AMC's 'Interview With The Vampire' Series Casts Sam Reid As Lestat
The Brat Prince lives again. Actor Sam Reid has been cast as Lestat in AMC's Interview With the Vampire series. The series, which was officially greenlit in June, is based on the first novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles.
The Vampire Lestat
According to Variety, Reid has been cast as the famous vampire Lestat de Lioncourt in AMC's Interview With the Vampire series.Interview with the Vampire is the first of Anne Rice's expansive The Vampire Chronicles, which span over 13 books and several spin-offs. Interview centers on the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac as he tells his story to a reporter. Louis' primary focus is on Lestat de Lioncourt, the vampire who turned him and then mentored him for centuries in New Orleans. Lestat has been portrayed on screen twice before: first by Tom Cruise in the 1994 Interview with the Vampire movie, then by Stuart Townsend in the 2002 film Queen of the Damned, based on the third novel in the series.
If the Interview series goes well, Reid could find himself playing the vampire Lestat for years to come. AMC has the rights to all of The Vampire Chronicles books, and Lestat is in most of them. At this time, Interview is the only Vampire Chronicles show AMC has greenlit, but that could easily change. (AMC also has the rights to all of Rice's Mayfair Witches books, which eventually cross over with the Vampire Chronicles, so they could absolutely create the Anne Rice Television Universe.)
Reid currently stars in the Australian drama series The Newsreader. On the TV side, he's also acted in shows like The Hunting, Lambs of God, and The Astronaut Wives Club. Fans might have caught him on the big screen with roles in Belle, 71, Anonymous, and The Railway Man.
As a fan of the novels, this casting seems fine. I would rather see someone relatively unknown in the role over a big-name star looking to put their stamp on a beloved cult character. Now it's just a matter of seeing who else they cast as Louis, their vampire daughter Claudia, and the leader of the Theatre des Vampires, Armand.
Chronicling the Chronicles
The road to a Vampire Chronicles TV series has been a winding one. First, Hannibal helmer Bryan Fuller was involved. Then he wasn't, dropping out of the project like he does most things. Then Hulu picked up the series, only to turn around and drop it a year later. AMC greenlit the series in June, and announced that notable TV director Alan Taylor will be directing the first two episodes.
AMC has given Interview with the Vampire an eight episode order with plans for a 2022 debut on AMC and AMC Plus. Weeds and The Exorcist producer Rolin Jones will serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the series. Anne Rice and Christopher Rice are both on board as executive producers.