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He’s absolutely phenomenal and as a point he’s like an on screen script director. Without his pushing Louis development would be different and not as extensive.
Armand has been my favorite fictional character for 20 years now! I even got a tattoo of him a couple of years back. I absolutely love Assad Zaman's performance, he captures Armand's spirit perfectly.
It surprises me how much I adore Louis, considering he wasn't my favorite character in the books. He's just such a beautiful (distactingly beautiful) mess of a human being/vampire who tries to take care of others even though he can't take care of himself. Plus, he loves books, fashion, philosophy, and jazz: just some of my favorite things!
And he's played by the amazingly versatile, sunshine-in-human-form angel, Jacob Anderson.
OMG yes. Lestat is my favorite character in the books, easily. The whole damn series, apart from Interview, is dedicated to Lestat, and Sam has been WONDERFUL. Best fucking Lestat EVER. It's like the series spit Sam's Lestat out, it's incredible.
But, oh this Louis, I just love him so completely. And it's so great to see *why* these vamps are so drawn to him. Jacob really seems to embody that without trying - he's so beautiful and when he smiles, it's like the whole world lights up. It's extraordinary.
And while Armand is my favorite character in the books, I'm completely obsessed with Louis on the show. And you're right, with Jacob playing Louis, you can see why Lestat and Armand are so drawn to him: not just because of his beauty and that smile that makes your heart skip a beat (and Jacob's charm and charisma coming through), but because he's so very human and so very alive.
I think it's the charm that Anderson brings to the role. I love the character now. He's over here taking his pictures, and everyone is stressing him out.
I love the cast as an ensemble. Their chemistry on and off screen is lightening in a bottle. Carefully chosen and cultivated into the " character" of Anne Rice's world. They know the tale and are living it. Sorry OP that's my choice. However, I've had a long term affair with Lestat and Sam Reid is my coal fire.
I was honestly hesitant to watch the TV show because I didn't really care for the movie version (except Tom and Antonio's performances), and I hated Queen of the Damned. But that first scene between Sam and Jacob at the Fair Play had me absolutely hooked. THIS is the Lestat from the books! Finally!
Sam Reid embodies our Brat Prince to perfection. I think his love and understanding for the character would make Anne Rice proud. Tom Cruise was playing a role, a caricature of a character, if you will.
I was scared to watch it too - all I could think was "great, another rehashed fuck up where they will miss the point of Lestat entirely and make it weird" but omg that first episode it felt like "Finally, finally, someone gets it".
well, now that Lestat is absent, the glamorization is happening, and Sam just looks hotter in season 2. And we’re seeing how he was right to protect Claudia from the other vampires.
And now we’re seeing that Louis is not that good of a person, mainly because of how he is and will be treating Claudia. Just more info and perspectives are being revealed about him.
Armand has always been my favorite. I SCREAMED when they revealed Assad as Armand, because the writers understood the assignment so well, and Assad executed it with precision. He is meant to be disarming and cute and seemingly harmless when you meet him. Armand is full of duality, and Assad conveys it so well. Lethal yet vulnerable. Intense yet tender. Terrified yet domineering. A control freak that desperately wants someone else to be in control. An angelic vision with demonic tendencies. And Assad is doing such an amazing, phenomenal job portraying Armand on screen.
I read the book when I was 11 in 1984. Been a life long fan. Hated Tom Cruse though. For me?
New Orleans. The city itself.
That book, and all the others, instilled a deep love for that city. To this day, I have New Orleans stuff all over my home. I will retire there someday. Anne Rice gifted me with love for a city on the other side of the country, in a way that has lasted for over 30 years
When I made it to the Garden District in 2010, I was so sad to not see what I was reading. It’s like Anne Rice made up this glorious place that technically existed but didn’t live up to her visions. :(
Lestat.
Forever and always with this narcissistic, trainwreck of a vampire.
I see too much of myself in him, but perhaps that's a byproduct of reading the vamprie chronicles at a very young and impressionable age and wanting to be Lestat.
I did the same with Dorian Gray. Being young, insecure and queer but not knowing you were queer yet led me into some dark characters to latch onto, it seems.
Still. I love Lestat for his flaws, his nuance, his beauty, his unreliable narrator status, his cunitness.
Mon dieu we're talking about the show here too - still Lestat. But Jacobs version of Louis has captivated me in such a way I can't even find the words to describe,
And Ben Daniels portrayal of SANTAIGO? Inspired, iconic, thrilling, so so wonderful. It's amazing to see a character who was never given the fleshing out vampires got in the later works by Anne get some backstory and development in the series. Ben Daniels has been insane so far and it's only been two episodes.
He's playing Santiago as a very messy bitch who's here for the drama and i am HERE for it.
Armand. He’s so calculated and smooth, but he has these little vulnerabilities and moments of care with Louis and even with Daniel that make me so weak. He’s dangerous and untrustworthy but if he decides someone’s “in” he’s tremendously loyal and protective. He’s just so complex. Not to mention how crazy charming Assad is too, god. I just love him.
Oh this is dope. It's great to hear from Armand fans. I'm wondering if certain things in the Vampire Armand will be revealed during the course of this series. Should be interesting. I completely distrust Armand but Assad is doing a great job. I have no complaints with him as an actor whatsoever.
I also think Armand/Daniel have great chemistry. . .
I haven’t gotten to reading it yet (I only found the show last week lol) but I’m absolutely down for any more Armand info we get to see.
And I absolutely agree, the way Armand looks at and talks to Daniel comes off so flirty to me. Daniel’s no bs takes are such a good counter to Armand too.
AWESOME!! I'm so excited that this show is drawing in new viewers. The constant worry within this fanbase has been whether we will get a season 3 - everyone here, no matter who our faves are, no matter the issue, what we want most is for this show to continue on. It's great to see that you've recently found it. Did you just binge S1?
