'Interview with the Vampire' stars on how season two tackles identity and desire

This season, IWTV holds many lessons and themes that vary for each character, from self-discovery to a longing to belong to a community. Sometimes, these goals are not as aligned for Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles), especially as Paris holds different meanings and desires for the two vampires.

"It's a very complex season. Obviously, memory is a big theme, but also [questions of] who are you? What are you, where do you belong? Who are you to your friends? Who are you to the people you love? Who are you to yourself? All of these characters are wrestling with this idea of, at [their] core, what are you about? What do you believe in," Anderson says.

Another theme of AMC's IWTV this season is assimilation and how Louis and Claudia's race, as Black vampires, show up while they navigate Europe.

"I think they have come to this place in search of belonging. And once again, they've found that actually they really don't belong. They don't have a place; they're outsiders, which fits very well with [being] vampires. But when it's your own kind that's particularly damaging and hurtful," Anderson tells PRIDE.

But according to Anderson, there's a bit of hope that Paris brings Louis as well, even with his vampiric differences. "He really is caught up by this idea that Paris is a place where you could be anyone, be anything, you can do anything," Anderson says.

As Louis and Claudia try to create a new life, viewers also see early on in the season how the mind can play tricks on you and cling to the past. For Louis, this manifests with an apparition of Lestat. When asked if Louis will always carry a part of Lestat with him, Anderson tells PRIDE, "Yeah, I do. That is an important part of this season. The idea of holding onto and letting go of somebody that means so much to you or holds so much space in your mind and in your heart."

Actor Sam Reid describes his season two portrayal of Lestat, who manifests as a concocted hallucination in Louis' mind, whether from trauma or grief, as a hyper-distilled version.

"I don't have any rules. You get to have a lot of fun with it, really. And also you get to see Armand's version. I think there's quite a big distinction between the way Armand remembers Lestat to the way that Louis remembers [him]. You do see Claudia's version interpreted through Malloy's perspective as well. So it's a lot of fun," Reid tells PRIDE.

The second season of IWTV came alongside a recasting of Claudia as the original actress, Bailey Bass, who, for "a variety of unforeseen circumstances," was unable to return. While many fans were nervous about a new actress taking up the mantle of a character they fell in love with in season one, PRIDE can assure you it has been the smoothest of transitions. Delainey Hayles' delivery of Claudia honors her legacy while breathing new life that is perfect for her journey in Paris.

"Claudia's really interesting and the way that I wanted to play it was that she's very unsettling. She has a very unsettling energy. When I was watching some of the clips back that we did, I wanted to play it in a way that sometimes the things she says are quite creepy because they're coming out of this child's body. How is this young person so emotionally intelligent, but she's 40," Hayles shares with PRIDE.

To prepare for the role, Hayles would reread the books to see how Claudia is described there, even rewatching season one to study how Bailey did things for a smoother transition in actors.

"I had lots of references to pull from, and it was very fun," she tells PRIDE.

Hayles brings this dynamic to life through mannerisms and little quirks of Claudia's personality depending on her surroundings, shifting between a perception of adolescence and her true self.

"I got to experiment. I played with my voice a lot, actually. Sometimes I'd go really high, for younger. And then when she's in with Louis and comfortable, she kind of has a rasp to it that a 40-year-old woman who smokes 10 cigarettes a day would have. So that was kind of what I was playing with, [portraying] Claudia has been really fun. I love Claudia a lot," Hayles says.

One thing that is for sure with this Anne Rice gotic adaption is that Claudia, through the archives of her journals, is the most reliable narrator of this twisted vampiric family drama.

"I think [Claudia's] very honest about everything that happens to her. I don't think she's fabricated anything because that's not her personality. But yeah, everything that is recorded is from her perspective, too, so there could be an element of embellishment, but I don't think there is. Everything's factual. She's quite a straight-up person," Hayles tells PRIDE.

As for the Interview with the Vampire cast's hopes for season two are simple, for viewers to watch and engage with this adaption of Anne Rice’s gothic world with an open mind.

"Even if you know this story really well, be prepared and be open to exploring other things. We are telling the same story, but there is room for surprise and complexity within that. It's a beautiful adaptation; enjoy that," Anderson tells PRIDE.