Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 5 of Interview with the Vampire.

The Big Picture

Season 2, Episode 5 finally reveals Louis and Daniel’s first interview, with Armand’s influence slowly unraveling.
Luke Brandon Field shares his audition journey and inspiration behind young Daniel Molloy’s character.
Field opens up about his emotional scenes with Jacob Anderson and Assad Zaman and why he considers this a special episode.

Although Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire technically revolves around a second interview between the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and veteran journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), the AMC adaptation has been teasing a glimpse into the very first recorded conversation between the two — and this week’s Season 2 episode, “Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape,” finally takes us back to that fateful interview. It’s 1973 in San Francisco, and while we know what the outcome of this particular chat will be — Daniel attacked, Louis’ story off the record for decades until he contacts the reporter out of the blue 49 years later — what we don’t yet know is how Louis’ longtime lover, the ancient vampire Armand (Assad Zaman), factors into this memory.

As Daniel begins to recall more than a few bits and pieces of his days in San Francisco, the extent to which Armand may have played a role in obscuring the truth about that very first interview slowly begins to reveal itself through yet another illuminating conversation between Louis and Daniel in the present day. What will be the fallout, now that Louis has to contend with his own emerging recollections of that time?

Ahead of the premiere of “Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape,” Collider had the opportunity to sit down for a conversation of our own with Luke Brandon Field, who first joined the cast as young Daniel Molloy last season and reprises his role in the significant flashback episode. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, Field discusses his journey to being cast on the show, the influence he and Eric Bogosian both drew from independently to play Molloy, and why creator Rolin Jones wanted this particular episode to feel like an off-Broadway play. He also reveals his personal playlist for the more emotional shooting days, what he most enjoyed about getting to play opposite Jacob Anderson and Assad Zaman, why he and Zaman hugged after filming one scene in particular, and more.

Interview with the Vampire Based on Anne Rice’s iconic novel, follow Louis de Pointe’s epic story of love, blood and the perils of immortality, as told to the journalist Daniel Molloy.Release Date 2022-00-00 Creator Rolin Jones Cast Sam Reid , Jacob Anderson , Eric Bogosian , Bailey Bass , Assad Zaman Seasons 2

COLLIDER: Starting at the beginning, how did this role fall into your lap, and what was that initial audition process like? How much did you know ahead of time about who you would be playing?

LUKE BRANDON FIELD: My team sent me the audition, and it was for the young Daniel Molloy. I had read the book at school, and I remembered the character’s name. I’d also seen [the show] during the pandemic, so I was aware. They didn’t give me too much information. I didn’t know anything about Eric [Bogosian] at the time, that he was going to play modern-day Daniel. Then I auditioned for it. You send it off into the ether, and you’re like, “Okay, well, that’s well-written. We’ll see what happens.” Within 24 hours, immediately, they were like, “Oh, you’re a choice for it.” Then the network looked at it, Carly Lane Rolin [Jones] looked at it, and Eric looked at it, and then the next day, two or three days later, they were like, “You’re doing it.” It was my birthday, and they flew me out to New Orleans for my birthday. It was wonderful and very exciting.

I then learned that Eric was doing it, and I went out with Eric the day after I got in from New Orleans. I was aware of him. I’d seen Talk Radio during the pandemic randomly and loved it, and was aware of his work on Succession and Billions and all of that. I had a good idea, but I wanted to make it my own, of course. Obviously, young Molloy is very different from old Molloy, but we spent quite a bit of time chatting before. But it was nerve-wracking because I’m going into this universe. I know a little bit about it, but I also want to do it justice. Plus, I’m playing a younger version of somebody, and I’ve never done that before.

Luke Brandon Field and Eric Bogosian Came Up With the Same Inspiration for Daniel Molloy
Image via AMC

I was going to ask how much of Eric you referred to in order to shape the character — because you’re right, he’s a much older man in the present day, but you can see glimmers, especially in this episode in particular, as he starts to remember the past. What were your conversations like with Eric? Did you watch any Season 1 episodes, as well, for any mannerisms to pick up?

FIELD: I picked up most of the mannerisms of his character from Talk Radio because that’s obviously Eric at a slightly younger stage. Also, the character on Radio is not too dissimilar to Daniel Molloy, so it’s interesting picking up things. I didn’t know this until fairly recently, actually, but Molloy is slightly based on the same person that we came to individually and never spoke about, which is Lou Reed. I’ve been watching interviews with Lou Reed from the ‘70s, and there were aspects of him — slightly prickly but also cheeky, curious, interested, aloof, and indifferent. That gave me a really good path in terms of where young Molloy was. Also, I looked into myself. I like being inquisitive. I like learning about things. Daniel says it himself in the first season. He talks to people in the crevices of society. He’s not going to just talk to a politician or a lawyer. He wants to know, “What does this guy do?”

I actually have a story about Lou Reed. My dad worked at the same label that Lou Reed was on when he was 17, and Lou was meant to go to a press conference at Arista, but they couldn’t find him. My dad was the post boy, and Lou Reed was in the post office with my dad just getting to know him. He was like, “I don’t really need to know these suits. Who are you? Because you’re the guy who’s going to my concerts. You’re a fan. If they want me to know everyone here, I should start from the bottom.” It really resonated with me, and I thought it was really cool, so that was a large help.

