‘Interview with the Vampire’: Sam Reid Joins the AMC Series as Lestat
The upcoming AMC series, Interview with the Vampire, has cast Sam Reid in the leading role as the vampire Lestat. Reid will be the third actor to take on this role, following in the footsteps of Tom Cruise and Stewart Townsend.
AMC is creating a new adaptation of ‘Interview with the Vampire’
In May of 2020, Variety exclusively reported that AMC gained the rights to Anne Rice’s best-selling book series, The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches. A year later, AMC greenlit the first show to come out of the acquisition, Interview with the Vampire.
The series is an adaptation of Rice’s 1976 novel of the same title. In 1994, Warner Brothers distributed a film adaptation of the novel starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. A young Kirsten Dunst appeared in the movie as Claudia, scoring her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Per Variety, the show “centers on the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac as he relates the story of his life to a reporter, in particular how he was turned into a vampire and then mentored by Lestat de Lioncourt.”
Though the AMC series has not yet announced any other cast members, Mark Johnson will executive produce the program with Anne Rice and her son Christopher. Rolin Jones, a producer and writer on Friday Night Lights and Boardwalk Empire, will serve as a writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Alan Taylor, an alum of Mad Men, The Sopranos, and Game of Thrones, will direct the first two episodes.
Sam Reid has been cast in the leading role
Sam Reid will lead the series in the role of Lestat. Lestat is an ancient vampire who mentors Louis de Pointe du Lac after turning him into a vampire. Their story begins in 1791 New Orleans and stretches over a century.
The point of contention between Lestat and Louis has roots in their more violent vampiric tendencies. Louis is disgusted by his thirst for human blood and refuses to feed off of them. Lestat, on the other hand, takes twisted pleasure in hunting and killing humans.
Lestat is a recurring character in Rice’s vampire novels, underscoring the importance of his role in the new series. If the new series reignites the Twilight-fueled flames of vampire mania, audiences may see Reid appear in further adaptations of Rice’s books.
What has Sam Reid been in before ‘Interview with the Vampire’?
Sam Reid is an Australian actor. Prior to his role in the upcoming Interview with the Vampire, he has worked steadily in both film and television.
Currently, he appears in The Newsreader, an Australian TV show about a newsroom in 1986. Before that, he has appeared on television in The Hunting, The Astronaut Wives Club, Prime Suspect 1973, and Lambs of God. On the film end, he’s in Anonymous and Belle, the latter in which he starred alongside Gugu Mbatha-Raw. In Oct. 2021, he will appear in the Australian film, The Drover’s Wife.
