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UK release date: Jan 1995
Running Length: 2:02
Rated: 18 (Violence, gore, mature themes, nudity)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, Antonio Bandaras, Christian Slater, Stephen Rea
Director: Neil Jordan
Producers: Stephen Wooley and David Geffen
Screenplay: Anne Rice based on her novel
Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot
Music: Elliot Goldenthal
Released by Warner Brothers
Tom Cruise is a pain in the bloody neck.
Or at least he is in Interview With the Vampire in which the toothy superstar plays an immortal blood sucker.
"I used to love horror movies as a kid," he recalls. "You know, Creature Feature, Fright Night, I used to love staying up for them with my sisters so it was great to end up playing a role such as this."
Cruise's casting as the immortal vampire was a controversial decision. Many of the novel's fans were up in arms and made their feelings known to the studio. Even the book's author wasn't too enamoured with the diminutive star, calling him: 'Too mom and apple pie,' to play her cultured anti-hero and she begged him to drop out of the movie. Cruise was aware of the public reservations and it left him more than a little wary as the film began shooting.
"I remember being afraid to bring my family down to New Orleans thinking what kind of fans are these people. Am I going to have burning crosses in my front yard. How serious would these people take it?
"In my defence, I felt I had a lot to offer the character but you never know how things are going to turn out. You know waking up those first few days and shooting it was weird. The butterflies had turned into tigers in my stomach eating away at the lining. To me I just wanted to be faithful to the book and the characters because they are so well drawn."
His initial fears about the role were unfounded. Author Anne Rice even went so far as to take out a two page newspaper advert praising both Cruise and the movie.
Cruise puts much of the success down to his deliciously evil role, a part any actor would love to get their teeth into.
̉Lestat very much knows who he is. He is the definitive vampire. He's higher up on the food chain than we are. The character's so wonderfully written you understand his viewpoint on being a vampire - it's the greatest adventure of all time. From a human viewpoint we think: 'Oh he's killed all these people with no conscience about it but if you look at it from Lestat's viewpoint, he's a vampire, he sees it like we would see killing a cow or picking fruit off a tree."
Extensive shooting on soundstages in London amid fire and smoke tested the good will of the whole cast including Brad Pitt, Christian Slater and Antonio Banderas but for Cruise the biggest problem was just trying to see straight.
"The toughest thing I physically had to do was wear contact lenses. I don't normally wear them. I've never worn glasses, I've never had anything in my eyes. It made me physically ill. Vampires have problems let me tell you."
The film's staggering success at the US box office has left his position as one of the most bankable stars in the world untarnished but for the multi- millionaire, it's still the thrill of acting which keeps him coming back for more.
"A lot of people see the finished product and they don't know what it is to bring a scene up on its feet. It's a lot of fun and very challenging."
© 1995 Roger Crow
