“Our other seasons are like a slow fuse ending up with fireworks. This season is a lot of explosions that end up with an atom bomb at the end. No one is going to see this coming.” That’s how Eric Bogosian described The Vampire Lestat, aka Interview With the Vampire Season 3, to TV Insider on the AMC Upfront carpet in April. That, and, “It’s pretty exciting. It’s pretty fun. Plus, Sam [Reid] is a rock star, and he’s the real thing.”
The Vampire Lestat premieres on Sunday, June 7, on AMC, and it will give viewers a deeper look at the fledgling vampire Daniel Molloy after he was given the dark gift (off-camera) by Armand (Assad Zaman) at the end of Season 2. Unsurprisingly, Daniel’s partying a lot with Lestat and his band. But Bogosian told us that “it’s part of the season that Daniel is going through trauma becoming a vampire.”
Daniel had Parkinson’s as a human, and while it hasn’t been explicitly said in the show yet, vampirism should have healed that. Even if he’s no longer living with that disease, Bogosian said, “It’s hard when you’re becoming a vampire, and you’re also already old and have already lived your life.”
“He also has other things he has to work out. When Daniel was doing things with Louis, there was a simpatico thing,” the Talk Radio star went on. “That’s not happening with Lestat. Lestat is the brat, and Daniel is actually kind of a brat, too. They get on each other’s nerves a lot, so that’s a big, fun part of it. Sam can be very funny, and I really enjoyed doing stuff with him.”
Ultimately, Daniel likes the undead life, but even late-onset immortality can’t perfect his existence.
“He’s enjoying it, yes,” Bogosian told TV Insider, “but Daniel’s in some pretty deep water. This is like getting invited to the fraternity, and they all want to haze you all the time. It can be rough at times for poor old Daniel.”
Viewers have yet to see Daniel meet his maker after his transformation at the end of Season 2. The Vampire Lestat trailer released in April shows Armand saying to Daniel, “He’s going to get us all killed” (see below), so we know that Daniel and Armand see each other this season in some capacity. Fans are eager for answers about how and why Armand turned Daniel, especially because his turning comes from a beloved chapter from Anne Rice‘s The Queen of the Damned called “The Story of Daniel, the Devil’s Minion, or the Boy from Interview with the Vampire.”
Bogosian can tease nothing about his first scene with Zaman in Season 3. What he can say is, “It’s pretty intense, one of the more intense scenes I’ve ever filmed.”
Of course, he can always gush about his costars.
“I have to say, working with all these guys in the show, but Assad especially, because I do a lot of stuff with him this season, they are so realistic on set, that you almost don’t have to act,” Bogosian raved. “And this incredibly sweet guy, when he’s not on-camera, turns into this really evil guy, and it’s very easy to get upset with him, which I do. I get upset with all of them, but particularly [Armand and Lestat].”
What about Daniel’s relationship with Louis (Jacob Anderson)? Their dynamic was one of the highlights of the first two seasons. Now, Louis is pissed that Daniel published the book about their time together. Bogosian said that Daniel is unfazed.
“I don’t think Daniel worries too much [about Louis’ opinion]. Daniel has a pretty outsized ego, and like a lot of people who have big egos, he thinks that everything he does is great,” the Succession alum explained. “In fact, he thinks he’s better than all of these guys, and he doesn’t care that they can kill him with a flick of their wrist, which is kind of interesting. But that’s kind of me.”
Bogosian returns in Season 3 with Reid, Anderson, Zaman, Delainey Hayles, and more. He’s delighted that Hayles is back, and that Jennifer Ehle has joined the fold as Lestat’s mother.
“We have the most beautiful, wonderful [cast],” Bogosian said. “Jen is just amazing as Gabriella. It’s great to have Delainey back. Delainey is genius. You don’t always get this, but we’re a very happy family of actors, and I think there’s two things that make that happen. One, it’s an incredibly talented group of people…Nobody’s ever trying to get in front of anybody. Everybody’s working…We make space for each other. It’s a very generous set, and I love that. And they’re so deep into their roles, you get to really make believe. That’s why I act. I want to make believe. We go right into it. We live it.”
The Vampire Lestat, Premieres Sunday, June 7, 9/8c, AMC, Streaming on AMC+
