This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
Three decades after Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise’s 1994 film, new life was breathed into Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire in a sexy TV series.
Now beginning its third series as the retitled The Vampire Lestat, the toxic romance between bloodsuckers Louis Pointe Du Lac (British actor Jacob Anderson) and Lestat de Lioncourt (Australian Sam Reid) reaches fever pitch.
Like Louis and Lestat, you’re used to being interviewed. Has the series made you reconsider your relationship with fame?
Sam Reid: The sheer volume of interviews and literal exposure that this show requires of you has made me more relaxed about how I might come across. If somebody doesn’t like me, then big whoop. The show has given me that freedom – probably through a baptism of fire!
Jacob Anderson: In the past year, there’s been a few things that have reminded me that you have to keep some of yourself to yourself. I’ve got a family and I don’t want my kids’ lives to change.
But that level of fame isn’t completely new to you, right? You were in Game of Thrones when it was the biggest show in the world…
Anderson: That job showed me some of the more frustrating sides of fandom, but there were parts that were invaluable. I learnt so much – what better teacher could I have had than Emilia Clarke? I still haven’t processed it. There was so much kerfuffle around the final season that I forgot what it was like to be in a show that people weren’t angry about!
And Sam, our readers may remember you as reporter Dale Jennings in The Newsreader. Do you think that story could ever continue?
Reid: I would love to work with everyone on that show again, but I feel like Dale’s story is complete. I could imagine it branching out and finding a different angle, though, because it’s a fascinating way of telling a story.
On-screen, you’re in a torrid love affair, but how did you meet?
Reid: We first met on Zoom doing chemistry reads. When we were cast, I got all of my fang tests sent to Australia, and I’d send Jacob pictures of me in the fangs. We have a very similar sense of humour. We’ve been crutches to each other throughout the process because there’ve been so many highs and lows.
Anderson: I thought he was a posh dude – I had all these assumptions that were completely unfounded. He’s a kind and thoughtful person. It’s a once in a lifetime thing, to meet somebody that you can feel comfortable with. It’s special, especially as this show requires you to feel comfortable in discomfort.
There are definitely some pretty intense intimate scenes. Do they ever feel daunting?
Anderson: One of the first scenes that Sam and I ever did was when Louis turned [into a vampire]. It’s not sexual, but there’s something incredibly intimate about what’s happening there. But we had good communication.
Reid: These types of scenes have always been a part of the job, but I appreciate that intimacy coordinators exist. When they are done well, I think they can convey a lot of story and meaning.
After two series of hearing from Louis, we’re given Lestat’s point of view. How does that change things?
Anderson: During the first couple of days, I was a bit jittery, like, “I don’t know how to be this person.” It felt like building a new character. But it’s been a fun game.
Reid: Previously, Lestat was untouchable, whereas now he has a lot more internal turmoil and self-doubt.
In this series, you transform from an 18th-century vampire into a modern day rock star? What was that like?
Anderson: It was insane. It’s a wild thing to play a character for two series and then have a totally new way to approach him. It felt important to sing live because we’re not a musical show, so it was more accurate. Everything you do as an actor is terrifying – your adrenaline is always pumping. But I don’t shy away from terror.
Which real-life rock stars have inspired you?
Reid: I was listening to Muse, a lot of Kurt Cobain and Radiohead. For the performance, it was David Bowie. He was this alien, otherworldly creature and you never knew what was going on in his mind. That was a great gateway into what a vampire rock star would be.
Given his career as a musician (under the alter-ego Raleigh Ritchie), did Jacob give you any pointers?
Reid: The only advice he gave me was to get a lot of rugs in the recording room!
Anderson: Persian rugs. They’re good for sound but also it’s nice to lie down on the floor sometimes. Or maybe that’s just me.
Author Anne Rice sadly passed away before she could see your depictions of Louis and Lestat. What do you think she would have thought?
Reid: I imagine that she’d have some notes and I was really looking forward to getting those – as brutal as they might have been!
Anderson: She was never shy about saying what she thought, so I’m sure she would have had some feelings. Even if they were negative, I’d still be interested.
The Vampire Lestat begins on Tuesday 28 July at 9pm on BBC Two. Series one and two of Interview with the Vampire are available on iPlayer.
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