Oh for sure, it’s become my favorite show and the fanbase so far has been lovely. Technically I knew about it before because my mom has been a fan of the books for my entire life lol, me and my best friend just finally got around to watching it last weekend. We binged all that’s out currently in one day, and I’ve already rewatched s1, I am truly obsessed lol.
Honestly I can't choose a favorite because they are all essential to the story, I could choose Lestat but in this season I'm going to side with Daniel, he seems to be the easiest to defend lol I also like the sarcastic shots he makes around all this drama.
Lmao. Daniel's actually been my favorite character *this* season, and it's so funny, because I did not take to him until the very last episode of S1. But his sarcasm, no-BS attitude, willingness to call shit out, general hilarity (realRashid haha) - it's been awesome. He also has really good chemistry with Armand. Which is interesting ;)
So I feel you completely. But Louis has my heart.
I said this about 2 years ago but my favorite is and continues to be Louis. And it’s one particular thing that encapsulates a lot and that is his soft and tender side. Like OP said, his gruff exterior was a shield and mask he had to wear to survive but what I appreciate most about his character is seeing what he loves play out on screen. He loves books and is a huge book worm as well as having a passion for music and art. Something that is considered amongst black men to be a soft trait or a sign of weakness. To me it shows that he learned to embrace himself as beautiful writing in his character that men, especially black men, don’t have to be one thing and should be free to embrace who they are and what they love.
Daniel. He’s sitting in a room, surrounded by predators, and doing his best to challenge them and make them accountable to the truth. He offers a perfect contrast to the vampires - physically weakened by time and disease, but still fighting for his life, wearing his cynicism like a shield but clearly still a believer in telling a story right. Eric Bogosian is just perfection in the role.
I do love Lestat. I miss Lestat like a miss a friend. In all honesty, he's so insane, especially in the way Louis remembers him. I really can see what qualities of him migrated from the books and how much work Sam put into him. He's just a funny bastard.
I have a lot of love for Louis and Claudia too. Louis does everything for the ones he loves, even though they might not to the same. He's more complex than he is in the first book, he's interesting to follow and I often feel bad for him, because in the end, like Lestat, he wants to love and to be loved.
Claudia is a creepy little thing either way. She's compelling either way and the fare she meets makes me cling to her even more. Claudia deserves to be happy, maybe the most out of all vampire we met. I really warmed up to Delainey and I already feel sad to think abotu the yellow dress.
Every single main character brings something different to the table so there's really no way that I could choose just one. I guess they're like potato chips.
For both book and TV Lestat I just love the cocky personality. Well I would say he has a cocky holier than thou personality and God damn I love those kinds of characters.
I might update about movie Lestat if I can find where to actually watch the movie.
Ha I actually liked Claudia the most in the movie. Kirsten Dunst was fabulous. I think you can rent it on Amazon Prime?
I did like Tom Cruise's Lestat. The blond wig was bad lol and he wasn't exactly right for the role, but he really committed, and I appreciated that.
If we get a scene with Santiago and Lestat going head to head, I will explode with joy. The chewed scenery. The line readings. The dramatic pauses. The makeup. The props.
Shantay, you both stay. I can't pick one over the other at the moment.
I've been in love with Lestat as a character for such a long time at this point...it would feel wrong for me to say anyone else! I've mentioned this on other posts, but Sam Reid plays Lestat exactly the way I imagined him to be in the books. Neither Tom Cruise or Stuart Townsend came nearly as close to how I envisioned Lestat in my head like Sam does. His portrayal is my favorite, no comparison!
If you asked me this when I watched most of season 1, I’d probably say Louis. For all the reasons mentioned.
But I may say Daniel now. He’s got a sass, a spunk, and IDGAF air about him that I really love. I haven’t read the books (yet) so he’s also a bit of a mystery to me but there’s obviously depth there, so I like that too
Yes, I absolutely feel you. As I posted below, he's been my favorite character thus far *this* season. He's older, he's got Parkinson's, he gives no fucks, and he's gonna say whatever the hell he wants to say and you gotta deal with it. And he's very discerning. He knows there is something off with Louis' memories, apart from his misremembering some details. As a journalist, he's digging for some semblance of truth and authenticity, and I appreciate that from him.
Louis, favorite character and always will be as I read on. I’m in QOTD and I miss him so much, I would die to have him in the books as often as Lestat :(
Listen. I know its mostly the actor but Armand has me glued to the screen the micro expresssions are craaazy. And hes so pretty he genuenly looks like what id expect a modern vampire to look like. I think if he leaves his husband for me i can fix fim (I am delusional)
Armand, hands down. I really like the show version, Assad is excellent, but book version is my all time favorite. Beautiful, alluring and sensual with a devious mind. He can be very sweet but is also cunning and manipulative. He is also very intelligent unlike Lestat who irks me with his blatant stupidity. Blood Communion really sealed it for me because he was the only one that knew wtf he was talking about. #teamarmand.
Close behind is Daniel. Although he's different in the books I love both versions. The old cranky, snarky but observant one on the show and the naive, boyish, sweet but sassy one in the books.
It's Lestat. But that's far from saying I love Lestat and I don't love anyone else. And it is somewhat different on the TV show than in the books.
In the books... I cannot think of any other character like Lestat: he is SO alive and real and even when he stops narrating himself in the books for a bit, my heart aches for him and no matter how interesting the story being told is, and obviously it is still written by Anne Rice... there's a niggle in my mind saying "But I miss Lestat! When will he return?" (The only exception is Armand's tellings! So as you can tell, in the books, Armand would be my second favourite character.)
For me, it's that I love to be inside Lestat's head. I read the books when so young ad the way he sees the world and the way he thinks about life and art and good and evil and existence and freedom and the challenging of rules - they both informed my development as a human being and I associated with how Lestat thinks on many topic - with a kind of insatiable blend of hope, yet a need to reason till he gets to his truth... Lestat's light, that other characters talk of - I feel it in his every word and thought.
