For nonbinary actor Mason Alexander Park, starring as Desire in Netflix’s epic fantasy series The Sandman — based on the classic comic books by Neil Gaiman — was a moment of truly coming full circle. Like so many queer and gender nonconforming kids, they looked all throughout the media they consumed to find someone like them, someone who existed outside the gender binary, and, more importantly, someone who could help make sense of what they knew to be true about themselves inside. For Park, they found that in Desire, the nonbinary member of The Endless. These god-like beings are the human embodiments of the aspects they’re named for, be it Dream, Death, Despair, and, of course, Desire.
This week, Park’s story is set to repeat itself for a new generation of nonbinary kids who’ll have the opportunity to see them take on the mantle of Desire in live-action and the nonbinary representation that comes with that. The weight and power of this opportunity aren’t lost on Park, who tells PRIDE they would have loved to see someone like Desire on their TV as a child.