Lestat de Lioncourt (TV series)

This article is about Lestat de Lioncourt from the AMC adaptation. You may be looking for Lestat de Lioncourt from the novel or film.

Lestat de Lioncourt
Biographical Information
Date of Birth	November 7, 1760 (age: 264)
Place of birth	France
Transfiguration Date	1794
Status	Undead
Maker	Magnus
Fledglings	Nicolas de Lenfent Louis de Pointe du Lac Claudia Antoinette Brown
Species	Vampire
Relationships
Paramours	Nicolas de Lenfent (former lover) Armand (former lover) Louis de Pointe du Lac (former lover) Antoinette Brown (former lover)
Appearances
Portrayed By	Sam Reid

Lestat de Lioncourt is a main character on the AMC gothic horror drama, Interview with the Vampire. He is portrayed by Sam Reid.

Lestat is a vampire who offers Louis escape from his mortal life.

Biography

Becoming a vampire

Lestat was a 34-year-old man when he was allegedly turned by a vampire named Magnus in 1794. He took Lestat from his room in Paris and kept him for a week, locked in a room full of corpses. Some freshly killed, some bloated and black. But they all resembled Lestat's physique. Magnus fed on him every night. And then he put Lestat back in the tower with the look-alike corpses, where Lestat thought for sure he'd be one of them, but instead Magnus turned him before setting himself on fire.

Prior to meeting Louis, Lestat's first love was a man named Nicolas, who passed after he and Lestat parted ways.

Meeting Armand

Lestat returns to Armand

Following Magnus' death, Lestat lived his life as a vampire in Paris by performing in theater, which caught the attention of Armand, who extended his hand to Lestat, only for him to turn away the offer. A few weeks later, while on a stroll with his lover Nicolas, Lestat is confronted by Armand. However, Lestat cannot see himself giving up his current life of luxury to live as a grub in the sewers with Armand and his coven. Having grown impatient, Armand uses his powers to telekinetically toss both Lestat and Nicolas before freezing time. Lestat is amazed by Armand's power. While he doesn't have it yet, he will, due to having Magnus' blood. Armand then takes Nicolas away, inviting Lestat to follow him back to the sewers, which he does, only to reveal to expose Armand for the lies he's told his coven, expressing to them that there's far more to life than dwelling in the sewers. Lestat then recovers Nicolas and leaves, however he returns shortly after Nicolas' death, revealing to Armand that his body rejected the Dark Gift.

At this point, Lestat seeks out companionship with Armand, inviting him to one of his shows, where he telepathically explains to Armand how he seduces the crowd as a collective, which brings about opportunity. The theater offers them a sort of protection, to announce their vampirism and feed in plain sight. Over time, Armand comes to understand Lestat's ways, watching from the balcony as the audience are fooled into believing that they're fake vampires. Armand and Lestat profess their love for one another as they have sex. However, Lestat then disappeared, fleeing Paris and leaving Armand behind.

Meeting Louis

Lestat arrived in New Orleans to find Louis in the middle of a scuffle with his brother. It was this altercation that led Lestat to settle in town and pursue Louis as his companion, during which point, he personally introduced himself to Louis whilst also caressing and kissing Lily, Louis' favored working girl at the Fair Play Saloon, a power play on Lestat's end, with him eventually leaving with Lily, much to Louis' displeasure. That Friday, they would cross paths again at Tom Anderson's poker game, where Lestat flaunted his vampiric abilities by freezing time and telepathically communicating with Louis to initiate a partnership. Through this partnership, the two would grow close, to the point where Louis invited Lestat to have dinner with his family. Afterward, they returned to Lestat's manor, where Lily awaited and the three of them engaged in explicit sexual acts, but mostly Lestat and Louis. Unclothed, they floated above the ground as Lestat fed from Louis. Lestat had taken from him what he called "un petit coup," or "the little drink." Not enough to kill Louis, but just enough to keep Lestat fit.