On the show, there's some emotion that just sparks up when Lestat is on screen - danger and yearning and excitement. Leaving aside the ways I connect with Lestat, I am nothing like him personality-wise and his big personality is both a joy and can be terrifying and I particularly love on the TV show how Sam conveys a fragility at Lestat's core: a desperate need in him - a need to be loved, but from a place where he doesn't believe he is loveable. It is very Lestat - Lestat who has always been told he is too much. Lestat who knows he has driven people to madness and death just by being himself. Lestat whose own Mother didn't love her child enough to even teach the boy the alphabet, even though books were her only escape. Lestat, the defective seventh son who could never achieve and who anything he tried to do was somehow wrong - his feelings were wrong, he was wrong.
And then he is obviously ever-dangerous, as he freely admits. And through art, a character who can act out the worst transgressions and then still directly ask "But do you still love me? Could anyone love me?" is so human and comparable to what we all ask every day, I think (though, hopefully our evils are lesser!)
I adore all the characters on the TV show though!
Jacob has deepened Louis so much, that releasing the books post Jacob-Louis, Jacob has allowed me to love book-Louis more than I ever did before. I always found Louis somewhat exasperating and I could never fully understand why all of the vampires adored him so much. Through Jacob's beautiful articulation of Louis, I literally understand him better than I ever did. Rereading Interview with the Vampire, I could find Louis amusing where I used to be annoyed. Jacob has literally shifted my entire perspective of Louis - it's amazing. Obviously what we have gotten so far is Louis' story too.
Gosh I adore Assad's Armand. Literally every scene, particularly in the past he does some extraordinary thing that I feel so, so deeply. I don't know where to begin with it all. I am going to reserve a long post to wax lyrical on Assad once S2 is complete as there is SO much more Armand to come in this season, I don't want to do him a disservice by taking just what we've seen so far. But the way Assad can one moment project this angelic serenity: peace, love and gentleness (for example when he first meets Louis) one moment and utter sensitivity (for example when he tells Lestat Nicki is too fragile to be a vampire), to his covetous desire (of Lestat in the flashback), to the way he looks at Daniel... and through to a scary and inhuman side to him which I know we have more of... and then a different kind of control and power as he leads the Theatre des Vampires (and in present day, Louis.).He's so exciting to watch.
Claudia... I've loved Delaney this season and I really can't wait to see what I'm sure is going to be heartbreaking stuff from her in the upcoming epiodes. The way she can shift her expression to give such feeling, for example at the end of the recent episode when she finds he will play a child indefinitely - so so good. I mean, there is no getting around the fact that Claudia is a little less impactful than a 6-year-old monster of a vampire, but I still love her very much.
I actually really like Daniel in the books and he's very different here, but I love him. He's a perfect counter of cynicism and questioning to these philosophising vampires and there is a big part of me that'll be happy if only we get to see Eric-as-a-vampire this season.
Well, this is too long! Sorry!
Hi. You just mentioned *Interview With The Vampire* by Anne Rice.
I've found an audiobook of that novel on YouTube. You can listen to it here:
[YouTube | Interview With The Vampire - Part 1 (Anne Rice Audiobook Unabridged)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMXW4AYjWiU)
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Louis hands down. Yes the show has made him inadvertently the main character because he is the storyteller. But aside from that, he is so complex, complicated and dynamic. He's a dichotomy while also being multifaceted.
I loved the "who are you, Louis?" conversation with Claudia. He IS no one, he is everyone, he's all of us- conflicted with internal struggle, always thinking we are justified in our own actions even if we're only fooling ourselves (and sometimes we aren't even doing that).
He and we are caring and gentle for those we deem get the honor but capable of so much we don't even know until faced with it, and yet still in denial. We're justice both gentle as a lamb and vicious as a lion. He's complicated and it's beautiful, and Jacob plays him superbly.
Louis reminds me so much of Will Graham from Hannibal on NCB, who is my favorite tv character of all time. IF YOU LOVE LOUIS THEN CHECK OUT THIS SHOW.
Anyways, I could go on but yeah, Louis
EDIT: SPELLING
It’s interesting that I keep seeing myself more and more attached to Delainey’s Claudia even though I deeply dislike the character from the books. Something about her portrayal is so deep and heartbreaking.
Armand. His story was too relatable to me as a teenager when I read it in the vampire Lestat. All he wanted was to be loved, but never understood what love was because of the people around him. And his relationship with Lestat is just so enthralling to me, just how much Armand adores him and how Lestat can clock him for who he is immediately (ofc bc he’s so openly an asshole but still)
Jacob's portrayal of Louis is cementing him as one of my favorite fictional characters of all time... Armand and Santiago are heavy hitters this season too! I adore them.
I love them all,I'm really curious about all of their storylines but
LOUIS
Louis is my baby he resonate with me (to some degree) I love melodramatic characters I can't help.
Jacob Anderson is absolutely phenomenal and his acting play a good part in my love for the character
I do like Louis in the books but he I found him so annoying sometimes I wanted to shake him up.
Armand I actually love him and see him a someone who want love but really doesn’t know how to maintain love wirhout manipulation. He’s never really been loved and he’s kinda been manipulated all his existence and I just want him to be happy .
Every time Louis feels anything besides joy my heart literally breaks. We have to protect my boy. Someone find Lestat before the theater kids kill my boy.
i love louis and if i had to guess as to one of the many reasons why i do, the most glaring one is how he's the embodiment of the quote "everything I've ever let go of has claw marks on it" -david foster wallace. louis has the grip of a newborn baby when it comes to everything he loves and, unfortunately for him, he both loves a lot and loves *hard*.
he couldn't seem to detach himself from his family despite their increasing hostility towards him and what he has become until his sister had to hold a funeral to bury pre-vampire him. he couldn't let go of Claudia when she ran away leading him to cry out her name and beg for penance for years on end to the point where even the "motherfucker" vampire noticed. he even kept claudia's room the way it was *just in case*. he couldn't let go of his humanity and wanting to 'meddle in human affairs' until this recent season where he ignored his new friend being hounded by a bloodthirsty mob, leaving them to said "human affairs". he can't let go of lestat and literally conjured up a dreamstat in order to continue inflicting upon himself mental torment. he didn't even want to properly kill lestat *just in case* he manages to survive their (read: claudia's) plot to kill him! even Claudia acknowledges this trait and tells him that his attachment to louis is "slowing us down". his hanging onto louis is a major contention in louis-armand's relationship this season >!(I'm sure we've all seen the lestat lestat lestat lestat lestat chant)!
