AMERICAN GODS S3
RICKY WHITTLE REVEALS THE MAGIC OF AMERICAN GODS S3…
Ricky Whittle on his little trip to Lakeside. No, not that one.
THERE’S A LOT COEN ON
The third season of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods finds demigod Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) hiding out in the snowy town of Lakeside. It’s Whittle’s favourite part of Gaiman’s book. “It’s when the story really does flip and take a turn into a murder mystery,” says the star. “Everyone loves a mystery, that small-town Fargo feel, which is very much what the show is this season.” Shooting took place in Port Perry, Canada, where Whittle and co had to contend with minus-20-degree weather. “It was awful to film in!” recalls Whittle. “I’ve never felt cold like that. When your eyelashes start freezing… and I’m having to redo takes because my mouth won’t work!”
THE STATES WE’RE IN
With the Old Gods – led by Ian McShane’s cunning Mr. Wednesday (or Norse legend Odin if you prefer) – continuing to face off with the New Gods of technology, the battleground is once again America. “The struggles of the gods and the people in Season 3 of American Gods are the struggles of America,” says Gaiman. “[We wanted] to explore what ‘America’ means to its people and to talk about immigrants – about the very different people who came to this remarkable land and brought their gods with them.”
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
With Shadow safely (or maybe not...) ensconced in Lakeside, S3 introduces plenty of newbies. Among them is Lela Loren as Marguerite Olsen, a reporter for the Lakeside News. “It is a very different season for Shadow, and Marguerite is a very big part of that,” says Whittle. Other newcomers include Dominique Jackson (as Ms. World, a new incarnation of Mr. World); rocker Marilyn Manson (as death-metal singer Johan Wengren) and Smallville’s Eric Johnson (as Lakeside’s police chief Chad Mulligan). Whittle was, to put it mildly, starstruck by the latter. “The first time I met him, I didn’t even say ‘Hello’; I said, ‘I loved you in Smallville!’”
RAISING VOICES
With new showrunner Charles ‘Chic’ Eglee (The Shield, Dexter) in charge, diversity has become increasingly the focus. “He facilitated the change that we needed off camera, as well as on camera,” says Whittle, who was invited to sit in on the writers’ room. “American Gods is very well known for its diversity and representation. But that writing room had everyone – LGBTQ+, formerly incarcerated, biracial, Black, white, male, female,” he says. “It was incredible. And [there were] only 10 per cent white cisgendered straight males, because he wanted everyone to have a voice and he wanted every voice to be represented and authentic.”
FINALE HURRAH
This latest season “culminates in, for me, the best finale of all three seasons,” says Whittle. “When I read the script, oh my God, I lost my mind. I was so excited. I mean, it leads on to an epic Season 4. I got chills. I texted Chic and everyone who was writing the script… I just literally typed, ‘Wow! Just finished the finale!’” Whittle describes the ending as a “massive culmination of the build-up” of the relationship between Mr. Wednesday and Shadow, as he wrestles with his demi-divine destiny. “Shadow knows that Wednesday is sly. He knows that Wednesday lies about everything and he won’t forgive Wednesday…” James Mottram
AMERICAN GODS S3 IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO FROM 29 JANUARY.