Interview With The Vampire fans have reason to be excited as the first role has been officially cast in the upcoming adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel.
AMC acquired the rights for Anne Rice’s series The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives Of The Mayfair Witches in 2020 and the first project to be greenlit from these vast novel series is Interview With The Vampire. We at The Illuminerdi have broken news about the upcoming series including character descriptions and plot details that are not what many fans anticipated in the upcoming Interview With the Vampire series.
AMC is adapting Interview With The Vampire, but not in the way one might be expecting. Louis de Pointe du Lac will still be telling his story to journalist, Daniel Malloy, but this isn’t the first time he’s told the tale and the details are going to be different than those shared in the book.
Interview With The Vampire will focus on Louis’ retelling of how Lestat de Lioncourt turned him into a vampire, but in the AMC adaptation Louis’ story has a new emphasis on his family. His occupation and status in New Orleans are also not the same as the novels. And while Louis is a prominent character especially in Interview With The Vampire as the narrator, Lestat is integral to the entire Vampire Chronicles series.
SAM REID TO PLAY LESTAT IN INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE
Variety has reported that Australian actor, Sam Reid, has nabbed the role as the fan favorite vampire Lestat. The role requires quite a bit of depth as Lestat will need to be seductive, charming, and quick tempered. Sam Reid is best known for his roles in the period drama Anonymous, the period piece Belle, and the war film The Railway Man.
On the television side Sam Reid has credits on the American drama The Astronaut Wives Club, the British series The Prime Suspect 1973, the Australian series The Hunting, and the Australian drama The Newsreader. Sam Reid will be the third actor to take on the role after Tom Cruise in the 1994 film Interview With The Vampire and Stuart Townsend in the 2002 film Queen of the Damned.
Reid’s work in period dramas will likely turn out to be quite helpful given that much of Lestat’s story takes place in the past as he is a vampire who has lived for hundreds of years. Specifically, in Interview With The Vampire Lestat’s part in Louis’ tale is how Lestat turned him into a Vampire in Louis’ past over a century ago.
After Interview With The Vampire Lestat takes over as the storyteller with The Vampire Lestat novel where he shares his story as a young man in France to his exploits as a young Vampire. Many of the events in The Vampire Lestat contradict Louis’ narration in Interview With The Vampire leaving the question of who is telling the truth up to the reader.
Lestat is prominent throughout The Vampire Chronicles including Queen of the Damned, The Tale of The Body Thief, Prince Lestat and more. Assuming AMC is planning to continue adapting Anne Rice’s properties, Reid’s role could be a very long commitment. As we reported our sources revealed that the role of Lestat required the option for 5 other potential series which is no surprise given the character’s importance in the franchise.
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Lestat is a big role for the Australian actor to take on, a character with depth and contradictions. Lestat will no doubt be a stand out in Interview With The Vampire and there are likely plans for how Lestat will be the catalyst for other Vampire Chronicles series like The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned. How Interview With The Vampire builds the foundation for a larger franchise will be interesting to watch and Sam Reid’s performance will likely be a key component in building out this world that Anne Rice has created on screen.
What do you think about Sam Reid playing Lestat in Interview With The Vampire? Are you excited for the AMC adaptation? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media and check back with The Illuminerdi for more AMC and Interview With The Vampire news.
Source: Variety
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