Even though this is one who appears very little (in contrast to others like David or Armand), the one that gets the win is Gabrielle.
I would have loved for Rice to visit all the years she spent without Lestat.
They could do Gabrielle’s experience SO powerfully on the TV show! Imagine: a full 20 minutes of just Gabrielle… zero spoken words. Just Gabrielle in nature, alone: going into The Earth, exploring never-scene natural mysteries & Daniel Hart’s score conveying Gabrielle’s emotion. Oh my, I WANT IT!!!
Lestat.
Unashamedly, unapologetically himself. He knows he is an arrogant prick at the best of times and an absolute monster at the worst.
He sometimes does things just to see what happens, he takes risks, falls unabashedly in love at first sight.
A beautiful impulsive delicious irresistible monster with a human soul. My first great literary love. Anne Rice's best creation in my opinion.
Lestat DeLioncourt. The Brat Prince.
I was opposed to this TV series, after reading all of the books nothing could top my imagine, or so I thought. Then it happened! I was at Comic-con 2022. The cast was there. I fell completely in love with Sam Reid💝 He was mesmerizing in person and on the screen. I was disappointed that he wasn't going to be onscreen as much but I am totally getting my L'Estat fix weekly💝
Lestat. Sam Reid and the show runners have done such an imepcable job of truly exemplifying who he really is. I will always love Staurt Townsend but I think of that movie completely separate, and I never liked Tom Cruise as Lestat. Every time I see this new Lestat on screen I'm just thinking to myself "Yes! Yes! Yes! This is it! That's him!"
Now that is interesting. Because Dreamstat is a version of Lestat that is Louis' subconscious response to what he feels and is experiencing at the moment, coupled with his grief and pain over killing him. There's much more vulnerability and softness to this Lestat, while still being the brat prince. It's almost Lestat as Louis would have wanted him to be, still irreverent and self-indulgent, but with more intuitiveness.
Yes I know. In my opinion, he is all of the genuine best parts of Lestat removed from his ugly abusive tendencies. That version of him existed and yet he didn't.
Lestat was always my favortie in the books and the movies BUT i must said that the actor and the story make me like Louis more in the show and what is crazy is that i didn't like "grey worn" in GOT so yes, Jacob is a very very very good actor
Daniel was my favourite in series 1; I loved the snark and appreciating on a deeper level all the interactions with Rashid/Armand on a rewatch was amazing! In series 2 it is (unsurprisingly) Armand, Assad is playing him so well down to the subtlest of facial tics and head movements. I am so hyped up for episode 5 💕💕
I would say Lestat if it wasn’t for the extreme domestic abuse in episode 5 and his snarky apathy towards Claudia’s rape. That turned me off. Anytime I try to love him again (and trust me, it’s easy to get sucked back in and almost forget, no pun intended) my mind just gets drawn back to those two parts. I just can’t get around those moments no matter how hard i try. The only good things left about Lestat that I admire is that he’s really hot, the actor’s skill is mind blowing, and how petty he is.
I almost said Claudia then, and while I do LOVE her even though she started to get on my nerves in season 2. I couldn’t think of anything that made me like her outside of her relationship to Louis and the impact she’s had on him. Also that she’s a survivor and such a strong lady. She’s the only one who has shown Louis the love and allegiance he gave her, despite the normal trials that come with any father daughter dynamic (but x10 because you know… vampires)
That said, Louis takes the win for me.
My love for Louis is simple. All he wants to do is love, appreciate, and mind his own damn business. I may have overlooked Louis being my favorite because he’s the main character so subconsciously I thought he doesn’t count. But he does and he has my heart flaws and all 🥰🥰🥰
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He’s absolutely phenomenal and as a point he’s like an on screen script director. Without his pushing Louis development would be different and not as extensive.
Daniel is the snarky-but-wise New York elder that I hope to be one day when I'm older.
Armand has been my favorite fictional character for 20 years now! I even got a tattoo of him a couple of years back. I absolutely love Assad Zaman's performance, he captures Armand's spirit perfectly.
Would love to see the tattoo! Was it an actor’s portrayal or based on his book description?
It's a detail from a [Botticelli painting,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_of_the_Magnificat) three of the angels on the left.
 I mean….
 Omg the chemistry. I can’t.
 He’s such a sassy, self assured thing
i never liked Louis but the actor who plays him on the show made him my favorite character.
Armand .. I just love him and the actor is gorgeous
It surprises me how much I adore Louis, considering he wasn't my favorite character in the books. He's just such a beautiful (distactingly beautiful) mess of a human being/vampire who tries to take care of others even though he can't take care of himself. Plus, he loves books, fashion, philosophy, and jazz: just some of my favorite things! And he's played by the amazingly versatile, sunshine-in-human-form angel, Jacob Anderson.
OMG yes. Lestat is my favorite character in the books, easily. The whole damn series, apart from Interview, is dedicated to Lestat, and Sam has been WONDERFUL. Best fucking Lestat EVER. It's like the series spit Sam's Lestat out, it's incredible. But, oh this Louis, I just love him so completely. And it's so great to see *why* these vamps are so drawn to him. Jacob really seems to embody that without trying - he's so beautiful and when he smiles, it's like the whole world lights up. It's extraordinary.
And while Armand is my favorite character in the books, I'm completely obsessed with Louis on the show. And you're right, with Jacob playing Louis, you can see why Lestat and Armand are so drawn to him: not just because of his beauty and that smile that makes your heart skip a beat (and Jacob's charm and charisma coming through), but because he's so very human and so very alive.
