Advertisement
Tom Cruise may not have been Anne Rice’s dream choice for Lestat in Interview with the Vampire, but he sure ended up stealing the entire show and the box office. Back in the early days, though, that sharp-toothed role nearly had a very different smile behind it. In 1976, right when the ink was barely dry on her novel, Rice sold the rights. And for a while, John Travolta hovered near the top of the studio’s casting wishlist (via Eonline).
Things only got more chaotic from there. Mel Gibson and Richard Gere had their names tossed around. Then came Daniel Day-Lewis, who politely turned it down like a true shapeshifter. Studios were circling the idea for years but stayed on pause until Bram Stoker’s Dracula made bank in 1992. Rice wasn’t thrilled about their hesitation. In 1993, she didn’t hold back, calling Hollywood “idiots” and “stumblebums” for dragging their feet.
The turning point was when Tom Cruise was cast, Rice thought the studio had lost the plot. In her own words, the casting was “so bizarre; it’s almost impossible to imagine how it’s going to work.” She recused herself entirely from the production, but Cruise proved her wrong. When she finally watched a VHS copy sent by a producer, she was floored. She wrote him a letter of apology and recorded a glowing two-minute video endorsement that ran ahead of mid-90s VHS rentals. From skeptic to stan, in two acts.
Advertisement
Neil Jordan’s Interview with the Vampire dropped in November 1994, pairing Tom Cruise with Brad Pitt, who played Louis. Their haunting tale spanned centuries, following a reluctant vampire’s transformation and his twisted dynamic with Lestat. Kirsten Dunst stunned as the child vampire Claudia, earning a Golden Globe nom. The gothic visuals and brooding energy pulled in critics and fans alike.
And the money? Even more impressive. It shattered Home Alone 2’s November record with a $36.4 million opening weekend. At the time, it was the fourth-highest opening in box office history, holding the title for biggest R-rated debut until Air Force One swooped in three years later. The movie’s final haul was $223.6 million worldwide on a $60 million budget, as per Box Office Mojo. A slam-dunk for a role Cruise almost didn’t land and Travolta almost did.
So yes, Travolta might’ve flirted with fangs. But it was Tom Cruise’s Lestat who truly bit into pop culture and didn’t let go.
For more such stories, check out Hollywood News
Must Read: When Tarantino Promised To Cut This Kill Bill Scene—But It Survived In The Final Cut
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Google News
Advertisement
