Neil Jordan on Anne Rice's Tom Cruise backlash: 'It was a pain'

Thirty-two years after Interview with the Vampire hit theaters, director Neil Jordan is revisiting the firestorm that surrounded Tom Cruise's casting as the vampire Lestat, and calling it "a pain in the a**." 

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter for the film's 4K home release, Jordan reflected on what made the backlash particularly difficult. 

The criticism came not from fans alone, but from novelist Anne Rice herself, who had been involved with the project's development since the late 1970s. 

"It was a pain in the a** for me as a director," Jordan said. "The problem was the casting of Lestat."

Rice had long envisioned other actors for the role, including Rutger Hauer, Julian Sands, Daniel Day-Lewis, John Malkovich and Tom Hanks, before Jordan ultimately cast Cruise. 

Jordan originally approached Day-Lewis for the part, but turned to Cruise after that conversation didn't lead anywhere. 

Rice was vocal in her opposition from the start, calling the casting "so bizarre; it's almost impossible to imagine how it's going to work," and attending a book signing alongside readers calling for a boycott.

According to Jordan, that public opposition from Rice created a poisonous atmosphere around the production before a single frame was shot. 

She also claimed Cruise had pushed to have the novel's more sexualised elements cut, a charge Cruise's camp denied.

Jordan has explained his reasoning for casting Cruise consistently over the years. 

"I mean, Lestat is described as tall, rangy, and blonde haired and all that sort of stuff. Tom was none of those things. But he had a conviction and a kind of chilling centrality to him, that I thought he'd be great in this role. It struck me that a huge Hollywood star was forced into a life not unlike the life that Lestat led." 

He added, "They have to avoid publicity, avoid crowds, keep their legend intact, keep a certain unknowability about them." 

Once the film was released and audiences responded to Cruise's performance, Rice reversed course entirely, personally calling Cruise to apologise and commissioning a two-page spread in various outlets to praise his work. 

The film grossed $223 million worldwide, spawning plans for a sequel based on The Vampire Lestat that never materialised.