>but because he's so very human and so very alive. Omg I love this. This is a perfect description of him 👩🍳😘
Btw, I love your username. 🤗
Aww, thanks! You know, I joined reddit in the heyday of GOT and...here I am. I love my girl Sansa. Queen of the fucking North! :))
Most underrated character on the show. Fucking love Sansa and all the Starks... except maybe Bran. Haha
I think it's the charm that Anderson brings to the role. I love the character now. He's over here taking his pictures, and everyone is stressing him out.
Haha. Right? He just wants to do his own thing; he can't help that he's a vampire magnet.
I love the cast as an ensemble. Their chemistry on and off screen is lightening in a bottle. Carefully chosen and cultivated into the " character" of Anne Rice's world. They know the tale and are living it. Sorry OP that's my choice. However, I've had a long term affair with Lestat and Sam Reid is my coal fire.
Sam is Lestat. I’ve never seen better casting. And I love the rest of the cast too.
I was honestly hesitant to watch the TV show because I didn't really care for the movie version (except Tom and Antonio's performances), and I hated Queen of the Damned. But that first scene between Sam and Jacob at the Fair Play had me absolutely hooked. THIS is the Lestat from the books! Finally!
Sam Reid embodies our Brat Prince to perfection. I think his love and understanding for the character would make Anne Rice proud. Tom Cruise was playing a role, a caricature of a character, if you will.
Totally agree!!
I was scared to watch it too - all I could think was "great, another rehashed fuck up where they will miss the point of Lestat entirely and make it weird" but omg that first episode it felt like "Finally, finally, someone gets it".
The best part of QotD movie is Aaliyah as Akasha. I wonder who they’ll cast for the show.
I liked Aaliyah as a singer, but found her acting in QotD very poor.
Lestat
i hated him in season 1, but now i’m starting to like him. Main reason is because i’m starting to dislike Louis.
Why?
well, now that Lestat is absent, the glamorization is happening, and Sam just looks hotter in season 2. And we’re seeing how he was right to protect Claudia from the other vampires. And now we’re seeing that Louis is not that good of a person, mainly because of how he is and will be treating Claudia. Just more info and perspectives are being revealed about him.
Season 1: Louis Season 2: Daniel
Armand has always been my favorite. I SCREAMED when they revealed Assad as Armand, because the writers understood the assignment so well, and Assad executed it with precision. He is meant to be disarming and cute and seemingly harmless when you meet him. Armand is full of duality, and Assad conveys it so well. Lethal yet vulnerable. Intense yet tender. Terrified yet domineering. A control freak that desperately wants someone else to be in control. An angelic vision with demonic tendencies. And Assad is doing such an amazing, phenomenal job portraying Armand on screen.
I read the book when I was 11 in 1984. Been a life long fan. Hated Tom Cruse though. For me? New Orleans. The city itself. That book, and all the others, instilled a deep love for that city. To this day, I have New Orleans stuff all over my home. I will retire there someday. Anne Rice gifted me with love for a city on the other side of the country, in a way that has lasted for over 30 years
When I made it to the Garden District in 2010, I was so sad to not see what I was reading. It’s like Anne Rice made up this glorious place that technically existed but didn’t live up to her visions. :(
I kind of agree, but for me...I love that city. It calls to me. For me, I feel the history in my soul when I'm there.
Lestat. Forever and always with this narcissistic, trainwreck of a vampire. I see too much of myself in him, but perhaps that's a byproduct of reading the vamprie chronicles at a very young and impressionable age and wanting to be Lestat. I did the same with Dorian Gray. Being young, insecure and queer but not knowing you were queer yet led me into some dark characters to latch onto, it seems. Still. I love Lestat for his flaws, his nuance, his beauty, his unreliable narrator status, his cunitness.
Mon dieu we're talking about the show here too - still Lestat. But Jacobs version of Louis has captivated me in such a way I can't even find the words to describe, And Ben Daniels portrayal of SANTAIGO? Inspired, iconic, thrilling, so so wonderful. It's amazing to see a character who was never given the fleshing out vampires got in the later works by Anne get some backstory and development in the series. Ben Daniels has been insane so far and it's only been two episodes. He's playing Santiago as a very messy bitch who's here for the drama and i am HERE for it.
Ben Daniels as Santiago is a fucking revelation. Hes mesmerizing.
I cannot possibly choose between Lestat and Louis 😭 don’t do this to me, it hurts
Chooooooooose! 😛
😂😂🙃🙃
Lestat. He’s so over the top and a dramatic bitch and I love him.
Armand. He’s so calculated and smooth, but he has these little vulnerabilities and moments of care with Louis and even with Daniel that make me so weak. He’s dangerous and untrustworthy but if he decides someone’s “in” he’s tremendously loyal and protective. He’s just so complex. Not to mention how crazy charming Assad is too, god. I just love him.
Oh this is dope. It's great to hear from Armand fans. I'm wondering if certain things in the Vampire Armand will be revealed during the course of this series. Should be interesting. I completely distrust Armand but Assad is doing a great job. I have no complaints with him as an actor whatsoever. I also think Armand/Daniel have great chemistry. . .
I haven’t gotten to reading it yet (I only found the show last week lol) but I’m absolutely down for any more Armand info we get to see. And I absolutely agree, the way Armand looks at and talks to Daniel comes off so flirty to me. Daniel’s no bs takes are such a good counter to Armand too.
AWESOME!! I'm so excited that this show is drawing in new viewers. The constant worry within this fanbase has been whether we will get a season 3 - everyone here, no matter who our faves are, no matter the issue, what we want most is for this show to continue on. It's great to see that you've recently found it. Did you just binge S1?
Oh for sure, it’s become my favorite show and the fanbase so far has been lovely. Technically I knew about it before because my mom has been a fan of the books for my entire life lol, me and my best friend just finally got around to watching it last weekend. We binged all that’s out currently in one day, and I’ve already rewatched s1, I am truly obsessed lol.
