This article is about Louis de Pointe du Lac from the AMC adaptation. You may be looking for Louis de Pointe du Lac from the novel or film. |
Louis de Pointe du Lac is a main character on the AMC gothic horror drama, Interview with the Vampire. He is portrayed by Jacob Anderson.
A Black man in the 1900s New Orleans, Louis finds it impossible to resist the rakish Lestat's offer of the ultimate escape and becomes a vampire.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Louis was born on October 4, 1877, in New Orleans.[1] He was raised alongside his younger brother Paul and sister Grace. His father ran the family business until 1905 when he passed, forcing Louis to step up in his place as the executor in charge of the de Pointe du Lac family trust.[2]
Becoming a vampire[]
49 years after their first interview that ended abruptly, the year now being 2022, Louis reaches out to Daniel Malloy to give him a second chance at the interview of a lifetime, to tell his life story. Upon his arrival, the two recount their last encounter and how perhaps neither of them were they men they are now. Kicking off the interview, Louis begins his story in 1910, five years removed from his father's passing and his ascension to patriarch of the de Pointe du Lac family trust, during which time, he operated a variety of businesses in a red-light district neighborhood known as Storyville. Little did Louis know at the time, a hostile interaction with his brother would spark a decades long companionship in Lestat de Lioncourt, who had just arrived in New Orleans and officially introduced himself to Louis while at the Fair Play Saloon, where Louis found himself seized with weakness and completely immobilized in Lestat's presence, even more so after Lestat left with Lily, Louis' favorite working girl.
That Friday, during a poker game with Tom Anderson and Alderman Fenwick, who were discussing a business opportunity that Louis may be interested in, Louis had a strange encounter with Lestat, who requested Louis' help with seizing all the opportunities New Orleans had to offer. Not only did Louis agree to help Lestat, they grew close over time, with him even inviting Lestat over to dinner to meet his family. Afterward, Louis returned with Lestat to his place of residence, where they two of them engaged in explicit acts along with Lily. That night, Lestat had taken from Louis what he called "un petit coup," or "the little drink," an unsettling feeling for Louis, who at the time, did not identify as a gay man and was committed to forgetting the night. On the morning following Grace's wedding, Louis and Paul climbed up to the roof, where they reminisced for a bit before Paul jumped off the edge to his death below, but not before warning Louis that Lestat was the devil, which he would later learn himself after Lestat killed two priests at the church and offered to turn Louis into a vampire, an offer Louis could not refuse.[2]
While in transition, Louis and Lestat fled the church in route to the cemetery, where Lestat saw to dispose of the slaughtered priests. The blissfulness he felt upon his initial transition had passed, and now Louis was feeling a seizing and unrelenting pain. His body confused; his lungs feeling like fire and his heart like water, that pain Louis was so overwhelmed with was death. However, after fully transitioning and seeing the world entirely different through his enhanced senses, Louis and Lestat go on the hunt for Louis' first kill. They found their victim in the shape of a visiting tractor salesman, who Louis fed upon and reluctantly killed. As day broke, Louis sought to return home and would learn the hard way just how vulnerable vampires were to the sun, forcing him to return to Lestat's, where the two of them shared a coffin.
After learning how to read minds, Louis decided to visit his family; it had been a season since his last visit, and the tension between him and his mother was thicker than ever before. The reunion with his sister, however, was far more pleasant, as Louis learned that she was pregnant with twins. He then went on to meet Alderman Fenwick's attorney, Mr. Carlo, who found a swift death by Louis after referring to him unfavorably. This resulted in a fight between Louis and Lestat, but hoping to make up for their spat, Lestat helped Louis buy the Fair Play Saloon and rename it to the Azalea Hall. Some time had passed since he'd seen her last, so Louis decided to pay Grace a visit. Needing to deal with the twins, she left newborn baby Benjamin in Louis' care, who Louis nearly fed upon before regaining control and fleeing the house.
