Jacob Anderson Digs Deeper Into the Finale of “Interview with the Vampire” “Insane”

In terms of really committing, was that something you felt comfortable with right away? Does it require some level of adjustment?

I remember reading parts of Dubai, and just trying to make that language easy to talk to but at the same time foreign is what I’m always aiming for. There’s a version of this show that I think is very serious and too serious, and I don’t think any of us ever wanted to do that show and thank God.

This may sound random but I had a strange bit of inspiration the night before the first day of filming. One of my favorite movies is Hot Bar with Andy Samberg. I think it has one of the best storylines of any movie ever, and I think the performances in it are incredible. After all the preparation for the first part—learning tap dancing, studying long passages by Anne Rice and Rolin Jones—I felt really overwhelmed by the whole task ahead of me. I took a shower and I watched Hot Rod Vehicles on my laptop. Really, the commitment that everyone in the movie had to what they were doing, I realized that the only way for any story to be successful is for everyone to give it their all.

I don’t mean to sound condescending, because there’s so much great stuff being made right now. But this is never going to be a show where we just get to stock up on content and say our lines and go home. It can only work if we all allow ourselves to be as silly and emotional as possible.

That makes me think of that moment at the end, in your scene with Lestat, when there’s a very dramatic piece of music playing and we’re having that long-awaited meeting between the two of you—and then Lestat says , “Siri, stop.” The music playing from his phone suddenly stopped.

That was one of my favorite moments! When those uplifting moments are infused with humor, that’s what makes it real. That’s what creates these really big emotions. We’ve all slipped on a banana peel on the worst day of our lives.

Episode five is one of the best episodes of the season, as we get to know Louis in the 1970s—and in one of his darkest moments. It also ends with him wearing head-to-toe prosthetics, after Louis walks into the sun in an attempt to commit suicide.

I have done a lot Jeff Goldblum IN Fly everything. It reminds me of that. I did a lot of Jeff Goldblum. [Laughs] There are things about Louis in San Francisco at that time [from Anne Rice’s books] It’s not really in the episode, but hopefully I tried to include some of it. That version of Louis is closer to the Louis in the book, the way he talks about Lestat. There’s a real cockiness and detachment. I wanted to make sure that it was a little jarring, because in season one, when we first meet him, he’s very charming. As soon as they get back to the apartment, that drops and he doesn’t have the energy anymore. I always think of it as, Louis is an addict at that point. His mood is determined by what he eats and what his food has put into their bodies, and so he’s very erratic. I wanted him to feel like he could flip at any moment. He could cry or he could do what he does.