the character and what it was in the world, I was just like, "I better get this job. I need to get this job."

As you were reading the source material and crafting your portrayal, what stood out to you as the essential qualities of Lucienne?

I think "fiercely loyal" — probably loyal to a fault. There's such a deep, unique, sacred bond between her and Morpheus. Even though there is that dynamic where he's her boss for all intents and purposes, there's just a real deep connection and a love that she has for him.

He's been captured and treated in the most inhumane way and has seen the worst of humanity. She knows the essence of Dream and she understands the way he is. She understands why he is like that, because he's got everyone's dreams and thoughts and feelings inside him. So he needs those rules and regulations to preserve himself. She understands that, and she respects it because she loves the Dreaming and what it stands for. We all go to the Dreaming. Sexuality and race don't matter — everyone dreams. That's where we can let loose our deepest fears and fantasies. So she understands the importance of that and she understands why Dream is the way he is. But when he comes back after he's been captured, it's altered him. So one of the things that I wanted to capture is that she's a gentle reminder for him of who he is, because he's been so hardened by that brutal experience.

Speaking of Lucienne's close relationship with Morpheus, what was it like working with Tom? There are certain characters that are only in one episode, but Lucienne and Morpheus are always in contact.

(sarcastically) Oh, he's a nightmare. He's so hard to work with. (laughs)

When I first saw scripts I was like, "oh my God, who's playing Morpheus?" And then, "oh God, what's Tom like?" You are scared and you are nervous and you're like, "oh God, I hope they like me," and all those insecure things that actors do. Then you meet Tom and he's just the most lovely, gentle, caring, gorgeous human being you can just encounter.

I met him and he just flooded me with gorgeousness and I absolutely loved him. Then we get on set and he's Morpheus. It was incredible because we built that bond so quickly. It was a really safe space to just live in these characters. He's so generous as an actor, he gives you so much. I think people can see that he's absolutely mind-blowing in this role. So working with him was just incredible because he's so detailed in this character. He just embodied Morpheus. Everything that he does is so specific. Every word that he says is just amazing. So for me as an actor, he just made me up my game, listening and reacting and being there with him, because you can't not be, because he's just given you so much. He's amazing.

Seems like Tom is a better colleague than Morpheus, maybe.

I wouldn't want to comment!

Liam Daniel/Netflix Tom Sturridge as Morpheus in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

One of my favorite concepts in The Sandman is Lucienne's library and how it contains every book ever written or dreamed. What would you love to look for in Lucienne's library? For me, after Hellboy creator Mike Mignola recently revealed that he almost drew an arc of the original Sandman comic, that's what I'm looking for next time I'm in the library of the Dreaming.

I feel I'm a lot more selfish than you, then! I'd look for my childhood. This isn't a therapy session, but I can't remember a lot of stuff sometimes, especially from when I was really young. So I think I'd probably look for something like that.

And then maybe something else, like Beyoncé's process. Let me see how you get those thighs to look like that, and where the music comes from.

Did you ask Neil Gaiman for guidance at all? When I talked to Mason Alexander Park, they said Neil gave them some guidance about Desire.

He was definitely, always a presence there. From story beats to costumes, everything had to have Neil's pass — including Lucienne's glasses and the ears.

Lucienne's pointy ears are subtle. I didn't notice them on the show until someone else pointed them out.

I loved the ears because they're so subtle. I wanted to keep them, so now I have a pair at home.

But what I did get from Neil was that he's so fiercely supportive of us. He was just like, "Trust yourself. You got picked for this part for a reason." Thanks to Neil's work, the characters are just so rich and everything is already there. So as an actor, it's like a complete dream. Because it's just there for you already. And then you've got Allan Heinberg, who's just adapted it beautifully.

Even though it's fantasy and people might think like, "Oh whatever," it's one of those things that when you're at drama school, you dream of being in, because you're just getting to breathe and live these characters and really embody them. We were guided, but also given absolute freedom to bring these characters to screen.

Did you have any particular favorite scenes to film in season 1?

Actually, one of my favorite scenes was the scene that I had with Boyd [Holbrook], because that was a bit last-minute. And I was like, "He's just so good," because he's this terrifying character. He's this nightmare. He's just awful. But yet you love him and he's got this charm. And at the end, I really feel for him. I'd love to do more scenes with the Corinthian because that was really thrilling to work with. He's a very exciting presence when you're working with him.

What are you most excited about going forward with Lucienne, if the show gets renewed for season 2?

If the Endless had a family get-together, I'd love Lucienne to just be there, being like, "Guys, I've come to be a mediator, mentor, whatever you need me to be." But I would just love to see all those siblings together, I think it would be incredible.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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