'The Vampire Chronicles': Anne Rice Crowdsources Who Should Play Lestat

By Rachel Cruz, Christian Post Contributor Friday, July 14, 2017

Best-selling author Anne Rice is bringing her book characters to the small screen via "The Vampire Chronicles." In order to cast the stars of her show, she wants fans to help her pick who will play Lestat de Lioncourt.

In a post on Facebook, Rice crowdsourced ideas from the fans of "The Vampire Chronicles." She said she would like to have an unknown play Lestat but her followers might have some suggestions when it comes to "up and coming young actors."

Rice received thousands of responses to her invitation for suggestions. Among them are Tom Mison who played Ichabod Crane on "Sleepy Hollow," Harry Lloyd who played Viserys Targaryen on "Game of Thrones" and Theo James from the "Divergent" movies.

Lestat was famously played by Tom Cruise in the 1994 film "Interview with the Vampire" which also starred Brad Pitt and Christian Slater. Stuart Townsend also played the part in the 2002 film "Queen of the Damned" with Aaliyah. Both movies were based on "The Vampire Chronicles" novels.

In 2016, Rice announced she regained the theatrical rights to her books from Universal Studios and Imagine Entertainment. Hence, she decided to develop the show with her son, Christopher Rice.

"A television series of the highest quality is now my dream for Lestat, Louis, Armand, Marius and the entire tribe," Rice wrote on Facebook last November 2016. "In this the new Golden Age of television, such a series is THE way to let the entire story of the vampires unfold."

In April, Rice was able to close a deal with Paramount Television and Anonymous Content for the TV show.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with Anne, Christopher, and the team at Anonymous Content on this epic series," Amy Powell, president of Paramount TV stated in a press release. "It is undeniable that Anne Rice has created the paradigm against which all vampire stories are measured."

A release date for the TV show has not been confirmed, pending casting and the ironing out of production details.

Rice wrote over 30 books in her career, 12 of which were part of "The Vampire Chronicles." In the video below, the author talks about how she developed the character Lestat to become the main star of her stories.