Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
A good man is hard to find. Just try finding one on TV.
One of the weird side effects of the rise of Golden Age TV is that it’s harder and harder to discover new heroes on the small screen. The problem is two-fold. Creatively, most of the protagonists being crafted for Peak TV tend to lean into their sins. They are anti-heroes, not heroes. Casting wise, though, it’s even tougher. Now that television is where all the creative hype is, showrunners are stealing their leads from the big screen. So it’s with great delight that I can say American Gods star Ricky Whittle is the best new leading man on television. As Shadow Moon, a grieving ex-con pulled into a plot involving gods and leprechauns, Whittle manages to be both a grounding force and an electric shock of charm.
British actor Ricky Whittle started off as a model and then became a primetime soap star in his native England. He recently gained buzz stateside for his charming turn in The 100. The gritty sci-fi series was like Battlestar Galactica meets Lord of the Flies and Whittle’s character, the brooding “Grounder” Lincoln, was half of one of the show’s more dreamy romances. The 100 was an ensemble series, though; American Gods is Whittle’s first real major leading role. And you know what? He’s doing a really freaking good job.
You wouldn’t think so, but it’s really hard for actors to nail good old fashioned heroism. You’ve got to be grounded without being boring, likable without being cloying, and sexy without being skeevy. Whittle juggles all of these attributes and more. He remains a grounding force in the middle of the creative maelstrom that is American Gods. Sure, the show is at its best when exploring the weird underbelly of mythology, but Whittle’s beleaguered Shadow Moon is the human heart that’s got to lead us through the insanity of it all. And he does! Shadow Moon is a tough part to nail. He’s got to deal with the sorrow of losing a wife and the anger that comes with her betrayal. He needs to be both bewildered by and skeptical of the magic unfolding around him. He’s got to be in equal parts tender and intimidating. Oh, and he has to hold his own against the likes of Ian McShane, Gillian Anderson, and Peter Stormare. My colleague Sean T. Collins suggested that Whittle wasn’t up to the task of keeping up with acting legend Ian McShane in his recap of the series premiere, but having seen the first four episodes, I have to respectfully disagree. By the time the third and fourth episodes roll around, Whittle has completely settled into the role of Shadow Moon and he’s great. (Oh, and the show itself really amps up in turn. Episodes three and four are really good, y’all.) Whittle’s Shadow Moon can shift from sarcasm to sorrow on a dime. He can sass a scary god and seduce a woman with a well-timed glance. Most of all, he is able to project goodness free from naiveté.
Okay, and we have to talk about Ricky Whittle’s looks. Ricky Whittle is an intensely attractive man. I could prove this by taking out protractors and measuring the angles of his face. I could also compare shirtless photos of his six pack on Instagram to our anthropological surveys of modern standards of male beauty. I could do that! I could be scientific about it! But I could also tell you, as a hot-blooded straight woman, that this guy totally turns me on. HE. IS. GORGEOUS. It’s less classy, but nonetheless true. Why is this important? Well, like it or not, looks do matter when it comes to leading men. As dumb-dumb humans we’re programmed to respond positively to beauty. We want it for ourselves or we want to be next to it. So, yes, Whittle’s good looks help further his cause as a leading man.
Circling back to American Gods, though. Whittle’s big moment has only arrived because writer Neil Gaiman created a compelling character for his original novel, and showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green successfully shepherded Shadow Moon to the small screen. This is a character that comes with the baggage of fan expectations. Millions of American Gods readers already have a clear idea of who Shadow Moon is in their minds. It would be impossible for Whittle to please all the fans, but he’s come pretty darn close. The key is that he’s managed to carry over the character’s intrinsic spirit to the show — it’s a spirit of heroism. If nothing else, that’s why Ricky Whittle should be on your radar.