Lestat after killing a priest

Ashamed of his actions, Louis vowed to put this night in the past and began avoiding Lestat, which he did not take kindly to, going as far as killing Lily before ultimately confronting Louis during his brother's funeral. Louis became exceptionally upset when Lestat remarked that Paul longed for death, forcing Finn to intervene and attempt to escort Lestat away, only for Lestat to attack Finn. After the funeral, Lestat followed Louis to St. Augustine's, where he killed Father Matthias as well as another priest while also admitting that he was the "fever" plaguing New Orleans. With only he and Louis remaining, Lestat offered to take Louis pain away and give him "The Dark Gift" of vampirism.

Lestat with the priests

Lestat and Louis fled the church with the two slaughtered priests in a wheelbarrow while in route to the cemetery to dispose of the bodies. After Louis completed his transformation, the duo headed to the nearest bar for Louis to make his first kill; their victim was a visiting tractor salesman, who they lured back home and Louis killed under the tutelage of Lestat. As day broke, the two of them shared a coffin until nightfall, at which point, they roamed the streets, where Lestat showed Louis how to read minds, claiming that every human boiled down to three things: "I want food," "I want sex," or "I want to go home." Additionally, Lestat revealed that a sacrifice was made when he shared The Dark Gift with Louis; he can no longer read his mind. Lestat later scolded Louis after learning that he killed an important businessman in town, though Louis insisted it was warranted. Later that night, seeking to make amends with Louis, Lestat helped him buy the Fair Play Saloon and rename it to the Azalea Hall.

Louis and Lestat feeding on the tenor

After a near tragic encounter with his family, Lestat advised Louis to distance himself, and in an attempt to lift his spirits, he proposed they go to the opera to see Donizetti's "Don Pasquale." Lestat was an acquaintance of his and saw the premiere at the Salle Ventadour 73 years ago. Music was where Lestat separated man from food, and any humans who were involved in the creation of it, existed on an elevated plane in his eyes. However, the tenor did not live in the soprano's vocal stratosphere, and with that, he became Lestat's next target. After the performance, Lestat lured the man back home, where before killing the man, Lestat showed him the flaw in his performance. Louis disapprovingly watched before confronting Lestat, to which he retorted that while Louis did not have to enjoy the kill as he did, he did need to embrace the fact that they were killers. Lestat then lifted the dying tenor and carried him to the couch, where Louis joined him as the two of them drank from the tenor for hours.

Fling with Antoinette

Lestat reluctantly agreed to Louis' absurd proposal to be more selective in their hunt, only killing the worst of the worst, only to later learn that Louis desired not to kill at all, much to Lestat's dissatisfaction, comparing Louis to "A bird refusing to fly." He then turned his attention to the pianist, Jelly Roll Morton, who Lestat called out for having lost his passion. Lestat made his way to the stage, where he proceeded to play a European tune before changing to a more southern, up-tempo song, winning over the crowd. He later revealed to Louis that there was nothing wrong with Jelly Roll's playing, only that he had overheard in an alleyway a steady gig for a band in Chicago. Jelly was going to leave Louis without such much as a notice, so Lestat interceded and improved the melody for what would later become the Wolverine Blues.

Lestat and Antoinette

The following night, Lestat hooked up with Antoinette Brown, the new lounge singer at the Azalea, though he decided to spare her life, leading Louis to ask if he was enough. Lestat replied that they'd be together forever, but he liked a little variety and claimed that Louis was more than welcome to have sex with people outside their relationship as well. However, Lestat became jealous and even went as far as following Louis to the bayou when he reconnected with an old love. Lestat later confronted Louis, reasoning that his affair with Antoinette was different, as he didn't have feelings for her. This was not the existence he intended, to which Louis retorted that Lestat took his life from him. Despite their current differences, Lestat applauded Louis after learning he killed Alderman Fenwick. He was proud to see Louis finally embracing his predatory nature and sought to make this their anniversary, but Louis couldn't look past the chaos he had help create. This difference in perspective was why he and Lestat would never work, he claimed, and why Lestat would always be alone.