You’re absolutely right. I’m dying for TVL adaptation!!! So I love new people loving this 💕
Honestly I can't choose a favorite because they are all essential to the story, I could choose Lestat but in this season I'm going to side with Daniel, he seems to be the easiest to defend lol I also like the sarcastic shots he makes around all this drama.
Lmao. Daniel's actually been my favorite character *this* season, and it's so funny, because I did not take to him until the very last episode of S1. But his sarcasm, no-BS attitude, willingness to call shit out, general hilarity (realRashid haha) - it's been awesome. He also has really good chemistry with Armand. Which is interesting ;) So I feel you completely. But Louis has my heart.
I said this about 2 years ago but my favorite is and continues to be Louis. And it’s one particular thing that encapsulates a lot and that is his soft and tender side. Like OP said, his gruff exterior was a shield and mask he had to wear to survive but what I appreciate most about his character is seeing what he loves play out on screen. He loves books and is a huge book worm as well as having a passion for music and art. Something that is considered amongst black men to be a soft trait or a sign of weakness. To me it shows that he learned to embrace himself as beautiful writing in his character that men, especially black men, don’t have to be one thing and should be free to embrace who they are and what they love.
Oh I love all of this. YESSSS! This is beautiful!!
Daniel. He’s sitting in a room, surrounded by predators, and doing his best to challenge them and make them accountable to the truth. He offers a perfect contrast to the vampires - physically weakened by time and disease, but still fighting for his life, wearing his cynicism like a shield but clearly still a believer in telling a story right. Eric Bogosian is just perfection in the role.
I do love Lestat. I miss Lestat like a miss a friend. In all honesty, he's so insane, especially in the way Louis remembers him. I really can see what qualities of him migrated from the books and how much work Sam put into him. He's just a funny bastard. I have a lot of love for Louis and Claudia too. Louis does everything for the ones he loves, even though they might not to the same. He's more complex than he is in the first book, he's interesting to follow and I often feel bad for him, because in the end, like Lestat, he wants to love and to be loved. Claudia is a creepy little thing either way. She's compelling either way and the fare she meets makes me cling to her even more. Claudia deserves to be happy, maybe the most out of all vampire we met. I really warmed up to Delainey and I already feel sad to think abotu the yellow dress.
Every single main character brings something different to the table so there's really no way that I could choose just one. I guess they're like potato chips.
For both book and TV Lestat I just love the cocky personality. Well I would say he has a cocky holier than thou personality and God damn I love those kinds of characters. I might update about movie Lestat if I can find where to actually watch the movie.
Ha I actually liked Claudia the most in the movie. Kirsten Dunst was fabulous. I think you can rent it on Amazon Prime? I did like Tom Cruise's Lestat. The blond wig was bad lol and he wasn't exactly right for the role, but he really committed, and I appreciated that.
If we get a scene with Santiago and Lestat going head to head, I will explode with joy. The chewed scenery. The line readings. The dramatic pauses. The makeup. The props. Shantay, you both stay. I can't pick one over the other at the moment.
I am praying for this
Claudia.
I've been in love with Lestat as a character for such a long time at this point...it would feel wrong for me to say anyone else! I've mentioned this on other posts, but Sam Reid plays Lestat exactly the way I imagined him to be in the books. Neither Tom Cruise or Stuart Townsend came nearly as close to how I envisioned Lestat in my head like Sam does. His portrayal is my favorite, no comparison!
 Lestat.... Always been a sucker for the bad boy 😍
If you asked me this when I watched most of season 1, I’d probably say Louis. For all the reasons mentioned. But I may say Daniel now. He’s got a sass, a spunk, and IDGAF air about him that I really love. I haven’t read the books (yet) so he’s also a bit of a mystery to me but there’s obviously depth there, so I like that too
Yes, I absolutely feel you. As I posted below, he's been my favorite character thus far *this* season. He's older, he's got Parkinson's, he gives no fucks, and he's gonna say whatever the hell he wants to say and you gotta deal with it. And he's very discerning. He knows there is something off with Louis' memories, apart from his misremembering some details. As a journalist, he's digging for some semblance of truth and authenticity, and I appreciate that from him.
Louis, favorite character and always will be as I read on. I’m in QOTD and I miss him so much, I would die to have him in the books as often as Lestat :(
Lestat is just too much that’s why i love him
Show versions only? Santiago. No contest. Lestat is a very close second, but it’s very hard to choose.
TV Louis all the way, for all the reasons others have given here. His smile breaks my heart. Movie Claudia. Book Lestat.
Lestat is my favorite character of the books but in the show I really love Louis and Daniel
Listen. I know its mostly the actor but Armand has me glued to the screen the micro expresssions are craaazy. And hes so pretty he genuenly looks like what id expect a modern vampire to look like. I think if he leaves his husband for me i can fix fim (I am delusional)
Lestat.
Armand, hands down. I really like the show version, Assad is excellent, but book version is my all time favorite. Beautiful, alluring and sensual with a devious mind. He can be very sweet but is also cunning and manipulative. He is also very intelligent unlike Lestat who irks me with his blatant stupidity. Blood Communion really sealed it for me because he was the only one that knew wtf he was talking about. #teamarmand. Close behind is Daniel. Although he's different in the books I love both versions. The old cranky, snarky but observant one on the show and the naive, boyish, sweet but sassy one in the books.
