‘Interview With the Vampire’ Stars on Shocking Finale Twist

Sometimes, it takes a “huh” to explode an almost 80-year-old relationship. Or at the least that seemingly innocuous response is the catalyst to uncovering what investigative journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) calls a “seismic lie” in the thrilling Interview With the Vampire Season 2 finale.

(Warning: Spoilers forward for Interview With the Vampire.)

Daniel has been enjoying half reporter and half {couples} therapist to the vampires Armand (Assad Zaman) and Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) in the AMC adaptation of the best-selling Anne Rice novel. Since discovering Armand manipulated Daniel’s mind in 1973, Daniel’s distrust and disdain towards Armand have hit an all-time excessive. So when an annotated play script of the trial that killed Claudia (Delainey Hayles) in the late ’40s results in Daniel’s possession, you may be certain as shit consider he’s going to spill Armand’s long-kept secret: It wasn’t Armand who saved Louis from execution on the Théâtre des Vampires stage, however Louis’ ex, Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid).

It will get worse, as Armand doesn’t simply promote Louis and Claudia to the vampire coven doubling as a theater troupe; he additionally directs the play that doubles as their trial and punishment—and Claudia’s dying. Louis might forgive Armand’s earlier indiscretions all through their relationship, however unsurprisingly, it is a dealbreaker. Before Louis takes an emotional journey again house to New Orleans to reunite with Lestat, he explicitly instructs Armand about the journalist, “You’re not to touch him.” Unfortunately (or possibly luckily) for Daniel, it looks as if Armand ignored this instruction.

The subsequent time we see Daniel, he’s in a extra buoyant and combative—even by his requirements—temper on native Atlanta information selling his best-selling memoir, Interview With the Vampire. His exuberance and DGAF angle towards WYZL Atlanta host Leonard Micheal (David Costabile) isn’t merely on account of his ebook’s staggering 5 million gross sales in 4 months. It is a brand new lease of life—or ought to I say dying—as Daniel has joined the creatures of the night time. Yes, the interviewer is now a vampire.

When The Daily Beast’s Obsessed sat down to speak to Eric Bogosian and Assad Zaman over Zoom about this bombshell finale, the present’s just-announced Season 3 renewal hadn’t occurred but; nonetheless, that didn’t cease the pair from speculating about what would possibly occur subsequent. “I want to see mad Armand, crazy gremlin Armand. We get a glimpse of it in Episode 5. I’m ready to play with that next season,” says Zaman.

During a telepathic dialog between Louis and Daniel, Daniel seemingly refers to Armand as his maker. Still, once I mentioned I wished to see Daniel go for a drink with Lestat, Bogsian jokingly recommended: “I think that’s how I became a vampire. I think we get really shit-faced together, and all of a sudden, his [Lestat’s] teeth are in my neck.”

Whereas Armand and Daniel can’t assist however poke and prod at one another, their real-life counterparts are desperate to get again to working collectively. Here, Bogosian and Zaman speak about the remark resulting in Louis and Armand’s huge breakup, Bogosian getting to meet one in all his performing desires, and the way the playful behind-the-scenes ambiance advantages the thorny and emotionally intimate sequences.

I’m going to start out at the finish of the finale and one in all the largest bombshells. Eric, at what level did you uncover that Daniel would grow to be a vampire this season, and what was your response?

Bogosian: I suppose I knew as we had been capturing, early in April or one thing. Weirdly for me, I used to be on a visit to the Midwest to see a play my spouse was directing a few years in the past, and I used to be pondering, “Is there anything left that I want to do? I’ve always wanted to play a vampire.” We’ve carried out workshops of the authentic Dracula play. I’m in a kind of Blade 3 motion pictures—very transient position. “I just want to be a vampire. It’s what I want.” Then, this supply got here in the day after I landed. I used to be like, “What a coincidence!” But no, you’re not going to be a vampire. So yeah, as we moved towards it, I used to be very comfortable. I don’t know the place this all results in. Clearly, my character will get a distinct stage of vitality, which is absolutely enjoyable for me.

Image Courtesy of AMC Network

Zaman: You’ve obtained to start out figuring out proper now.

Bogosian: I’m figuring out! [Daniel’s] Pretty sarcastic to start with, however now I get to be full sarcastic and all the different issues. In that scene the place I’m interviewed about the ebook, that’s my pal David Costabile from Billions. We did Billions collectively, however I additionally play poker with him. I requested if it could be okay if he’d be the man, and he got here in, and we had a blast. I don’t know if I’m the finest improviser in the world, however he’s, and that was a enjoyable scene to shoot.

We glimpse your vampire nails in that scene, and you have the sun shades on to cover the vampire eyes, however it additionally feels somewhat Lou Reed-y.

Bogosian: Lou Reed is the godfather to my look; to Anthony Bourdain’s look. There are individuals who principally inherited this black leather-based, curly black hair factor. Lou was one in all the most dour individuals you could possibly ever meet. There was nothing enjoyable or spirited about Lou; he was intense. I’m kind of on my very own there in my very own little realm. I don’t know the place it comes from. It’s not me. I suppose I like being different folks that aren’t like what I truly am like.

Image Courtesy of AMC Network

Did you get any recommendation on easy methods to cope with the vampire nails and speak to lens equipment?

Bogosian: I’ve been listening to those guys complaining for a 12 months and a half. [Zaman laughs] I used to be not wanting ahead to it. There are two sorts of nails; there’s not-permanent nails—they’ll drive you loopy. Then there’s everlasting nails, which I feel Sam [Reid] has everlasting nails.

