Levan Akin (‘Interview with the Vampire’ director): ‘I had to pinch myself’ when bringing Anne Rice’s gothic ‘queer romance’ to life [Exclusive Video Interview]
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“I remember being on set in New Orleans walking the backlot and thinking to myself, ‘wow, this is a high budget, A+ series that has not just the queer romance, but also a problematic one,'” reveals director Levan Akin about working on “Interview with the Vampire.” For our recent webchat he adds, “I had to pinch myself. I mean, I had to pinch myself all the time, just being there in New Orleans, because I’d actually been there 10 years before and I did an Anne Rice tour. So I was just like, I can’t believe I’m back filming this!” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
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AMC’s “Interview with the Vampire” was created by Emmy winner Rolin Jones (“Friday Night Lights”), based on the 1976 novel by Anne Rice and adapted in the 1994 Neil Jordan-directed film of the same name. The gothic horror drama follows the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) who recounts his life with his maker Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) and teenage vampire Claudia (Bailey Bass and Delainey Hayles) to veteran journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), accompanied by ancient vampire Armand (Assad Zaman). The seven-episode first season begins with Louis, an affluent Black man in 1910s New Orleans, who is romanced and later made a vampire by the charismatic Lestat. Their initial flirtation evolves into a passionate relationship, which is later complicated by the introduction of Lestat’s newest fledgling, the teenage vampire Claudia. Production on the series’ second season is currently underway in Prague, Paris and New Orleans, and is set to premiere on AMC in early 2024.
Akin, previously best known for his work in his homeland Sweden is one of four directors on the series alongside Emmy winner Alan Taylor (“The Sopranos”), Keith Powell and Alexis Ostrander. The Swedish native directed the fifth and sixth episodes, entitled “A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart” and “Like Angels Put in Hell by God,” respectively, with the sixth (and penultimate episode) being one of the season’s strongest instalments, as a remorseful Lestat makes grand overtures over a number of years to reunite with Louis, Lestat revealing his vampire origins and an unforgiving Claudia hatching a plan to kill Lestat.
The episode then ends in spectacular fashion with a telling glimpse into Louis’ story as journalist Daniel dreams of his first encounter as a young man with Louis in 1970s San Francisco. “That was my favorite thing to film as a whole from both my episodes because it’s an iconic scene,” Akin admits. “That’s the first time they meet, and I got to film that. I was very, very excited about it. And Luke [Brandon Field], who plays young Malloy, he’s fantastic. And you’ll see more of him in this season. I thought that that was a very fun thing to do.”
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