It's Lestat. But that's far from saying I love Lestat and I don't love anyone else. And it is somewhat different on the TV show than in the books. In the books... I cannot think of any other character like Lestat: he is SO alive and real and even when he stops narrating himself in the books for a bit, my heart aches for him and no matter how interesting the story being told is, and obviously it is still written by Anne Rice... there's a niggle in my mind saying "But I miss Lestat! When will he return?" (The only exception is Armand's tellings! So as you can tell, in the books, Armand would be my second favourite character.) For me, it's that I love to be inside Lestat's head. I read the books when so young ad the way he sees the world and the way he thinks about life and art and good and evil and existence and freedom and the challenging of rules - they both informed my development as a human being and I associated with how Lestat thinks on many topic - with a kind of insatiable blend of hope, yet a need to reason till he gets to his truth... Lestat's light, that other characters talk of - I feel it in his every word and thought. On the show, there's some emotion that just sparks up when Lestat is on screen - danger and yearning and excitement. Leaving aside the ways I connect with Lestat, I am nothing like him personality-wise and his big personality is both a joy and can be terrifying and I particularly love on the TV show how Sam conveys a fragility at Lestat's core: a desperate need in him - a need to be loved, but from a place where he doesn't believe he is loveable. It is very Lestat - Lestat who has always been told he is too much. Lestat who knows he has driven people to madness and death just by being himself. Lestat whose own Mother didn't love her child enough to even teach the boy the alphabet, even though books were her only escape. Lestat, the defective seventh son who could never achieve and who anything he tried to do was somehow wrong - his feelings were wrong, he was wrong. And then he is obviously ever-dangerous, as he freely admits. And through art, a character who can act out the worst transgressions and then still directly ask "But do you still love me? Could anyone love me?" is so human and comparable to what we all ask every day, I think (though, hopefully our evils are lesser!) I adore all the characters on the TV show though! Jacob has deepened Louis so much, that releasing the books post Jacob-Louis, Jacob has allowed me to love book-Louis more than I ever did before. I always found Louis somewhat exasperating and I could never fully understand why all of the vampires adored him so much. Through Jacob's beautiful articulation of Louis, I literally understand him better than I ever did. Rereading Interview with the Vampire, I could find Louis amusing where I used to be annoyed. Jacob has literally shifted my entire perspective of Louis - it's amazing. Obviously what we have gotten so far is Louis' story too. Gosh I adore Assad's Armand. Literally every scene, particularly in the past he does some extraordinary thing that I feel so, so deeply. I don't know where to begin with it all. I am going to reserve a long post to wax lyrical on Assad once S2 is complete as there is SO much more Armand to come in this season, I don't want to do him a disservice by taking just what we've seen so far. But the way Assad can one moment project this angelic serenity: peace, love and gentleness (for example when he first meets Louis) one moment and utter sensitivity (for example when he tells Lestat Nicki is too fragile to be a vampire), to his covetous desire (of Lestat in the flashback), to the way he looks at Daniel... and through to a scary and inhuman side to him which I know we have more of... and then a different kind of control and power as he leads the Theatre des Vampires (and in present day, Louis.).He's so exciting to watch. Claudia... I've loved Delaney this season and I really can't wait to see what I'm sure is going to be heartbreaking stuff from her in the upcoming epiodes. The way she can shift her expression to give such feeling, for example at the end of the recent episode when she finds he will play a child indefinitely - so so good. I mean, there is no getting around the fact that Claudia is a little less impactful than a 6-year-old monster of a vampire, but I still love her very much. I actually really like Daniel in the books and he's very different here, but I love him. He's a perfect counter of cynicism and questioning to these philosophising vampires and there is a big part of me that'll be happy if only we get to see Eric-as-a-vampire this season. Well, this is too long! Sorry!
Hi. You just mentioned *Interview With The Vampire* by Anne Rice. I've found an audiobook of that novel on YouTube. You can listen to it here: [YouTube | Interview With The Vampire - Part 1 (Anne Rice Audiobook Unabridged)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMXW4AYjWiU) *I'm a bot that searches YouTube for science fiction and fantasy audiobooks.* *** [^(Source Code)](https://capybasilisk.com/posts/2020/04/speculative-fiction-bot/) ^| [^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=Capybasilisk&subject=Robot) ^| [^(Programmer)](https://www.reddit.com/u/capybasilisk) ^| ^(Downvote To Remove) ^| ^(Version 1.4.0) ^| ^(Support Robot Rights!)
Louis hands down. Yes the show has made him inadvertently the main character because he is the storyteller. But aside from that, he is so complex, complicated and dynamic. He's a dichotomy while also being multifaceted. I loved the "who are you, Louis?" conversation with Claudia. He IS no one, he is everyone, he's all of us- conflicted with internal struggle, always thinking we are justified in our own actions even if we're only fooling ourselves (and sometimes we aren't even doing that). He and we are caring and gentle for those we deem get the honor but capable of so much we don't even know until faced with it, and yet still in denial. We're justice both gentle as a lamb and vicious as a lion. He's complicated and it's beautiful, and Jacob plays him superbly. Louis reminds me so much of Will Graham from Hannibal on NCB, who is my favorite tv character of all time. IF YOU LOVE LOUIS THEN CHECK OUT THIS SHOW. Anyways, I could go on but yeah, Louis EDIT: SPELLING
It’s interesting that I keep seeing myself more and more attached to Delainey’s Claudia even though I deeply dislike the character from the books. Something about her portrayal is so deep and heartbreaking.
Armand. His story was too relatable to me as a teenager when I read it in the vampire Lestat. All he wanted was to be loved, but never understood what love was because of the people around him. And his relationship with Lestat is just so enthralling to me, just how much Armand adores him and how Lestat can clock him for who he is immediately (ofc bc he’s so openly an asshole but still)
Lestat sweep
Claudia
Jacob's portrayal of Louis is cementing him as one of my favorite fictional characters of all time... Armand and Santiago are heavy hitters this season too! I adore them.
I love them all,I'm really curious about all of their storylines but LOUIS Louis is my baby he resonate with me (to some degree) I love melodramatic characters I can't help. Jacob Anderson is absolutely phenomenal and his acting play a good part in my love for the character I do like Louis in the books but he I found him so annoying sometimes I wanted to shake him up.
If you like melodramatic characters this whole series is for you ❤️
LDPDL
Books, movie, TV show, this has always been my answer.
holla!
Armand I actually love him and see him a someone who want love but really doesn’t know how to maintain love wirhout manipulation. He’s never really been loved and he’s kinda been manipulated all his existence and I just want him to be happy .
it’s Louis. i want to protect him.
