Interview With The Vampire TV Series Has Found Its Claudia
Having sold more than 80 million copies worldwide, Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" book series has made her one of the most popular authors of all time. The book series' 1976 debut, "Interview with the Vampire," was based on the fictional Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman who was turned into a vampire in the 18th century. In 1994, it was adapted into the smash-hit film starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, and Christian Slater, and marked the breakthrough performance of 11-year-old Kirsten Dunst.
Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment acquired the film rights to the entire book series in 2014, but they were given back to Rice in 2016. Just four years later, AMC acquired the rights to "The Vampire Chronicles" as well as Rice's "Lives of the Mayfair Witches" for film and television projects. The first project, of course, would be the television series adaptation of "Interview with the Vampire."
Due to arrive sometime in 2022, fans of the original "Interview with the Vampire" film have been frothing at the mouth trying to figure out who would play Lestat, Louis, and Claudia. It was already announced that Australian actor Sam Reid ("Anonymous," "The Railway Man," "Belle,") would be taking the reins from Tom Cruise as the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Okay, I guess canonically it's Stuart Townsend from "Queen of the Damned") and Jacob Anderson ("Game of Thrones," "Broadchurch," "The Mimic") as Louis de Pointe du Lac.
Today we've learned that relative newcomer Bailey Bass has joined the cast as Claudia.
Who is Bailey Bass?
Bailey Bass might not be a household name yet, but she sure seems like she's poised to become a superstar.
Despite only having a handful of credits to her resume, Bass will be featured in "Avatar 2," "Avatar 3," and "Avatar 4" as Tsireya. The "Avatar" sequels are currently all in post-production. Additionally, Bass is poised to star in the upcoming pilot for a series called "At That Age," about a family whose golden child suffers a traumatic event forcing the rest of the family to make life-altering decisions and finally process the deep secrets that come to light in the wake of the incident. Bass has also been seen in the film "A Little Bit of Heaven," "Moon and Sun," "The Jenkins Family Christmas," and on a highly polarizing episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" where she played a character named Breyona Taylor in an episode about systemic racism in law enforcement.
A New Claudia
While there was plenty to love about the homoerotic tendencies shared between Cruise and Pitt in the original "Interview with the Vampire," many have made the argument that the real emotional crux of the film belongs to Kirsten Dunst's Claudia. Turned into a vampire as a child, Claudia would spend all of eternity appearing perpetually young. Her mind and years in her life would mature, but her appearance would never reflect it.
In the series, we will likely see Claudia as she is turned, a child, but also years later where she brings the fury and frustration of a grown adult. Her casting is also worthy of note considering Bass is a woman of color, allowing a new generation of baby goths and vampire-obsessed teens to see themselves in a genre that has always prioritized porcelain paleness. The role of Claudia requires a wide range of emotions and a strong grasp on very adult and existential themes, and it's exciting to know the team behind the new series has confidence in newcomer Bailey Bass.