In an attempt to cheer Louis up, Lestat proposed they go to the opera house, where Louis was forced to act as Lestat's valet when they attended to avoid any conflicts. Unfortunately, Lestat was so displeased with the tenor's performance that he led the man back home and killed him. Hypnotized by Lestat's sway, Louis joined him, and the two of them drank from the tenor for hours, with Lestat completely enthralled, whilst Louis pretended to be rather than disappoint his creator.[3]
Saving Claudia[]
Louis proposed to Lestat that they become more selective with their kills, feeding on only the worst of the worst, but when the time came, Louis ultimately fed on a stray cat, later revealing to Lestat that he didn't want to take any life. The following night, Louis asked Lestat about his relationship with the new lounge singer at the Azalea, Antoinette Brown. Lestat admittedly liked a little variety and claimed that Louis was more than welcome to have sex with people outside their relationship as well. And so, when the opportunity presented itself in the form of a past lover, Louis did just that. He reunited with Jonah Macon, an old childhood friend, and took him out to the bayou, where they engaged in sexual acts. The night after, he returned to his childhood home to visit Grace and the twins. However, he was not greeted by warm welcomes, rather his disgruntled loved ones, who refused to allow him inside. Enraged, Louis kicked down the door, startling Grace and the twins before leaving abruptly.
Louis returned home to find it filled with drunk soldiers invited by Lestat. Once they were alone, Louis expressed his dissatisfaction with Lestat and his new life before going to confront Tom and Alderman Fenwick about the Azalea being shut down. Through reading their minds, Louis realized that Tom sold him the Azalea because he knew this day was coming, that the city would try to push him out. Overcome with rage and resentment, Louis hung a sign on the Azalea that stated no white people allowed, inviting chaos and trouble from the law, who proceeded to antagonize Louis. And so that night, Louis killed Alderman Fenwick in his home and hanged him up for display in front of the entire town. In the wake of the alderman's death, chaos arose; the Azalea and Storyville burned. Louis headed down into the streets to offer his assistance. It was then that he heard the cries of help from a little girl trapped in a house fire, who he would come to know as Claudia, his light and redemption.[4]
Louis brought Claudia home and begged Lestat to save her by making her into a vampire. Following her transition, Louis guided her through her new life, explaining what she was and how they survived. He and Lestat then took her on her first kill, which went awry when she killed a law man. After taking her to get a coffin, Louis brought Claudia out on the lake with him, where she asked how love worked between two men and if Louis ever liked girls. He used to pretend to, he admitted. As he reached into the lake and pulled out a fish, Louis explained that it wasn't just about what they ate. She could kill quick and painless, or she could get extravagant like Lestat. There were times Louis had gone too far himself; some killings had consequences, like the fire at Claudia's, which came about because of Louis.
Louis was accompanied to his mother's wake by Claudia and Lestat, which Grace had reservations against, telling Louis not to bring them to the funeral tomorrow, not that it mattered, as Louis wouldn't be able to make it. Grace invited Louis to talk about the house, to which Louis agreed to have papers drawn up. Present day, Louis joins Daniel, who asks where we're all these diaries in 1973. Claudia was Louis' daughter, who he loved unconditionally, but he couldn't bear to share her diaries initially because they spoke of in detail how and when Louis failed her. Louis recalls Charlie's death ushering in one of the darkest eras in their lives. The delicate balance of their household was shattered, and Claudia saw herself as nothing more than a bandage for a poor marriage.[5]
The break up[]
The aftermath of Charlie's death was a dark time for their family. Claudia instantly began spiraling; what Louis initially mistook for a hunger strike was actually an all-out bender, he and Lestat would come to learn after reading Claudia's diary. After meeting with Tom, Louis and Lestat returned home to find the Rue Royale being raided by law enforcement after more than five dozen bodies were found in the ninth ward. Once the deputies were gone, Louis and Lestat scolded Claudia for her recklessness, which led to her packing up and exploring the world by her lonesome. With Claudia gone, Louis was vacant inside, longing and aching for her, sending out telepathic thoughts of remorse in every direction, but she'd shut her mind off to him, so he returned to her old home, desperate for any kind of meaningful connection.
