We’ve known for quite some time that Delainey Hayles would be back in The Vampire Lestat. But we didn’t know what character Hayles would play in her return. In Interview with the Vampire, we witnessed the death of Delainey Hayles’ original character, Claudia. Claudia was the vampire daughter of Lestat and Louis, and she was murdered by the Paris Coven for “breaking the Great Laws” of the vampire, while Louis was just barely spared. Uncovering the truth of her death was a core part of Louis’ journey in Interview with the Vampire, and no doubt, reckoning with the grief of losing her will continue to be a major part of his story in The Vampire Lestat. But does Delainey Hayles actually return as Claudia in The Vampire Lestat? In The Vampire Lestat episode three, she comes back to us in the form of someone else, a human. But who is Regina, Delainey Hayles’ new The Vampire Lestat character? Let’s take a closer look at what the series has revealed to us so far about this familiar face with a new name.
Who Does Delainey Hayles Play in The Vampire Lestat?
Delainey Hayles plays Regina in The Vampire Lestat. We meet Hayles’ Regina in The Vampire Lestat episode three, but we hear Louis talking about her as early as episode two.
Who Is Regina in The Vampire Lestat?
So far, all we know about Regina is that she is a human who works as a waitress at a NYC diner called “Brick and Bacon.” Louis describes Hayles’ Regina to Daniel as follows: “I saw Claudia in New York, coming out of the subway… Someone who looked like her, but in her twenties, if she’d made it to her twenties. So I come up, I watched her turn the corner. I saw her walk into a diner. I couldn’t help myself. I go inside, I grab a booth. It’s not her, she’s not there. Chased a ghost, I guess. I ordered a donut and coffee, just to pass. And she comes out the back in uniform. It’s not her. This one’s got a different walk, accent. I’m not in her section. I walked out.”
But indeed, when we see Regina in The Vampire Lestat episode three, played by Delainey Hayles as she is, the character is an exact copy of Claudia. Her accent is British when she speaks to Louis and she’s aged to Hayles’ age at the present. But we can see how intense this might be for the character.
Is Regina Related to Claudia at All?
For now, we don’t know if Regina and Claudia have any kind of cosmic connection on The Vampire Lestat. Anne Rice’s universe is full of all kinds of magic and powers, though, so we guess we can’t entirely rule it out either.
Nerdist Take: What Role Will Delainey Hayles’ Regina Play in Louis’ Story in The Vampire Lestat?
What we can say is that Regina’s resemblance to Claudia is likely not good for Louis if Regina is, indeed, not at all connected to Claudia in The Vampire Lestat. Louis already went to the diner once to see Regina, as he told Daniel. And now we see that he’s returned again. The idea of seeing someone we love come back to life is, of course, a temptation that no human and vampire could withstand easily. But if Regina is truly just some human person, then she likely cannot actually help Louis with his grief over Claudia. In all likelihood, she would just make it worse if she is not actually Claudia in any way. And, especially for a vampire, intense grief can be a dangerous thing. We want healing for Louis, but we’re not sure this is the path that brings it.
Will We See More of Delainey Hayles’ Regina in The Vampire Lestat?
Given that The Vampire Lestat episode three concludes with Louis meeting Regina at her diner, we feel like the answer is definitely yes—Delainey Hayles will be back as Regina in at least one more episode. What will that bring, though? Only time will tell.
The Vampire Lestat (or season three of Interview with the Vampire) is currently streaming on AMC and AMC+. New episodes arrive Sundays at 9 pm PT/ET on AMC and at midnight on AMC+. You can also read Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat book today.
Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She cannot take any more Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat devastation for Louis or anyone else.
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Originally published on June 21, 2026.