AMC’s ‘Interview With The Vampire’ Series Casts Sam Reid As Lestat
The Brat Prince lives again. ActorSam Reidhas been cast as Lestat in AMC’sInterview With the Vampireseries. The series, which wasofficially greenlitin June, is based on the first novel inAnne Rice’sThe Vampire Chronicles.
The Vampire Lestat
According to Variety, Reid has been cast as the famous vampire Lestat de Lioncourt in AMC’sInterview With the Vampireseries.Interview with the Vampireis the first of Anne Rice’s expansiveThe Vampire Chronicles,which span over 13 books and several spin-offs.Interviewcenters 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 byTom Cruisein the 1994Interview with the Vampiremovie, then byStuart Townsendin the 2002 filmQueen of the Damned,based on the third novel in the series.
If theInterviewseries goes well, Reid could find himself playing the vampire Lestat for years to come. AMC has the rights to all ofThe Vampire Chroniclesbooks, and Lestat is in most of them. At this time,Interviewis the onlyVampire Chroniclesshow AMC has greenlit, but that could easily change. (AMC also has the rights to all of Rice’sMayfair Witchesbooks, which eventually cross over with theVampire Chronicles, so they could absolutely create the Anne Rice Television Universe.)
Reid currently stars in the Australian drama seriesThe Newsreader.On the TV side, he’s also acted in shows likeThe Hunting, Lambs of God,andThe Astronaut Wives Club. Fans might have caught him on the big screen with roles inBelle, 71, Anonymous,andThe 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 aVampire ChroniclesTV series has been a winding one. First,HannibalhelmerBryan Fullerwas involved. Then he wasn’t,dropping out of the projectlike he does most things. Then Hulupicked up the series, only to turn around anddrop ita year later. AMC greenlit the series in June, and announced thatnotable TV directorAlan Taylorwill be directing the first two episodes.
AMC has givenInterview with the Vampirean eight episode order with plans for a 2022 debut on AMC and AMC Plus.WeedsandThe ExorcistproducerRolin Joneswill serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the series. Anne Rice and Christopher Rice are both on board as executive producers.
