Recasts happen all the time. A lot of our favorite on-screen characters landed that position because someone else had stepped away. Whatever cinematic powers above willed for the original pick to be gone and to bring in who rightfully deserved that role. While it might not always be the case, we can, for the most part; all agree that Pablo Schreiber’s casting in STARZ American Gods as Mad Sweeney was a match made in heaven. Sweeney is a leprechaun who aids Mr. Wednesday, much to his chagrin; and is loosely based on the lore of Buile Shuibhne – an Irish king driven mad from a curse after fleeing battle.
If you didn’t know, though; Schreiber was not always meant to don the orange hair and magical gold coin. Actor Sean Harris was originally meant for that role. Known for his roles as Solomon Lane in the recent Mission Impossible movies, Harris was well-received when the announcement of his inclusion in American Gods became public. Standing at 6’0′, Harris fit well into the description of Mad Sweeney; a tall leprechaun who is a hard drinker and always ready for a good fight.
A winner of a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in the 2013 series Southcliffe, Harris had spent a week filming for the show based off a novel by Neil Gaiman. As I went digging on Tumblr, I found a page that had even captured some behind the scenes photos. In one, you can clearly see Sean Harris donning the red hair and interacting with Ricky Whittle (Shadow Moon) and Ian McShane (Mr. Wednesday).
As you can see, Harris really was involved in American Gods. Due to personal reasons, though; Harris had to step away from the role. In walked Pablo Schreiber. Standing at 6’5″, Schreiber was originally pegged for the role as Sweeney, but turned it down initially. After Harris walked away, Schreiber requested being offered the role without auditioning and also wished to see how he would look in a red wig first, before accepting. Needless to say, he must have liked what he saw.
While it’s safe to say that we’ll never see any footage of Harris playing the character, if it even exists; we can see what he would have looked like. Every actor brings a certain part of themselves to a project, so I do wonder what Mad Sweeney and Laura Moon’s adventure would have looked like with Harris playing the part. As a biased fan, I have to say I’m very happy about the casting change.
American Gods was renewed for a 2nd season, which will premiere sometime in 2019. A panel of the cast and series creator himself Neil Gaiman will attend New York Comic Con, on Friday, October 5th from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.
You can see Sean Harris in Mission Impossible: Fallout, which is out right now in theaters and getting amazing reviews.