Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson compare notes on Anne Rices Interview with the Vampire.
AMCis infusing new blood into old wounds.
ItsInterview with the Vampireseries stays loyal to Anne Rices novels in spirit, but the flesh is weak.
Some characters have aged, others are shifted in time.
Series creator and writer, Rolin Jones, is not toning down the novels progressive and inclusive features.
He also has good reason to believe the cast will be accepted as the definitive representations.
Louis de Pointe du Lac is played by Jacob Anderson.
Sam Reid: Yes, I had read the novels when I was a kid.
So, I was very aware of them.
I had heard about it being made into a television series for a very long time.
So yeah, its a dream come true, really.
Jacob Anderson: I came to the books through the show.
I saw the film when I was a teenager.
And I was like, Okay, Im not sure.
I have a look at this.
Then I was just blown away.
I was late, but Im a very avid fan now.
Which passage from the book gave you the initial insight into the character?
He has an existential crisis and Nickis violin playing, and music, takes him out of it.
He got ripped out of this.
Its basically just that dynamic.
I thought it was such a really interesting question.
Jacob Anderson: To me, its a conversation that Louis has with Daniel about moral versus aesthetic.
Are you doing it for the rest of society?
It just felt like something that really tortured Louis, and sort of tortures me as well.
In lots of ways.
Why do we do good?
Why is it important to us?
And I love that.
I just love that as an idea, how brutal that is.
If you become obsessed with that, like, what does that do to you if you live forever?
That is your preoccupation for the rest of your days.
That is torturous, especially if youve done some things.
What passage brought you out of your comfort zone?
Sam Reid: Were not there yet, but inThe Vampire Armand, Marius is a wonderful character.
I found that to be sort of confronting, to see that adult-and-child relationship really examined in that capacity.
That was a little bit out of my comfort zone.
Its fundamentally wrong, but yet youre somehow with them.
In the first book, Louis relationship with Claudia can occasionally tip in something that Im not comfortable with.
But we dont explore that in the show.
The series takes on theinconsistencies from the book.
Louis is very open about revisionist history and the odyssey of recollection.
How does it change the inherent character of Louis?
In some ways, its the point where Daniel says Hang on, what is this?
What are you bringing me here for?
Do you really want to tell the truth?
Or is this a kind of indulgent exercise?
It forces Louis to question his own memories.
Thats almost the first instance that he is suddenly, like, Oh, what is?
What is this for?
Why am I doing this?
Why do I need to explore this particular period of my life?
It makes Louis question himself.
Sam, did you have to learn to study piano and speak French?
Sam Reid: Yes, lots of studying French and piano and Italian.
Yeah, it was a lot, but what a fun thing to be able to do.
And you’ve got the option to say what you mean.
Jacob AndersonIve never done any kind of choreographed dance sequence before, as Raleigh Ritchie or on a show.
I just jump around.
Id like to do a punk show, which you wouldnt necessarily know from listening to my music.
It was really hard.
And we did a lot of it over Zoom.
The revisions have gotten accusations of the show being woke, but Anne RicesInterviewwas very woke.
Do you feel it is a necessary part of progression?
The show is set in 1910.
