The Vampire Lestat saw the return of Delainey Hayles in unexpected ways. First up, Hayles played a brand-new character, a Claudia doppelganger named Regina, who, it turns out, was put into Louis’ path by Armand. But, in addition to this, Delainey Hayles also returned as Claudia’s spirit, raised from her unrest by Louis and Lestat in the hopes of getting some closure. In both versions of her performance, Delainey Hayles absolutely crushed her scenes. And it was Nerdist‘s pleasure to speak with Hayles about both Claudia and Regina as The Vampire Lestat came to a close. Here’s what the talented actress had to say about her characters this season.
Nerdist: Do you feel Claudia’s spirit is truly Claudia in The Vampire Lestat, or has she been transformed by death into something else?
Delainey Hayles: Oh, that’s a good question. I think she’s been dealt very hard cards in life, and I think the moment that we see her in, the moment that we visit her in, I think that is her. I think she’s mega,, mega fuming. Yeah, she’s angry and rightfully so, and she’s in pain. I think in the beginning, it’s all the shock to her to see the guys are in front of her, and then she is like, “Oh, you guys are together as well. How funny.” So it’s like that is all wrapped up in it, why she’s so angry.
And I think to give you a short answer… Do I think that’s her? I think that is a version of her, yeah. Is it her completely? No, I think she’s a very happy vampire with a lot of love, but yeah, in the moment that we catch her in, the moment that we visit her, it’s nothing but pain for Claudia.
Do you think there’s any way Claudia might eventually find rest? What would it take for her to be soothed?
Delainey Hayles: I hope she does find rest. Yeah, I really hope she does because her whole life has been kind of an injustice. Everything has been done to her. And now she is alone again, which is the worst thing to be for a vampire. So I hope she finds rest, and her rest is being able to find Madeleine.
How do you think Regina feels about Louis at the end of the season? Is she still thinking about him? Or is she like, ‘I’m done with all this vampire nonsense. We’re out’?
Delainey Hayles: I think it’s both. Yeah, I think we saw her leg it out of the room, and I think in her mind she was like, “I need to get out of here.” But I don’t think it’s escaped from her mind that Louis was doing everything he could in the room to try to save her. So maybe it’s one of those things where it’s like, I don’t know, she goes back to waitressing, and then she’s like, “Oh, yeah. I wonder what he’s up to.”
It’s a crazy story. She’ll tell it to people, and nobody believes it. So, who knows?
The Vampire Lestat is now streaming on AMC and AMC+. If you’d like more insights into the season, you can also pick up The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice for your reading pleasure.
Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She cannot possibly wait two more years for more of the The Vampire Lestat.
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