Zaman: I obtained them as nicely. I obtained the everlasting ones.

Bogosian: My god, you may’t do something when you’ve these nails on. When you do the eyes, you may’t actually see. Although I’m all the time marveling at your response photographs, Assad, since you guys do such intense stares into one another—and towards me. I obtained somewhat recommendation, however it was all fairly rushed. We had been getting towards the wrap, and I used to be feeling like I might use somewhat extra vampire apply and hopefully, I’ll get some in the future.

Assad, Armand hasn’t made a vampire earlier than. How did you reply to the incontrovertible fact that he’s the one who turns Daniel? It appears like an act of revenge as a result of Daniel ruined his almost 80-year relationship.

Zaman: If you set it into human views or human equivalences, it’s virtually the most heinous and violent act that you just commit out of desperation and anger. It is the form of crime of ardour if you both kill somebody or actually mutilate them. We know the way Armand feels as a result of we hear in Episode 6 how he feels about the thought of creating one other vampire. That’s why he’s by no means carried out it. It repulses him, and I feel it actually does. I feel it’s the thought of bringing somebody into this type of life figuring out what he’s been by. It’s one thing he would not want even on his worst enemy till his worst enemy tears his life aside.

What is sensible is we now have this query: When and the way did this occur in Dubai? This season, the query was: What occurred in San Francisco? I feel subsequent season goes to be: What occurred in Dubai? I’m excited to discover how we obtained to that second the place Armand did it. Did it occur straight in a flash? I do not assume it could have as a result of Louis would have been too shut in proximity. I’m actually inquisitive about how that goes down.

Bogosian: I used to be warned in the sushi bar. You know, he [Raglan James, played by Justin Kirk] mentioned to me, ‘Other people have tried to pull this off, and they’re not round to speak about it, and a few have been turned.’ I feel deep down, there’s all the time been an element that goes again to San Francisco that Daniel desires to be a vampire. But then he’s obtained your rational versus your irrational self, and his rational self, he defined in the first season why this isn’t a good suggestion. But what number of instances have we carried out issues that aren’t a good suggestion, however you do it anyway?

Image Courtesy of AMC Network

The factor with Daniel, Armand, and Louis is the energy dynamics always shift all through the season. To me, it is like an mental ménage à trois fairly than a chess recreation. What was it like capturing that sequence in the finale the place Daniel pulls at these threads? He’s obtained this further info. He’s obtained this bombshell, and the rigidity is excessive, however there’s additionally a playful high quality to it. What was it like in that room?

Bogosian: We knew the place we had been going, the place we’re ending up, and what’s beautiful is that it is a group of actors who can completely inhabit any second, any beat, any emotion, however at the identical time, perceive that we’re making a building right here. We know if you happen to actually need to hit a house run, you gotta carry the bat all the method again. So that may be the lighter moments in the starting; “Oh, just one more question, haha.” At the identical time, this deep undercurrent of our headbanging, the two of us [Daniel and Armand], has been ongoing, which I’m very satisfied by. Your eyes are simply wonderful, Assad; your hatred for me.

Zaman: By the time we had been doing this scene, I feel the three of us, it was easy as a result of we knew one another so nicely. Each of these intense moments was fully the reverse off-screen. We had a fantastic rapport and simply had fun. Having enjoyable with these sorts of moments is the most vital half, as a result of that’s when you may play and provides completely different variations and options for them to select.

In phrases of the dynamic and the shift, for me, the one factor I actually battle taking a look at with Armand is when he decides to brag after the interview is over. His sigh of reduction, he thinks it’s throughout, and he [Armand] decides to say this one little factor. “Yeah, he [Lestat] loved you. I can say that now. He loved you a great deal.” He doesn’t need to say that. You can see it in Eric. You can see Daniel have a look at Armand at that second, and I can completely see in your eyes, “Ah, I’m gonna fucking enjoy this. I’m gonna enjoy taking you down right now, you fucking lying piece of shit.”

Bogosian: We felt very assured in the abilities of our director [Levan Akin]. The script is implausible to start with, so we knew we might throw issues. If we’re advised to do that spectrum of emotion by this second, we all know they’re going to assemble it into one thing tight and good. There is one little beat—I don’t assume you’re actually conscious of Assad— at the very finish, Louis says some last issues to me, and clearly, he’s in an excessive amount of energy. He’s about to go away, and as we had been capturing it, he [Jacob] put out his hand to shake my hand, which was not in the script. That was not nearly what was occurring in the scenes. That was additionally what has been occurring with us, as you had been saying, as a bunch for 3 years, and there was this sense of goodbye that was fairly heartfelt. I don’t assume there’s any close-ups there, however we had been feeling it in that second.

This is a good bunch of actors, so we act, we fake to be these individuals, and revel in inhabiting these individuals after which residing these alternate lives. I feel [Robert] De Niro as soon as mentioned—excuse me for quoting this nice actor—however he mentioned, “I get to do all this stuff without the consequences.” For me, that is the recreation. It’s let’s play fake, we’re pretending, after which I get to do all that, together with being a enjoyable particular person. Because I’m not enjoyable. I’m a really unfun particular person.

Zaman: Lie! It’s a complete lie! We had a lot enjoyable collectively in Prague.

Bogosian: I’m not like that man, the man that I’m towards the very finish of this factor, and I hope we get to do that some extra as a result of I’m able to rock and do extra of that.