The Vampire Lestat: Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, and Rolin Jones on Expanding Lestat’s World

Interview with the Vampire has consistently been one of the best shows on television since its 2022 premiere.

Anne Rice’s gothic horror classic was revamped for the small screen, crafting a deeply personal, absorbing, chaotic, and mesmerizing journey into the world of vampires, namely Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt.

The Vampire Lestat is the third entry in the saga of these immortals, whose shared history spans centuries and whose relationship remains as complicated as it is captivating.

Where the first two seasons are framed through Louis’s perspective, the story now turns its focus to the Brat Prince himself, offering a chance to explore Lestat’s history, while continuing to expand the ever-evolving universe.

That shift means venturing into some of Lestat’s darkest corners, delving deeper into both his past and present. But for Sam Reid, pinning down the vampire’s true nature remains part of the challenge.

Asked what misconceptions viewers might reconsider as they enter Lestat’s mind in a wholly new way, Reid admitted he’s not entirely sure what those misconceptions are.

“I don’t know if I really am fully across all of the misconceptions that might be around Lestat, to be honest,” Reid said. “I think he is intentionally an obfuscating character.

“I think intentionally, he’s mercurial and tries not to be pinned down. So even—and this is his whole entire MO—even if somebody is misunderstanding him, the fact that he exists so heavily in their psyche, I think he feels like that’s a win regardless.”

Throughout The Vampire Lestat Season 1 Episode 1, you see a version of Lestat who is much more introspective, even if many of the familiar traits audiences have come to recognize remain largely intact.

Reid admits, “He’s still got a huge bravado and ego that he makes very clear is something that he deals with. I mean, his ego is something that he deals with.

“But in Episode 1, there’s a great line that Molloy says to him, ‘Why are you playing these tiny venues when you could be playing this?’ And he was like, ‘Well, I’m vain, and I’m shallow, and I fear an empty seat.’

“’So, I wouldn’t want to book a big venue because I can’t. I mean, it’s crazy to hear Lestat actually say that and to have that much self-awareness, that he knows that he’s not Post Malone.”

Creator and showrunner Rolin Jones took the opportunity of a third season to expand the show’s landscape, both in tone and scale, making this entry feel markedly different from what’s come before.

The Vampire Lestat is swirling in its intensity, and in crafting the story, he aimed high.

“I think in terms of scale, I think we just talked about making it about Lestat’s interior landscape, that the job wasn’t to go, ‘Oh, there’s this 9,000 more vampires.’

“And we do a little bit of that, but for the most part, almost all of the moves we kept coming back to is how much deeper did you get into Lestat, and it’s like imagining trying to rip open his chest, take the camera and go in that way.

“And then once in his body and his brain, that’s where the expansion was happening.”

That expansion happens rapidly through an exhilarating and, at times, painful journey through Lestat’s existence.

Though this is Lestat’s story, the emotional heartbeat of the entire affair has always been the connection between Lestat and Louis, and the narrative doesn’t exclude Louis.

Louis still has his own journey to endure and remains a vital piece of the evolving story.

Music is at the forefront of this season, serving as a vital thread connecting characters, emotions, and themes throughout.

Jacob Anderson, an accomplished musician himself, told us he “makes playlists for kind of everything in my life.”

And while “there was quite a lot of tracks” that would encompass Louis’s season soundtrack, two songs stood out in particular: “Peggy” by Ceechynaa and “Pink Matter” by Frank Ocean.

Of the latter song, Anderson said, “The song for me that most encapsulates Louis’s fracturing in the middle of this season was a song by Frank Ocean called Pink Matter, which is like ostensibly it’s a love song, but the song just kept echoing through my head.”

The beauty of The Vampire Lestat lies in its attention to detail and exploration of the vampire himself.

As the series dives deeper into Lestat’s psyche and expands on those around him, the season seems poised to deliver new revelations and fresh perspectives on some familiar faces.

To hear what Reid is looking forward to the fans seeing, please watch the full interview with Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, and Rolin Jones below.

You can watch The Vampire Lestat on Sundays at 9/8c on AMC and AMC+.