Lestat de Lioncourt

The Vampire Lestat (1985) is a Vampire novel by Anne Rice, and the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire. Set in the late 18th century to the late 1980s, the story follows the 200-year-long life of the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, and his rise from humble beginnings as impoverished nobility in the countryside of the Auvergne in France, to the cosmopolitan city of Paris, to become transformed by the Dark Gift into a vampire.

Lestat (portrayed by Tom Cruise and Stuart Townsend)

According to Rice, the character of Lestat was largely inspired by her husband, the poet and artist Stan Rice, and shared his blond hair and birth date of November 7. The name "Lestat" was a misspelling of "Lestan," which Rice believed to be an old French name.

Because of his boldness, enthusiasm, and defiance, Lestat's seniors refer to him affectionately as "The Brat Prince", a title of which he is very fond. He is very vain and concerned with fashion, and will pause mid-narrative to remind the reader what he is wearing. Lestat is portrayed in the books as being bisexual, and has male and female lovers as both a vampire and a mortal. He enjoys performing on stage, which he does as both a mortal actor in Paris, France and a vampire in his rock band called The Vampire Lestat (of course), that he forms with a group of humans in the 1980s. Yet despite his charisma, Lestat is often portrayed as a lonesome individual plagued by common philosophical questions, such as "Are my actions good or bad?", "Is there a God?", and "Am I in His plan?"

Lestat appears as a major character in both motion picture adaptations of The Vampire Chronicles novels. In Neil Jordan's 1994 film adaptation of Interview with the Vampire, he is portrayed by Tom Cruise. In the 2002 film adaptation of Queen of the Damned, he is played by Stuart Townsend. On stage, Lestat was portrayed by Hugh Panaro in the short-lived Broadway show Lestat: The Musical (which thankfully, I missed out on) composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

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