The Sandman: Vanesu Samunyai Struggled With Her Mental Health After Backlash

Regarding source material, few adaptations are faced with as many challenges as "The Sandman" has to contend with. Weaving a genre-defying spell through its dream-like storytelling and spread across dozens of different worlds, realms, and realities, Neil Gaiman's dark fantasy epic was long thought unfilmable.

However, Gaiman worked with Netflix to make sure that they got it right for the streaming adaptation, including the casting of relative unknowns like Vanesu Samunyai in some of its most central roles. The performer took on the part of Rose Walker, a human who wields the dangerous power of the dream vortex in Season 1 of "The Sandman."

Still, despite landing such a significant role for her acting debut, Samunyai told Swirly Words that her big break also came with immense emotional baggage in terms of the reactions to her performance. "Initially, I was going to watch the show after the premiere, but I made the mistake of going online and reading everyone's opinions of me," the actor recalled. "I clamped up and numbed out after that."

While Vanesu Samunyai noted that there were plenty of positive responses to her performance as Rose Walker in "The Sandman," she said that she had a hard time blocking out the bad and retreated from the spotlight a bit as a result. "I became really quiet online. I didn't want anyone to see me living my life as if I'd done nothing wrong," the performer explained. "All of the good comments couldn't get through to me because I was inclined to trust the negative ones."

Though many actors are critical of themselves on the screen or refuse to watch their own movies outright, it sounds like Samunyai took the criticisms of her "The Sandman" performance to heart. "I struggled to like myself for a long time," she admitted. "I've been in a state of dissociation, to separate myself from the experience, like 'that didn't happen to me, that wasn't me.'"

Either way, while Samunyai acknowledges that it was a rough experience for her, the performer has started to bounce back after some kind words from her fellow "The Sandman" stars. "I'm getting to a place where I'm starting to like myself again, though," Samunyai said. "I got some great words from Vivienne [Acheampong, who plays Lucienne] and some compliments from my other colleagues at the World Premiere."

Unfortunately, Samunyai's disheartening experiences may not come as a complete surprise. Despite the show's acclaim and success, there was immense casting backlash among "Sandman" fans, something that Neil Gaiman had to address himself.