Making Claudia

Lestat teaching Claudia a lesson

Lestat agreed to turn Claudia into a vampire at Louis' behest. Afterward, they explained to her what she was and took her on her first hunt, during which point, she killed a police deputy, much to their disapproval. After sharing a coffin with Louis for some time, they took Claudia to select her own, during which point, Lestat killed the funeral home director who became suspicious of their activities. For a time they were happy, and following the death of Louis' mother, Lestat took Claudia to lover's lane, where he remarked that no blood was sweeter. He warned Claudia that they were young and strong, encouraging her to be ferocious in her attack. Later, after Claudia accidentally killed a young man named Charlie, Lestat instructs to clean up her mess, taking a tough love approach and forcing her to watch as Charlie's body is burned in the incinerator. He wanted her to remember that this was why they never get close to mortals, because they always end up dead.

The break up

Lestat confronting Claudia

Looking to clear any confusion to Claudia's mind state following Charlie's death, Lestat read her diaries, revealing to Louis that she wasn't on a hunger strike, rather she was sneaking off when they were unaware and killing people. As a result of Claudia's recklessness, the bodies of her many victims would resurface after a storm, ultimately leading to their home being raided. Lestat and Louis scolded Claudia, who he referred to as an anvil tied around their ankle, dragging them down to the ocean floor. Upset, Claudia proceeded to leave to explore the world on her own. Lestat seemed relatively unaffected by Claudia's departure. However, to his surprise, Claudia eventually returned home, though only to take Louis with her as she explored the world looking for other vampires. Lestat began ridiculing Claudia, which she insisted was just one of his tactics, but when he physically choked her, Louis intervened and a fight ensued, with Lestat overpowering Louis. He drained the fledgling and flew him up into the air, where Lestat told Louis to admit that he would never love him. And when Louis instructed Lestat to let him go, he did so without hesitation, "anything for you," he said before dropping Louis to the ground below.

After nearly killing Louis, Lestat spent the following six years trying to make it up to him, showering both him and Claudia with presents, such as The Book of Hours and even a Rolls-Royce, which they turned away. But it was his relentlessness that cracked Louis' armor. In the spring of 1937, he sent Louie a song he had written himself but with Antoinette singing the female vocals, a premeditated move that led to Louis reuniting with Lestat. However, before he could return home, Louis and Claudia laid down some ground rules, those rules namely being that he had to kill Antoinette, and he could no longer keep secrets from them. They also asked about his maker, who Lestat claimed was named Magnus. He took Lestat from his room in Paris and kept him locked in a room full of corpses that resembled him. He fed on Lestat every night. Lestat thought he would be the next corpse, but Magnus instead turned him into a vampire, though he was a poor excuse for a maker; he offered no rules, counsel, or grand vampiric history. He only offered Lestat money and the sight of him throwing himself into a fire, leaving Lestat utterly alone.

Lestat suggesting they hunt humans

Whilst Louis loved both Lestat and Claudia, they did not seem to share their affection for each other. Nevertheless, they hunted as a family, during which point, they agreed to only hunt human. Lestat later retuned after having killed Antoinette, bringing them a finger and a newspaper article as proof. After besting Claudia in a game of chess, Lestat claimed he was going on the hunt, but in reality, he was meeting up in a hotel with Antoinette, whose life he had spared despite claiming otherwise. Afterward, Lestat learned that Claudia was attempting to leave town and tracked her down on the train, explaining that Louis needed her. He wasn't in his right mind, and he needed both of them by his side. Claudia reluctantly stayed and played another game of chess with Lestat, who after realizing that Claudia had nearly won, encouraged her to finish the game, but she simply got up from her seat and headed upstairs, infuriating Lestat, who knocked over the chess pieces in a moment of rage.