Also, in terms of understanding what was going on socially and politically at the time in the ‘70s in America and what culture was being consumed… it was this really interesting counterculture, and Daniel was very much at the forefront of that. A lot of that made up the DNA and the makeup of who young Molloy is. Eric and I did have those chats, and it’s amazing to hear the stories about Eric in the ‘70s. I love New York in that era and that culture, and just getting to ask him, “What was it like going to the nightclub? What was it like at the Danceteria? What was it like seeing James Chance and Patti Smith and Lydia Lunch?” His memories are so amazing. It’s really cool to learn all that stuff.

Related ‘Interview with the Vampire’s Jacob Anderson & Sam Reid on the Sad but Satisfying Season 2 Delainey Hayles also talks about Claudia’s Théâtre des Vampires blue dress and why her sister ended up wearing it.

Luke Brandon Field Enjoyed the “Rollercoaster” of His ‘Interview with the Vampire’ Episode — Thanks to His Co-Stars
The scenes in San Francisco almost feel like a play because you’re all in the apartment, and everything is confined to this space for the most part — first just between Louis and Daniel, and then, obviously, once Armand enters the picture. How was it getting to spar with Jacob Anderson and Assad Zaman?

FIELD: It’s funny you mentioned a play, because the day before we did the readthrough, Rolin was like, “Just treat it like an off-Broadway play. A ’70s, off-Broadway play. We’ll just go through it and have fun.” The initial scenes with Jacob, we shot pretty linearly, as well, which was really nice. The first scene we shot of the season was when Jacob and I are walking in. It’s nerve-wracking.

I hadn’t done it in a year or whatever, I haven’t seen these people, but pretty quickly, there was an instant camaraderie between the three of us. We had a good chemistry. It didn’t take very long for me to feel like, “Oh, I can trust these guys. These guys are amazing.” Those initial first few scenes are quite sweet between Molloy and Louis, and we found that. We just laughed a lot, and we trusted each other a lot. Before the heavy stuff really came in, it was just so much fun to just be jovial and enjoy it, and to see this side of Daniel and Louis that we don’t see, obviously, in the modern day, and to show this enthusiasm and vitality. I had a great time doing it.

As the episode goes on, we get into much heavier stuff. We prepared for that, also, very differently. We were all on a journey, on a rollercoaster together. I was very lucky because I felt immediately very comfortable with the other two, and you can see that. We get along so well, and that’s why it was like, “Okay, this is going to be tough and difficult, but I know that I have my coworkers, my friends, who are going to back me up and support me, as I will for them.”

Luke Brandon Field and Assad Zaman Hugged After Their Emotional ‘Interview with the Vampire’ Scene

There’s a moment when the mood shifts, largely connected to Armand showing up and taking over. It’s a wildly different dynamic — not just because Daniel’s essentially being held captive, but also because Louis is now lying in bed, helpless, and can’t really stop what’s happening. Was there anything that felt especially difficult to film, either because in reading the script, you knew that it was going to take a lot for you to deliver, or something that happened in the moment during filming that took you by surprise, either with Jacob or Assad?

FIELD: Two moments really stick out the most. One is that initial fight between Jacob and I when he’s talking about Claudia. That’s a big moment because it’s the first time Daniel’s like, “Relax. Stop it. Let’s just chill. Stop talking about it. It shouldn’t make you who you are, really.” That was very interesting because it’s the first time that Daniel’s been in conflict with Louis. Jacob played that so well, and the tone of that is fantastic because, obviously, Daniel was completely off his head at the time, high on God knows what.

But the moment that really stands out is the “rest” scene at the end with Armand. As I said, we’d been very jovial and enjoyed it. Rolin was like, “Let’s just enjoy it and let’s go through it. We’ve got you.” We felt very comfortable. For that day, the night before, I was nervous because I didn’t know what was gonna happen. We hadn’t practiced it. Sometimes, after filming, we would go through lines and stuff, not blocking anything out but just being comfortable with listening to it, but we didn’t for some reason. Then, usually when we’re in the tent or whatever, we’re joking around, hanging out, whatever — we didn’t say a word to each other. Assad was at one end of the room, and he was listening to classical, and I was at the other end listening to Jeff Buckley and Nico and Laura Iero, very somber stuff, and we didn’t speak to each other.

We got on set, we rehearsed it, and immediately, I just started crying. Assad was going through it, Armand goes through this long thing, and then there’s that line that Daniel has, “I’m a reporter. I have a point of view.” I was shocked because it felt so natural and so real. I felt so vulnerable. I think we both did. We filmed it a couple of times, and then they got it, and afterward, we both hugged each other because we just didn’t really have any words. For me, it’s one of the best scenes of the episode and of the season.

I think it’s a really special episode, and we were all aware of that. We all felt it was special, and, seeing it now, I’m so proud of it. I’m so proud of the whole season. I’m so proud of the show. But for a lot of us, it’s a very special moment and a very special episode. Even for those who are not in it, a lot of them say, “This is pretty wonderful.”

New episodes of Interview with the Vampire Season 2 premiere weekly on Sundays and are available to stream on AMC+.

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