In an interview with Vulture yesterday, Anne Rice discussed — among other things — her interest in rebooting Interview with the Vampire. “We have so many new actors today that we did not have then,” Rice said, before throwing around a lot of possibilities for Lestat (like many of us, she was particularly upset about the decision to cast Tom Cruise in the original), from Robert Downey Jr. to Simon Woods. After the jump, we take a stab at casting a new Interview with the Vampire. Tell us if you agree, and give your suggestions, in the comments.
Jared Leto as Lestat
Okay, bear with us here, because we’re trying to fix what was possibly the worst casting choice of all time. The sight of Tom Cruise in that platinum-blonde mop of a wig still makes us shudder. Sure, it’s not like Leto’s acting career has been on fire lately. But remember that, at one point in his multi-century journeys, Lestat was a rock star. We would like to see someone play him who wouldn’t be afraid to pump up the sexual ambiguity, slather on the guyliner, and actually look natural doing it. Plus, frankly, anything that would distract him from the awfulness that is 30 Seconds to Mars for a few months would be fine with us.
Andrew Garfield as Louis
While we think Brad Pitt did the best he could with the role of Louis, he was clearly stunt-cast and looked like he was in drag the entire time. Garfield would be a much better pick. First of all, he’s got the necessary pallor. Secondly, he’s a great actor, which means he’ll do great with the moral crises of his newly turned vampire character.
Dakota Fanning as Claudia
We always found Kirsten Dunst a bit shrill as baby-vamp Claudia. Fanning is more of an ice princess, and we wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more subtlety in that role. Besides, it’s not like she hasn’t played a vampire before…
Javier Bardem as Armand
Antonio Banderas was okay as Armand, but this time we’d like to see our debauched vampire dramatist looking a bit more depraved and sadistic. As he demonstrated in No Country for Old Men, Bardem is up for the task — and we’d argue that he’s even sexier than Banderas, too. (Rice, meanwhile, would like to cast teenage actor Max Records in the part. Us? We liked the original decision to make the character older.)
Vincent Kartheiser as Daniel Molloy
The interviewer is a tricky role, and Christian Slater was actually cast fairly well in it. But this time around, we’d like to see a more fresh-faced journalist, albeit one with some courage. Kartheiser fits the bill, bringing stiffness and enthusiasm in equal measure. We imagine there will be plenty of opportunities for an incredulous Molloy to work the Pete Campbell Bitch Face, too.
Comments (14)
James Franco as Lestat. End of story.
i think dakota is way too old for the role maybe Chloe Moretz or somebody that look like her
Claudia is supposed to be 6 years old, any girl with a somewhat feminine figure is too old to play her.
I think Jared Leto should play Louis and Olivier Martinez as Armand
how about dakota’s little sis?
Yes, Elle Fanning’s “feminine figure” is more in check.
that casting choice is truly awful.
and while originally Anne Rice disapproved of Cruise’s casting, once she saw his performance, she personally apologized to him and was very supporting of his role in the movie.
And Dakota Fanning as Claudia? Are you kidding me? That is one of the worst choices up there. Not only is she way too old, but she just doesn’t have the talent that is required to portray a woman trapped in a five year old’s body.
Javier Bardem is too old to be Armand. Armand is actually supposed to be a seventeen year old…it was already a stretch getting Banderas to portray him, but his performance fit the role very well.
All in all…they REALLY need to rethink pretty much all of their casting choices.
Ok, Armand is supposed to be the youngest and most attractive of them all! I like Javier, but not for that character. Antonio was too old to play him in the first place!
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[...] fans, there have actually been vampire lit cults for years — and, yes, we mean farther back than Interview with the Vampire. Long before Bram Stoker created his iconic Count Dracula, this supernatural creature had [...]
Please god no…did anyone even read these novels? Why even try if you are going to cast people 20 years too old to play the parts? Armand is described as angelic. And stop beating around the bush about Lestat’s affair with Louis. None of these sound like good candidates. You ought to consider an English cast…even the Narnia kids would be better in these roles. Geez, think outside the box.
Ehh… Have you actually read any of the novels? If not, PLEASE don’t even try to cast the characters. What’s wrong with people making Armand 30-something Spanish guy when in fact he’s 17 and he is Russian (or at least his looks are)! And Dakota Fanning is a great actress she’s far too old for the role. And you say she has played a vampire before? If you call Twilight a vampire movie, PLEASE don’t even try to cast an Anne Rice movie. Twilight is not a vampire movie/book, it’s soft porn for teenagers.
Whatever they do, I hope they keep completely faithful to the novel…Cast actors/actresses who are the correct age, and can at least play the correct nationality…Lestat De Lioncourt, 21/French Nobleman…Louis De Point Du Lac, 24/Cajun-Creole New Orleans plantation owner…Claudia, 8…Armand, 17/Russian…Daniel Malloy, 27/American Journalist…Get the cast right, get the story right, and there won’t be any problems…And cast people who are willing to come back to reprise the roles in sequels…
Kirsten dunst was amazing as claudia. Claudia is supposed to be 5 years old,so why are you choosing a teenager? also armand is supposed to look 17 with angelic face. I agree with the other person that said James Franco would be great as Lestat. Seriously, if they are going to get the cast all wrong, they might as well forget the whole thing, because it will be a failure.
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