Betrayed by Louis

Lestat and Louis kissing

Lestat was convinced by Claudia to throw a Mardi Gras ball as one last hurrah before leaving New Orleans, as they had overstayed their welcome. However, Claudia was using the ball as a ploy to distract Lestat so that she and Louis could kill him. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Lestat was aware of their plan and had been using Antoinette, who he had turned into a vampire, to spy on them. After one last dance with Louis during the ball, the three of them led a select group of party-goers back to the Rue Royale for a final feast, where by the end, only one victim remained, one of the Macphail brothers who Claudia had poisoned with laudanum and arsenic in hopes that Lestat would feed from him. At this point, they were joined by Antoinette, who exposed Claudia's plan.

Lestat dying

Lestat restrained Louis as Antoinette forced Claudia to drink from the Macphail brother. However, it was Lestat who suddenly became ill and dropped to his knees. After taking out Antoinette, Claudia revealed that not only was she aware of Antoinette, but that she had actually poisoned Tom Anderson, who Lestat had fed from moments earlier. As Lestat pleaded for his help, Louis sliced his throat. While lying there on the floor, with the irises in his eyes dancing from side to side as he looked up at the ceiling, Claudia took a pen, dabbed the tip in his blood, and proceeded to write in a journal Lestat's final words: "Mets-moi dans mon cercueil, Louis, Louis," which translated to "Put me in my coffin, Louis, Louis." Still, Louis refused to burn the body and instead put him in a trunk to be taken to the dump, where Lestat slowly regained his strength by feeding on rats.

Haunting Louis

Lestat has been consistently appearing to Louis, mocking him and his relationship with Armand, and even occasionally advising him. Louis and Lestat are on the prowl for their next meal when he suddenly proposes that they have a seat on the park bench. Louis has summoned Armand. Lestat believes that he intends to break it off. Lestat says that it was doomed from the start, but he's happy Louis tried. He's not really though, but it's what Louis wanted him to say. Lestat questions why Louis sees him in this specific suit, to which Louis replies that it's his favorite on him. It is then that Lestat realizes what is actually happening; the break-up isn't with Armand, but rather Lestat, who slowly begins to fade away until nothing is left.

Reuniting with Louis

Lestat at trial

Alive and well, and now in Paris, Lestat joins Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine on stage for their trial. He is to follow the script written for him as they carry out the trial as some sort of play for the unsuspecting audience. Lestat tells the story of his first love Nicolas and how he mourned his death for 100 years before traveling to New Orleans, where he met Louis. From that point forward, Lestat begins to twist the story to his own benefit, revealing to the jury how Louis threatened him with loneliness, however, he goes off script when recounting the memory of how he nearly killed Louis by flying into him up into the sky and dropping him. Lestat is overwhelmed with grief and apologizes for his actions. Lestat eventually regains his composure and the trial gets back on track. Ultimately, the jury finds all three of them guilty, but Louis is spared, sentenced to banishment rather than death. As he's taken away, Lestat watches as Claudia and Madeleine burn to ashes.

Lestat reunites with Louis

Lestat returns to Magnus' lair to ponder his origins and why he does what he does. Like why he would rehearse a play to burn his daughter alive, Louis wonders. Displaying the fire gift, Louis has come to kill Lestat. Lestat replies that he has the blood of Magnus and Akasha in him, making Louis' desire to kill him impossible. And so Louis presents him a different death instead, kissing Armand in front of Lestat and explaining that he and Armand are going to spend the rest of their lives together. And they do just that for the next 77 years until Louis learns the truth about the trial, which is that it was Lestat who saved him. So Louis breaks up with Armand and travels to New Orleans, where he finds Lestat living a life of squalor, hiding in the shadows, staying in abandoned houses and eating rats. Lestat says that he doesn't have much time to chat because he's in the middle of rehearsing as he has plans to go on tour, practicing the piano on a wooden board whilst actual music plays from a tablet. He simply came to thank Lestat for the gift he offered. Lestat recalls September 8, 1973. Armand called him. He asks if Louis was there, which he was. Eyes filled with tears, he asks if Louis hurt himself, which he did. Like Louis, Lestat can't get Claudia out of his head. Lestat reveals she looked at him in the end, like a child looking to her father but he admittedly was never that for her. Tears running down their face, Louis and Lestat embrace whilst the hurricane shakes the surrounding walls.