While tracking Claudia's moves, Louis got a call from Grace, who asked him to meet her at the cemetery, where she had Louis buried, or at least the memory of him. This brought tears to Louis' eyes as Grace kissed him goodbye. Louis would then return home, where he was reunited with Claudia, who wanted him to join her on her voyage across the world for other vampires, which angered Lestat, resulting in an all out brawl that ended with Lestat draining Louis, flying him into the air, and dropping him hundreds of feet to the ground.[1]
In the aftermath of his fight with Lestat, Louis was left severely injured, and in that time, Claudia took care of him, slowly nursing him back to health. Lestat would spend the following six years seeking Louis' forgiveness, and in the spring of 1937, he did just that by sending Louie a song he had written himself. He had made the near perfect valentine, with only one flaw, a perfectly premeditated flaw in which Lestat had Antoinette sing the female vocals. Enraged, Louis confronted Lestat, ultimately embracing him. However, before he and Claudia would accept Lestat back into their lives, they laid down some ground rules, and Louis asked if Lestat had anything to do with Paul's death, which he insisted he didn't. With Lestat joining them once more, they began to hunt together, with all three of them agreeing to only hunt human. However, the tension remained between Claudia and Lestat, so much so that she wanted to leave, and she wanted Louis to join her, but he did not. And when he returned home, he discovered that Lestat forced Claudia to stay as well, and in that, she revealed to Louis her plan to kill their maker.[6]
Killing Lestat[]
Louis and Claudia devised a plan to kill Lestat, though Claudia kept most of the details to herself in fear that Lestat would learn of their plotting. In the meantime, she needed Louis to keep Lestat occupied while she simultaneously encouraged him to throw a Mardi Gras ball as one final celebration before they left New Orleans. With help from Tom, the Mardi Gras ball was underway, with the three of them plucking a select few individuals from the party and offering them immortality as a guise to lead them back to the Rue Royale for an epic feast. After passing out their boutonnières and having one last dance, Louis, Lestat, and Claudia lured their select few back to the Rue Royale, where they feasted upon their guests, all except one, who Claudia had poisoned with laudanum and arsenic. Unbeknownst to Louis and Claudia, Lestat was aware of their plan, as he had been working with Antoinette, who he had turned into a vampire, not that it would matter as Claudia was aware that Antoinette had been following them and instead of poisoning one of the Macphail brothers as she had told Louis, Claudia poisoned Tom instead, who Lestat had fed from not too long ago.
With Claudia dispatching of Antoinette and Lestat on the ground in a weakened state, Louis grabbed his cane and sliced his throat. Louis and Claudia then began to burn the bodies, all except for Lestat, who neither seemed to possess the will to burn. So instead, they threw him in a trunk and left him out with the garbage before getting on a boat with sails set for Europe. However, in present day, Daniel questions the legitimacy of Louis story, as he found it hard to believe that Claudia didn't have the will to burn Lestat, who he also suspected Louis spared, as he knew Lestat's body would be taken to the dump, where he could regain his strength by feeding on rats. Louis seems to struggle with the inner turmoil of his recollection and what actually happened, as Daniel continues to press for the truth. And so, Rashid comes to Louis' defense, revealing that he is actually a 514-year-old vampire named Armand, as well as Louis' lover.[7]
Searching for old world vampires[]
Louis and Claudia travel to Romania in search of old world vampires. During their travels, he hallucinates encounters with Lestat, which doesn't go unnoticed by Claudia. Daniel later asks if this is because Louis has schizophrenia, which would make sense as schizophrenia runs in families and Paul also struggled with hallucinations[8]. In a Romanian village, they meet a woman and a man named Emilia and Morgan Ward, though their stay is brief, as Claudia claims to have encountered another vampire in the woods. And so, they leave a wounded Soviet as bait to draw out the alleged vampire, who makes an appearance but appears to be decaying. Louis is then attacked by a vampire woman named Daciana. When the decaying vampire turns its sights on Louis as well, Claudia rips its eyes out, forcing Daciana to kill her own child as he will not be able to hunt without his vision. Louis and Claudia then follow Daciana home and offer to bring her back to America with them, as Louis explains that the pain and sadness in the blood they're drinking in Romania is poisoning them. However, Daciana kills herself instead. With Claudia devastated, Louis proposes they move on, headed to Paris, where he tells Claudia that to stop feeling sorry for herself and that she's enough for him.[9]