Daniel
Of course I like Lestat a lot, but Armand is still my favorite. And I love the version that Assad is giving us even more !
Every time Louis feels anything besides joy my heart literally breaks. We have to protect my boy. Someone find Lestat before the theater kids kill my boy.
i love louis and if i had to guess as to one of the many reasons why i do, the most glaring one is how he's the embodiment of the quote "everything I've ever let go of has claw marks on it" -david foster wallace. louis has the grip of a newborn baby when it comes to everything he loves and, unfortunately for him, he both loves a lot and loves *hard*. he couldn't seem to detach himself from his family despite their increasing hostility towards him and what he has become until his sister had to hold a funeral to bury pre-vampire him. he couldn't let go of Claudia when she ran away leading him to cry out her name and beg for penance for years on end to the point where even the "motherfucker" vampire noticed. he even kept claudia's room the way it was *just in case*. he couldn't let go of his humanity and wanting to 'meddle in human affairs' until this recent season where he ignored his new friend being hounded by a bloodthirsty mob, leaving them to said "human affairs". he can't let go of lestat and literally conjured up a dreamstat in order to continue inflicting upon himself mental torment. he didn't even want to properly kill lestat *just in case* he manages to survive their (read: claudia's) plot to kill him! even Claudia acknowledges this trait and tells him that his attachment to louis is "slowing us down". his hanging onto louis is a major contention in louis-armand's relationship this season >!(I'm sure we've all seen the lestat lestat lestat lestat lestat chant)!
I always loved Marius, but he's not there yet. In the show, I love them all, but Lestat is just centimeters above the rest 😍
Even though this is one who appears very little (in contrast to others like David or Armand), the one that gets the win is Gabrielle. I would have loved for Rice to visit all the years she spent without Lestat.
They could do Gabrielle’s experience SO powerfully on the TV show! Imagine: a full 20 minutes of just Gabrielle… zero spoken words. Just Gabrielle in nature, alone: going into The Earth, exploring never-scene natural mysteries & Daniel Hart’s score conveying Gabrielle’s emotion. Oh my, I WANT IT!!!
Lestat. Unashamedly, unapologetically himself. He knows he is an arrogant prick at the best of times and an absolute monster at the worst. He sometimes does things just to see what happens, he takes risks, falls unabashedly in love at first sight. A beautiful impulsive delicious irresistible monster with a human soul. My first great literary love. Anne Rice's best creation in my opinion. Lestat DeLioncourt. The Brat Prince.
Santiago
A favourite! Hmmm OP puts a pistol to my head.
Hahahaha
I’m the books Lestat was my favorite. In the show, I love Louis. So much.
In the books, I love Marius. In the series, Lestat always.
I was opposed to this TV series, after reading all of the books nothing could top my imagine, or so I thought. Then it happened! I was at Comic-con 2022. The cast was there. I fell completely in love with Sam Reid💝 He was mesmerizing in person and on the screen. I was disappointed that he wasn't going to be onscreen as much but I am totally getting my L'Estat fix weekly💝
The one and only 
I miss Bailey's Claudia. Much like Daniel, I took to her towards the end of S1. Her chemistry with Louis was terrific.
Lestat, specifically Sam Reid’s incredible Lestat. 💯
Lestat. Sam Reid and the show runners have done such an imepcable job of truly exemplifying who he really is. I will always love Staurt Townsend but I think of that movie completely separate, and I never liked Tom Cruise as Lestat. Every time I see this new Lestat on screen I'm just thinking to myself "Yes! Yes! Yes! This is it! That's him!"
Dreamstat
Now that is interesting. Because Dreamstat is a version of Lestat that is Louis' subconscious response to what he feels and is experiencing at the moment, coupled with his grief and pain over killing him. There's much more vulnerability and softness to this Lestat, while still being the brat prince. It's almost Lestat as Louis would have wanted him to be, still irreverent and self-indulgent, but with more intuitiveness.
Yes I know. In my opinion, he is all of the genuine best parts of Lestat removed from his ugly abusive tendencies. That version of him existed and yet he didn't.
Even as a diehard Louis fan, your pick might be my favorite.
Lestat
Lestat was always my favortie in the books and the movies BUT i must said that the actor and the story make me like Louis more in the show and what is crazy is that i didn't like "grey worn" in GOT so yes, Jacob is a very very very good actor
Mother ! Lestat - I hate Armand btw
claudia.
In the books it's definitely Armand. In the show, season 1 Claudia. (And s1 Louis but if I have to pick I guess it's Claudia)
Daniel was my favourite in series 1; I loved the snark and appreciating on a deeper level all the interactions with Rashid/Armand on a rewatch was amazing! In series 2 it is (unsurprisingly) Armand, Assad is playing him so well down to the subtlest of facial tics and head movements. I am so hyped up for episode 5 💕💕
I would say Lestat if it wasn’t for the extreme domestic abuse in episode 5 and his snarky apathy towards Claudia’s rape. That turned me off. Anytime I try to love him again (and trust me, it’s easy to get sucked back in and almost forget, no pun intended) my mind just gets drawn back to those two parts. I just can’t get around those moments no matter how hard i try. The only good things left about Lestat that I admire is that he’s really hot, the actor’s skill is mind blowing, and how petty he is. I almost said Claudia then, and while I do LOVE her even though she started to get on my nerves in season 2. I couldn’t think of anything that made me like her outside of her relationship to Louis and the impact she’s had on him. Also that she’s a survivor and such a strong lady. She’s the only one who has shown Louis the love and allegiance he gave her, despite the normal trials that come with any father daughter dynamic (but x10 because you know… vampires) That said, Louis takes the win for me. My love for Louis is simple. All he wants to do is love, appreciate, and mind his own damn business. I may have overlooked Louis being my favorite because he’s the main character so subconsciously I thought he doesn’t count. But he does and he has my heart flaws and all 🥰🥰🥰
i hate Armand on the show. In the books i had no feelings about him