Sam Reid has been cast in the lead role of Lestat in AMC’s “Interview With the Vampire” series, Variety has learned.
The show, which was officially greenlit in June, is based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name. The book 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.
The casting could represent a long-term investment in Reid on AMC’s part. As the company has the rights to all of Rice’s “The Vampire Chronicles” books and Lestat appears in multiple entries, Reid could find himself portraying the character across multiple series. At this time, however, “Interview With the Vampire” is only “Vampire Chronicles” series that has been greenlit by AMC.
He will be the third actor to portray Lestat onscreen, after Tom Cruise in the 1994 “Interview with the Vampire” film and Stuart Townsend in the 2002 film “Queen of the Damned.”
Reid currently stars in the Australian drama series “The Newsreader,” with shows like “The Hunting,” “Lambs of God,” “Prime Suspect 1973,” and “The Astronaut Wives Club” also among his TV credits. On the film side, he is known for roles in features such as “Belle,” “’71,” “Anonymous,” and “The Railway Man.”
He is repped by Curtis Brown, WME and Independent Management Company.
The cabler has given “Interview With the Vampire” an eight episode order with an eye toward a 2022 debut on both AMC and AMC Plus. Rolin Jones will serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the series under his overall deal with AMC Studios. Mark Johnson will executive produce under his overall deal with AMC Studios as well, with Anne Rice and Christopher Rice also executive producing. Alan Taylor will direct the first two episodes and serves as an executive producer.
Variety exclusively reported last year that AMC had acquired the rights to Rice’s book series “The Vampire Chronicles” and “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches.”