Meeting Armand[]
Louis and Claudia arrive in Paris, France, where they spend the following five months under surveillance by a local coven. While on a stroll through a park known for gay hookups, Louis is confronted by Armand, who invites him and Claudia to Theatre Des Vampires. After the show, which Louis didn't find particularly appealing, he and Claudia discover that the theater company was founded by Lestat, sending Louis into a panic. Needing confirmation of Lestat's death, he goes to a law firm that Lestat had his finances with. While they cannot confirm that he's dead, they haven't heard from him, though he did leave some items behind for Louis should anything ever happen to him, namely a goodbye letter. A month later, Louis and Claudia go on a hunt with the coven, at which point, Armand advises Louis to be more careful where it relates to Lestat, as he knows that Louis isn't telling him everything.[10]
While on his nightly stroll through Paris, Louis is physically accompanied by Armand, though mentally, Lestat remains at his side, making it difficult for Louis to close his mind out to Armand. Eventually, Louis is forced to tell Armand that truth — that he murdered Lestat, which sends him into a frenzy, as he violently murders a man in the park. Armand withholds this information, and the following night, Louis attends a show at the theater as Claudia is expected to be inducted into the coven. However, the actual ceremony is for members only, so Armand takes Louis for a walk. He leads him into the sewers, where Armand is supposed to kill Louis given that he refuses to join the coven and is leaving bodies around. However, he instead walks Louis home and joins him inside after sharing a kiss in the street.[11]
1973 San Francisco interview[]
San Francisco, 1973, Louis meets and flirts with Daniel Molloy at a gay bar called Polynesian Mary's and brings him back to his apartment, where he reveals he's a vampire. After giving the young man drugs and turning down his sexual advances, Louis is hoping Daniel will document his story, starting from the beginning, explaining that he was turned into a vampire as a 33-year-old-man by Lestat. There was a point where he thought about killing himself, a notion that confuses young Molloy, as he can't fathom Louis wanting to give up such a gift. After all Louis told him, Molloy would still ask for the Dark Gift, infuriating Louis, who attacks Molloy and drains him. However, Armand arrives just in time to stop Louis from killing him. After drinking his blood, Louis gets high off the drugs in the boy's system. He and Armand get into a fight about Louis' recklessness, and Louis heads upstairs to the roof, where he attempts to burn himself to death in the sun. He nearly turns into dust until Armand intervenes and pulls him back inside. Louis awakens back inside, in the bed, but his body is charred, and he is in great pain. He pleads with Armand to put him in his coffin, which he does. As Armand threatens to leave, unsure if Louis will ever get over Lestat, Louis assures him that Lestat was only his maker and that he loves Armand, who he then instructs to leave Molloy alive.[12]
Turning Madeleine[]
Louis discovers that Claudia has revealed their true nature to her friend Madeleine. Moreover, Claudia wishes for Madeleine to become her vampire companion. A request that Louis shares with Armand, who ultimately decides against doing it himself, but is willing to look the other way if Louis chooses to. And so, at Claudia's behest, Louis turns Madeleine into a vampire and the two of them flee the city together. However, when they return, Louis and Armand meet with them at a club, only to be ambushed by the coven.[13]
Present day, Louis expresses some hostility towards Armand, who has realized that Louis remembers what happened in San Francisco and is mad at Armand for erasing it, but Armand insists that he has no right to be, as Louis asked him to do it. Additionally, the pages torn from Claudia's diary, most of those they did together. And the ones Armand did on his own were to protect him from Molloy.[13]
Trial at Théâtre des Vampires[]
Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine are taken to stand trial for their crimes. He soon discovers that Lestat is alive and well, and is also the first and only witness in the case. Additionally, he sees Armand in one of the theater boxes and realizes that he is as much a captive as they are, with him being forced to watch. Louis is forced to listen as Lestat twists their story to his own benefit, though when he tells the story of how he nearly killed Louis by flying him up and dropping him, Lestat becomes overwhelmed with grief and apologizes for his actions. Nevertheless, Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine are all found guilty, though unlike Claudia and Madeleine, Louis is not sentenced to death. He is saved by Armand, who uses his power to convince the jury to simply banish Louis, who is put in a coffin and buried with the rest of the damned.[14]
Taking Revenge[]
Louis moans in pain and sorrow while encased in the tombs with the rest of the damned vampires until being freed by Armand. Louis stumbles through the tunnels until reaching the surface, where he finds himself in the cemetery, and where he plots his revenge. He telepathically warns Armand not be at the theater tomorrow night at curfew. That's when Louis enacts his revenge, sneaking into the theater whilst everyone sleeps and sets them ablaze while they're in their coffins. Most of them die in the theater, but Santiago escapes. And so Louis calls to him, luring Santiago out with the failures of his past. And when he finally emerges, Louis decapitates him with a machete. With the coven dead, Louis convenes with Armand before confronting Lestat, who Louis wanted to kill but could not do so. 77 years later, present day, Louis learns from Molloy that it was not Armand who saved him from death but Lestat, and that it was in fact him who orchestrated the trials. And so, Louis breaks up with Armand and returns to New Orleans, where he reunites with Lestat.[15]
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
After being turned by Lestat, Louis developed the standard abilities associated with vampires; such as immortality, heightened senses, superhuman strength, speed and endurance, accelerated healing and telepathy. The strength of Louis' abilities are dependent upon his diet; Louis' reluctance to feed on Humans during his earlier years as a Vampire (subsisting on cattle, stray animals and fish instead) made him weaker, however, Louis' reluctance to feed on human diminished with time. Louis’ powers grow stronger with time, he also develops new abilities as well, such as pyrokinesis; demonstrated when he set the Théâtre des Vampires and Daniel's recordings on fire.[16]
Abilities[]
- Bilingualism: Louis is fluent in French and English.
- Businessman: Louis possesses a strong business acumen; he was a proprietor of several businesses over the course of the early 20th century, and had amassed a considerable fortune by the early 21st century.
Weaknesses[]
As a Vampire, Louis developed a number of weaknesses, as well as strengths. Louis is vulnerable to the harmful UV rays of the sun, which he learned first-hand the day after his initial transformation when he attempted to return home.
Other things that will end his undead life are; beheading, drinking the blood of the already deceased and being engulfed in fire.
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[]
- In the novel, Louis was a white plantation owner. However, for the series, he was changed to a Creole proprietor of a brothel in New Orleans' red-light district.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Season 1, Episode 5: A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Season 1, Episode 1: In Throes of Increasing Wonder
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 2: ...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 3: Is My Very Nature That of a Devil
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 4: ...The Ruthless Pursuit of Blood with All a Child's Demanding
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 6: Like Angels Put in Hell by God
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 7: The Thing Lay Still
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 4 "I Want You More Than Anything in the World"
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 1: What Can the Damned Really Say to the Damned
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 2: Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved by Death
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 3: No Pain
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 5: Don't Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Season 2, Episode 6: Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before He Made Light
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 7: I Could Not Prevent It
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 8: And That's the End of It. There's Nothing Else
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 3: Is My Very Nature That of a Devil