Orlando Jones reveals Mr. Anansi’s look in Starz’s American Gods adaptation

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

I don't think anyone is more excited about the upcoming AMERICAN GODS series from STARZ than I am. I mean, I love me some Neil Gaiman (still waiting on that SANDMAN movie!) and I personally think AMERICAN GODS is his masterpiece (bold statement, I know). And the cast is pitch-perfect! Ian McShane as Mr. Wednesday, Gillian Anderson as Media, and, of course, Orlando Jones as Mr. Anansi!

And now we finally have a good look at him!

Pretty snazzy.

Talking to Vanity Fair, Jones had a few things to say about the character:

I’m so excited to play Mr. Nancy—one of my favorite characters ever—this is really like a pinch-yourself moment the entire way. I’m just giddy about it…Anansi is one of those characters that survived the Middle Passage, began in western Africa, and made his way here and really proliferated throughout the southern United States. The Spider God, the Trickster God…For me, one of the interesting things about American Gods is the way the world is laid out: it’s the old gods versus the new gods. Because Anansi is a trickster god, for me, his speech definitely had to have some African element to it—some patois…One of the things I love about Anansi is he’s really very, very scary in many ways, but he’s also very, very funny in his approach to things. I think that it’s rare that you get to play characters, or write characters, that have such a rich history and that connect to so many themes that still resonate today.

This guy fucking gets it.

Meanwhile, AMERICAN GODS will premiere on STARZ later this year. Can't fucking wait!