How filming naked in a glass sphere for weeks was good for ‘Sandman’s’ Tom Sturridge
I’m still having trouble putting my finger on the moment when “Sandman” and its “Man in Glass” were revealed. There was a long time between those early videos, and the one they made for the opening of the second season of the TV show (which was titled “The Doll”).
At the time, I was going through another breakup. The idea of that movie as a metaphor for my own situation made it very tempting. I was in a relationship, but we’d become friends, but we had a few fights a month or so. My girlfriend wanted me to go to therapy, and I figured I would just go through the motions of “attention” but in reality, I would go to the movies and have a beer, and then come home, eat dinner, and do the dishes. I knew that if I could just be present with her, I could heal. I was ready for a change — a real change.
I went to see “The Doll” at a theatre near my apartment, because I was already spending a lot of time at work. My girlfriend was out and my boss happened to be friends with her friend, who was a friend of her friend. I sat on the front row, and as I was about to leave, I saw a sign for the theatre and the film on the screen. I knew what the movie was about — a woman has to go up against her own demons in order to stay sane. There are all kinds of crazy people, and one of them is going to be me.
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“Sandman” went on to surprise so many people over the last decade, but its true power was in its relationship to the “Man in Glass.” That’s when I started to get it.
I think what set it apart from just another movie was that the protagonist was real — not a “god” made of sand or anything. The protagonist
