‘Interview With the Vampire’: Jacob Anderson Says He Can Only Play Louis Because of His Experience on ‘GoT’
AMC’s Interview with the Vampire is thrilling. Based on the novel by Anne Rice, the series follows Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), a young businessman hiding his sexuality. He is transformed into a vampire by his mysterious lover, Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid).
Anderson says he could not have played Louis without first portraying Grey Worm on Game of Thrones.
AMC’s ‘Interview with the Vampire’ has a modern-day twist
Fans adore Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. It had been previously adapted into a film starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. However, this series adaptation has a modern-day twist. The series opens in 1910 when Rice’s novel began in 1791. In the book, Louis is a plantation owner. However, showrunner Rolin Jones said he was not interested in telling a plantation story. Instead, he cast Louis as a Black businessman.
He also moved the story to 1910 and centered it in New Orleans, showcasing affluent Black people. However, Jones doesn’t shy away from race. In fact, the prejudice and racism that Louis feels influences his actions as a vampire.
Jacob Anderson says he can only play Louis because of his experience on ‘Game of Thrones’
Before starring as Louis, fans knew Anderson best as Grey Worm, the Unsullied commander who remained loyal to Daenerys Targaryen until the very end. Anderson says his portrayal of Grey Worm for six seasons of Game of Thrones prepared him to transform into Louis.
“I might not have been able to play Louis if I hadn’t first played Grey Worm,” Anderson told The New York Post. “You have to learn how to be comfortable in silence, do things with your eyes, and not rely on dialogue all the time. Even though Louis is talking a lot on the show, as we go deeper into the season, he does more without saying very much.”
As the series presses forward, fans can expect to hear more from Lestat. “If we followed Anne’s basic version of it as a strict point of view, and Louis was just a jilted lover, that’s a really uncomfortable way to introduce a series,” Jones told SYFY WIRE. “Imagine saying that the first season was total bullsh*t?”
‘Interview With the Vampire’ has been renewed for Season 2
Fans who have been loving AMC’s twist on Rice’s classic can rejoice that there is much more of Louis as Lestat to come. AMC has already renewed the drama for a second season. “The scope and breadth of this show, and what Mark and Rolin have delivered, is just stupendous,” Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, said in a statement to Variety.
Rice’s Mayfair Witches has also been adapted for AMC and will debut on the network in 2023. Fans should be thrilled to see where this goes.
