Good Omens director reveals how David Tennant and Michael Sheen bagged leading roles over Johnny Depp
GOOD Omens hit BBC Two last week after a successful launch on Amazon Prime.
The fantasy drama stars Michael Sheen and David Tennant as angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley respectively, and is based on the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
In our book, the pair completely steal the show, with undeniable chemistry on screen.
However, the A-listers weren’t the only actors in the mix when it came to adapting the novel.
Director Douglas Mackinnon shed some light on the casting process behind the show.
“I knew David very well and Neil knew Michael Sheen. It was like they were right [for the roles],” he explained.
“With all casting it’s down to availability and the desire to do it, even with the smaller cameos the commitment was brief but intense.”
However, Good Omens was originally slated for a movie, with entirely different Hollywood royalty at the helm.
Terry Gilliam, of Monty Python fame, had even obtained the rights for such an adaptation.
“Robin Williams and Johnny Depp were going to play the two parts and we can see how that could work,” Mackinnon continued to Express Online.
“Terry had the rights for about 10 years and he was quite close to making a film.”
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However, the project never took off, giving way to Amazon Prime’s acquisition of the BBC-produced six episode run.
Mackinnon Said as soon as Tennant and Sheen were in the same room, they knew they’d found their two leading men.
“About 10 minutes into the read through we saw the chemistry between them and it was just magical,” he recounted.
“[The chemistry] was just infectious and we had a fantastic time making it.”
Good Omens continues tonight on BBC Two at 9pm.