Personality

Much of Lestat's true nature is still a mystery, given the conflicting accounts by both Louis and Armand. All in all, Lestat is shown to be a dashing, bold, conceited, hedonistic and seductive being who shamelessly revels on his vampiric nature.

According to Louis, Lestat can be possessive, vicious, vindictive, and incredibly petty, once sadistically killing a tenor for a small error on his vocals that only he noticed. He was also shown to have a violent temperament, notably displayed during his fight with Louis, which ended with the later being thrown from the sky by Lestat, although in the refuted account of Louis, Lestat was shown to be initially more reluctant to attack Louis, only losing control after Louis' vicious threats. Fearlessly defiant according to Armand, Lestat seemed to care little for the Great Laws imposed by vampire society. This was then again refuted by Louis in his corrected version of Claudia's birth, where Lestat did in fact warn Louis that the Laws forbid turning children, fearing what Claudia's life could become.

For all his faults, in the end, Lestat genuinely loved and cared for Louis, and despite their unstable relationship, so he did for Claudia, and was visibly devastated watching her being executed. Furthermore, Lestat is extremely passionate about arts, especially theatre and music, as his love for the later never died over the centuries, even forming a band during in 21^th Century.

Powers and abilities

Powers

A vampire of nearly two centuries, Lestat is remarkably powerful; possessing heightened senses, and superhuman strength and speed, which he flaunts at will. Lestat also possesses the ability to read minds, telepathic communication, and powerful mind control abilities; as he was able to freeze a room full of people during a poker game, allowing him to maintain a private conversation with Louis. Lestat also possesses the ability of flight, which he refers to as the "cloud gift"; an ability which only ancient vampires possess. However, over exertion of his abilities can result in bleeding from the ears and overall exhaustion; as seen when he used his mind control abilities to force all his guests to leave the Rue Royale.

Abilities

Lestat can speak both English and French fluently. He can also play the piano and music was where Lestat separated man from food. Music pierced his damned soul. And any human who were involved with the creation of it existed on an elevated plane in his eyes. According to Louis, Lestat also wrote Wolverine Blues by Jelly Roll Morton. Lestat writes love songs for all of his lovers, including Nicolas de Lenfent (with a music box), and Louis de Pointe du Lac (with a vinyl record of his song 'Come to Me' with Antoinette Brown's singing voice, which was a perfectly premeditated flaw for Louis).

Appearances

Season 1

• In Throes of Increasing Wonder
• ...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self
• Is My Very Nature That of a Devil
• ...The Ruthless Pursuit of Blood with All a Child's Demanding
• A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart
• Like Angels Put in Hell by God
• The Thing Lay Still

Season 2

• What Can the Damned Really Say to the Damned
• Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved by Death
• No Pain
• I Want You More Than Anything in the World
• Don't Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape
• Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before He Made Light
• I Could Not Prevent It
• And That's the End of It. There's Nothing Else

Trivia

• Although Lestat is the character with the fewest changes, he departs from his novel counterpart:
  • Lestat never hurts Louis by throwing him down from the sky. Armand does it to Lestat in The Vampire Lestat.
  • After being left for dead by his fledglings, Lestat joins Armand in Paris, who tortures him for the entire time. Lestat does not participate in the trial, and he is made to believe that Louis died with Claudia.
  • Lestat never performed on a theater stage as a vampire.

Gallery