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If today it is difficult to imagine another actor than Tom Cruise embodying the charismatic vampire Lestat, facing Brad Pittthings could have been done differently…
Adapted from Anne Rice's landmark novel and directed by Neil Jordan (Michael Collins, The Borgias, Greta), Interview with a Vampire will soon celebrate its 30th anniversary, and has built the gothic imagination of a whole generation of spectators of the 90s. The story of a journalist played by Christian Slater which collects the testimony of Louis, an aristocratic vampire (Pitt). The latter became a being of the night in the 18th century, in New Orleans, bitten by Lestat de Lioncourt. They do not have the same way of life, and yet, they will cross the ages together and the world, meeting on their way Claudia played by the very young Kirsten DunstOr Antonio Banderas. A five-star cast that could have been different…
To play the journalist, Christian Slater took over the role originally intended for River Phoenix, who died some time before filming. To play Claudia, Christina Ricci and Evan Rachel Wood had auditioned. But these are not the only possibilities that could have happened.
In an excerpt from his new autobiography, Amnesiac: A Memoir and published in The Telegraphthe director looks back on Cruise's entry into the game, and how he stacked up against Jeremy Irons, Johnny Depp and even Daniel Day Lewisthe young actor convinced the production to offer him this role.
At the time, Tom Cruise already had a solid career behind him. He had just starred in the popular Risky Business And Cocktail, and the Oscar winners Rain Man And Born on July 4th – a film that also earned him his first Oscar nomination. But to play Lestat, that wasn’t enough. Opposite him, another actor was considered: Daniel Day-Lewis. Unlike the American, the Briton had already received a statuette in 1990 for My Left Foot. He had just turned The Last of the Mohicans, The Time of InnocenceAnd In the name of the Father. He was also validated by the author herself to interpret the creature of the night. Neil Jordan remembers:
“The problem was casting Lestat. Brad Pitt had agreed to play Louis and somehow was convinced that Daniel Day-Lewis would play Lestat – an assumption that Anne shared. I offered the role to Daniel, who read the score and, as I expected, didn't want to play the character.”
Mocking the methods ofacting of the comedian, known for immersing himself in these characters like no one else, Neil Jordan adds:
“A few years ago, he remained in a wheelchair to play Christy Brown in My Left Foot. There, he would have spent the entire production in a coffin if he had followed the same method.”
Instead, the production suggested that the director turn to Tom Cruise. The two met, and the actor admitted to being fascinated by Lestat, his strength and his lack of morals. After reading Lestat the vampire, the second part of The Vampire Chronicles in which the immortal is a rock star living as a recluse in his mansion, the director sees similarities between the character and the actor.
“I finally had him. He had to live out of sight. He had made a contract with the hidden forces – whatever they were. He had to hide in the shadows, even under the Hollywood sun. He would be forever young. He was a star. He could be Lestat.”
And so it was. As for Daniel Day-Lewis, he got his share of gothic two years later in The Witch Hunt where he played alongside Winona Ryder. But Tom Cruise as Lestat, nobody wanted him: “It was as if half of America had read Anne Rice's books and had a say in the casting of Lestat.”Jordan also remembers.
The author herself was disappointed with this choice at the time. She had imagined Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner). In an interview with Esquire, Tom Cruise had also declared: “You don't usually start a movie with someone who doesn't want you.” But Anne Rice was adamant. Until the day of the screening, when she finally admitted thatInterview with a Vampire was beyond her expectations and that Tom Cruise was incredible. She then told Variety :
“From his first appearance, Tom was Lestat to me. He had this immense physical and moral presence […]. He was sublime beyond description, even if prone to cruel things. Tom's beauty was incredible; his polished acting, his ability to delve into Lestat's soul and understand his personality […] were absolutely exhilarating.”
Lestat is one of the emblematic characters of Tom Cruise's career. Years later, the new serial adaptation of Rice's novel gives Sam Reid the opportunity to embody this vampire and follow in the footsteps of his elder. A character immortalized on screen by very different actors, but who have each managed to leave their mark on the audience.
Interview with the Vampire has already been renewed for a third season.