Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire airing on AMC and available to stream at AMC+, tells a story of epic love that is at times poetic and decadent, but also cruel and lonely, in seemingly equal measure. As a Black man in 1900s New Orleans, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) dreamed of more than his position in society would allow, which made the offer of immortality presented to him by Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) impossible to resist, but being intoxicated by the man and the powers wasn’t enough to fill the pain of regret and desire for atonement that could haunt him forever.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Bailey Bass (who plays Claudia, a newly turned vampire whose body will forever be stuck at 14) talked about how honored she is to be a part of both Interview with the Vampire and Avatar (she plays Tsireya in the sequels), the three different life stages of Claudia, the freedom in playing a character like this, how much the wardrobe informs her performance, the challenge of the contact lenses, her first day on set, and shooting scenes in a coffin.
Collider: I am in absolute awe of your work in this show, especially because you’re still so new in your career and this character is just so complex and complicated, and everything you would want to play, somehow in one character.
BAILEY BASS: Yeah, right? That’s why I keep saying that this is a dream role. I get to do so much. I can do anything an actor could possibly dream of doing, in this show.
Along with this, you have your role in the Avatar sequels. You’re really putting yourself out there, as an actor. As someone who’s still navigating what you want your career to be, what’s it like to be here, in this moment?
BASS: It’s a blessing. I’m so honored that I get to be part of these two universes that are so incredible and so loved by so many people. I’ve learned that I enjoy being a character actor. I enjoy playing complex characters and being someone that’s not like me, at all. What’s great about playing Claudia is that audiences can empathize with her, even though she does all these vicious, evil, feral things. That’s exciting because she’s multi-dimensional.
When the possibility of being a part of Interview with the Vampire came your way, what was your reaction to that? Did you have any reference for it? Were you intrigued? When something that’s revisiting a title comes your way, are you someone who’s normally more hesitant or more curious about it?
BASS: I was excited. I always do my hardest for all my auditions and try my best, and that’s what I did. And then, when I got a call back, they sent new sides where it was Claudia at 14, 17, 19, and then 40. I had to play her at three different life stages and create this evolution in two days, and then do the tape. It made me excited because I love being challenged, as an actor. I love doing things that are unexpected and stepping into different shoes, and Claudia lets me do that.
Had you read the book and had you seen the movie? Were those things that you did in preparation for all of this?
BASS: Once I got a call back, I watched the film, just to immerse myself in the world quickly. And then, after that, I read the book once I was cast. I did so much prep work, before I even stepped onto the set.
Because Claudia existed at around five years old in the book and she’s around 11 in the film, does this 14-year-old version of her allow you a sense of freedom? Does it feel like you really can find the character a bit more than if you had to stick to what we already knew of her?
BASS: Claudia is powerful and allows so much freedom for an actor, no matter what age she is, because that’s her essence. That’s what Anne Rice wrote. She is a beloved character for a reason, and her essence is in this, even though she was changed to 14, instead of five or 10 years old. The same idea is there. She was almost a woman. She was 14 years old. She was just about to go through puberty. And we talk about that. We talk about the fact that she’s never gonna have boobs. She’s never gonna be able to have a relationship. These are actual things that are a very big part of girls becoming women, and Claudia will never get to experience that.
It’s so tragic to watch her in that moment, where she’s sitting across from the boy and trying to tell him that she’s really 19, no matter what she might look like.
BASS: The way she acts changes. Her posture evolves throughout the episodes, and I really paid attention to how she walks. She’s being influenced by Louis and Lestat, and the people around her. She’s being influenced, as the years go by and women change. The costumes change from the 1910s to the 1920s to the 1930s. Women were evolving, and because of that, Claudia is too. The introduction of the relationship with Charlie is so special and so perfect because audiences can see the real trauma and the depth of the trauma that she’s dealing with, in a visual way. You can actually see her experience love at the highest form, and then see it all crashing down. That’s what she relives, every single day of her life.
How did the wardrobe help you in finding Claudia? What’s it like to be able to use the clothing to express who she is, while her outside appearance never changes?
BASS: Costumes are one of my favorite parts of my job. I love being able to talk to the costumer. Carol [Cutshall] was absolutely incredible and collaborative. She has so many ideas. The bows were such a big moment because it’s like she was a baby doll. When we were doing my makeup, we had baby Claudia, in the beginning. And then, we had tween Claudia. And then, we had the Claudia that we see at the end of episode five, and going forward. That evolution is so important. Everyone understood that. With the costumes, we spoke about making sure I had no shape and no curves at all because I was 18 years old and post-puberty. It helped me, as an actor, really feeling like I’m a little girl. Even though how she dresses changed, the shape stayed the same, so there was no form, no matter how much Claudia tried to be a woman.
You also have fangs, you have contact lenses, you have nails, and you have all these things that you don’t normally get to have with a human character. Is one of those more challenging than the other, or do you have to adjust to all three of those things?
BASS: The lenses was definitely the biggest adjustment because we wore them all the time and our eyesight is restricted. Sometimes I couldn’t see my scene partner in the scene, so that would be a little bit difficult. We also dialects to learn because voice is so important. No stone was uncovered, really. The detail on this show is so incredible. You can really see that when you watch it.
What was your first day on set like? What was the first scene that you shot?
BASS: The first scene was when we came back from the movie theater and Lestat was recreating the vampire that we saw at the movie theater. I got to be baby Claudia, and there were a lot of laughs and there was improv, which was a nice segueway from not playing Claudia at all, and then going into her. After that, the next scene that day was Claudia’s birthday, where she’s wearing that beautiful pink dress.
It must be so bizarre to have to get into a coffin. In most instances, when someone finds themselves in a coffin, they don’t know about it. What’s it like to have to get into one to do a scene? What is that like to experience?
BASS: I’m game for it all. I love playing Claudia. I love how dark and twisted she is. It’s fun. Especially in episode four, the comedy is there. It’s hilarious, when she’s picking out her coffin. Keith Powell, the director of episodes three and four, comes from a comedy background, so we really got to play with that. Claudia is very matter of fact. She says the wildest things, but she’s really, honestly, genuinely curious. It’s fun because she gets to be this comedic relief in this very intense romance that Lestat and Louis have.
Interview with the Vampire airs on Sunday nights on AMC and is available to stream at AMC+.
Source: https://collider.com/nterview-with-the-vampire-bailey-bass-interview-claudia/
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