The Vampire Lestat has concluded its intense season of horror, beauty, and the deep examination of the soul. Although Jacob Anderson’s Louis is no longer in the narrator’s seat this season, his presence in the narrative is as critical as ever, especially in the season’s final episode. There, an intense, incredible confrontation takes place between Louis and Armand, the pair of them finally meeting for the first time after the disastrous end of their decades-long relationship in Dubai. As the season comes to an end, Nerdist sat down with Jacob Anderson to discuss all things Louis, from his true perspectives on Armand to his relationships with Daniel and Lestat to what the fog of love and eternity really mean to a vampire. You can read our full interview with The Vampire Lestat‘s Jacob Anderson below, and enjoy this glimpse into Louis de Pointe du Lac.
Nerdist: Louis’ amends to Armand were really beautiful. The line that caught me was, “I saw good in you for a while.” Do you think Louis can still see good in Armand?
Jacob Anderson: I think Louis does see good in Armand, but I don’t know if Louis thinks that Armand is good, if that makes sense.
I really love that line as well because it’s like an acknowledgment that Armand is many things. I think as well, Louis sort of acknowledging that they never spent any time on why Armand is the way he is, that’s also really beautiful.
But yeah, I think it’s maybe a bit soon for Louis to go full forgiveness. And I also don’t think that all of his amends are true. I think there are moments of truth, but I wouldn’t say that Louis blames himself specifically for having his head chopped off.
Nerdist: One relationship that I haven’t seen talked about as much this year is between Louis and Daniel. They really seem to bond in season two, and then Louis was upset about the book, but then they both seemed to want to salvage the friendship. Now it’s complicated. Where do you think they are with one another?
Jacob Anderson: I don’t know. We don’t really go there in the second part of the season. I think it’s a weird move from Daniel. There are a lot of weird moves from Daniel towards Louis. I’m not really sure. I feel like Louis takes one for Lestat at the end. Louis picks on Daniel a bit at the dinner, but yeah, where they’re at now is complicated.
By the end of the season… I think… now Louis’ pissed. I don’t think there’s much chance of trust.
Nerdist: Do you think Louis actually did know Armand was observing Daniel all that time after San Francisco?
Jacob Anderson: Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
Nerdist: So he invited Daniel to Dubai, knowing Armand was obsessed with him?
Jacob Anderson: Yeah, I think that Louis had a secondary objective there. I think it’s true what Louis says in season one. Something’s wrong, and he needs to figure out what it is, and he knows that Daniel will be able to help him. But there’s a secondary objective. I think nothing really changes massively with that knowledge. It was always implied that there was a double game being played or a triple game, really, being played in Dubai. Yeah, I don’t think it changes much other than it’s a fun detail.
Nerdist: The fog of vampiric love really played a major role this season. How do you define that feeling for Louis, and what about Lestat brings that out in him?
Jacob Anderson: I think Louis and Lestat are growing together. I think that’s what the fog of love is this time, it’s an excitement about the person that they’re meeting now. I really like the thing about the theory of relationships that you need to keep meeting the person where they are, rather than where you thought they should be or where they were when you first met them. You have to keep re-meeting them. And I kind of feel like that’s part of what’s happening between Louis and Lestat in episode six. They’re sort of surprising each other, and that can be a real shock, and there can be some real disturbing things around it. But I think that what they come to at the end of those disturbances is something a little bit more comfortable and something a little bit more honest.
It’s just, for me personally, it’s just sad that it had to come at Claudia’s expense again. But yeah, happy for them.
Nerdist: In the books, Armand, Louis, and Lestat drift in and out of one another’s lives, but there’s just a fundamental affection there. Do you think that exists long-term in the series, or is it not like that?
Jacob Anderson: Yeah, they’re vampires. I think they’re all just going to drift in and out of each other’s lives sometimes awkwardly, sometimes angrily, sometimes with great enthusiasm. They’re immortal monsters. And I think that’s part of what makes vampires so interesting, or any kind of undead monster, is the eternity of it. You’d have to keep facing the same people and the same issues again and again and again. So yeah, I think it will always be fun to see the three of them and then combinations of the three of them colliding together again for whatever reason.
You Can Watch Jacob Anderson’s Louis In The Vampire Lestat, Now Streaming in Full
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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