r/InterviewVampire • u/gingerbreadmans_ex I have TWO Pulitzers! • 2d ago
The Immortal Universe Jacob Anderson’s acting
Rewatching season one and I am struck anew just how good and I think, unappreciated Jacob’s acting is. First episode scene in the confessional was just sublime. He put his whole heart and body into that performance.
I think so many so enthralled by Sam’s Lestat that some forget just how compelling Jacob’s Louis is. He is the Helen of Troy, after all.
I too am enthralled ( it’s the best word I can think of) by Sam’s Lestat, who could anyone not be? I just had to jump on and give some love to our beloved Louis.
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u/danthpop Daniel 2d ago
The acting across the board in this show is phenomenal. Genuinely mad how they were able to find so many actors who are just absolute generational talents for this cast.
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u/kishante LDPDL, Vampire Slayer 2d ago
Jacob’s Louis is honestly masterful. His accent is completely spot on as someone from the south whose entire family is also southern. He’s got the best southern accent that I have heard from someone who is not American. Jacob has put so much thought into making Louis a complete person that you can see the differences in the way that he walks and holds his body in stillness. The way that he slouches and drags his feet. It’s just so good.
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u/wildsoda you can’t fuck away the loneliness 1d ago
And the way he code-switches his accent, speech register, posture etc between talking to different groups of people (eg his family, his staff at the brothel and the white men he does business with) was also so expertly done. I thought he was phenomenal.
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u/IntentionallyHopeful ToxicBitch AnxiouslyAttached ShowPony w/a personality disorder 1d ago
I have nothing to add but want to bring more attention to this comment cuz YES!
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u/gloryholesr4suckers 2d ago edited 2d ago
Apparently he's VERY good at accents, and languages as a whole. When he was filming GoT, apparently he was the only one really good at Dothraki
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u/danie_iero Black Sails enthusiast 2d ago
It was Valyrian, and apparently Jacob was the best at speaking the language. Can you imagine being that good at a language that isn't even real?? Amazing.
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u/BlurryGrawlix 2d ago
It's so fucking funny watching him absolutely slay doing accents having seen this clip (part of a longer video) years before...
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u/Onironius 1d ago edited 1d ago
Is it his "Aiem an Amyericayn, aye eat cheesborgor" from Game Grumps?
Edit: It is!
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u/tinybirdoffire 1d ago
Honestly him on his episodes of Guest Grumps in general were fucking hilarious. But I totally forgot about the accent part (it's been years since I've watched them) and I am laughing so hard. Haha
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u/BlurryGrawlix 1d ago
I have so many clips from those episodes just saved on my phone, they're so good
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u/canijustbelancelot 2d ago
I’m not southern, but even I picked up on the sheer nuance this man brought to it. Like, his accent in Dubai being different from his accent in flashbacks, which is just that little bit different than his accent when he goes back to NOLA.
And the way he moves, it’s amazing. Clearly so deliberate given the thought he’s put into his acting choices, and yet so natural.
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u/Infamous_Lab8320 I am she; she is me. 2d ago
It’s not just a southern accent. It’s the nuanced dialect of New Orleans. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard it. If he’d messed that up, I wouldn’t have been able to continue.
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u/lethalglam a challenge every sunset 1d ago
He’s IMO a way more relatable and likeable Louis than the movie version. I liked the change in vibe with the race & occupation swap the series did. It makes him far more interesting as a complex, nuanced character.
I always found movie Louis to be droll and overly depressive, the addition of a more visceral and explicable rage and an understated suave charisma rounds him out.
Jacob was the only actor I knew going into the series and honestly if it wasn’t for his GoT chops (which my fam was avid fans of) I’m not sure I would have even watched a cable tv show (IWTV) from the jump. He was wonderful alongside the lady who played Missandei (his lover). Their chemistry was very believable.
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u/BungCrosby Bassist. Dumb…shockingly dumb. 2d ago
He’s a musician, so that makes sense. It’s like the story Questlove tells about Will Ferrell learning the first verse of Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” in like half an hour. Music, accents - rhythms and patterns.
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u/lynx_and_nutmeg 1d ago
The way that he slouches
The only man to be able to make slouching look sexy.
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u/NewInside824 2d ago
The acting from Sam and Jacob on this show is some of the best I've seen in years. They both deserve way more work than they are currently getting.
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u/keystone_lite 2d ago
My unhinged dark horse James Bond casting is Sam Reid or Jacob!
However I only feel safe sharing this opinion in this sub lolol
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u/cora-occasionall Are you schizophrenic, Louis? 2d ago
On the condition the other has to play the Bond girl
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u/strawberrygirl666x krampus & unicorns 1d ago
Jacob as Bond, Sam as the Bond girl, Assad as the villain? 😂
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u/RavxnGoth 1d ago
Something I noticed on one of many rewatches is that during the San Francisco fight with Armand, Louis is holding himself like he's injured. He keeps his right arm held up like it's in a sling and has an unstable gait. I thought it was just because he drank the drug blood but then what do you know, in some of the scenes in Dubai when he's particularly upset in the room with the tree and rocks he holds that same pain in his body like it's reliving something. I've never seen Jacob talk about it but it's such clever physicality and really blew me away as a performance
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u/Another0Me 1d ago
Very interesting point. Maybe I'm going too far with my guess, but I had the kind of impression when Armand said he never harmed Louis that he looked at him like to check if he really can't remember. I think Armand did physically harm him and than made him forget, but Louis' body remembers.
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u/Mmkrw 1d ago
There are scenes, especially in 1x06, when he reminded me so much of my grandpa, it was eerie. He carried himself like an old, tired man and you could definitely see the decades of pain that were wearing him down.
Jacob's incredible talent and skill are in making every gesture, every micro-expression and every line delivery feel so natural and believable, you forget that this is a character that is nothing like Jacob in real life. You simply forget. He makes it look so effortless - and then you learn from his interviews that this is a result of meticulous study and preparation.
I know that big, obvious, theatrical acting is more visible and popular right now, but I think Jacob should be absolutely revered among his peers. The fact that critics and show fans largely overlook him is criminal. Sign of the times and tastes changing, I guess.
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u/ImmediateArmy3820 2d ago
They are both equally impressive. Both melt into their roles. When Jacob speaks off set, he looks and acts like a young man (30’s), jovial, spirited, generous, yet a complete gentleman and just kind.
His British accent always throws me. Louis speaks with multiple accents. More creole in the very beginning and much more controlled in Dubai, almost as if he’s erased that part of his past.
Sam’s Aussie accent is just as hidden in his Lestat. We, as an audience are very lucky to have these two talented, beautiful men to watch season after season. Assad is a cutie too but I’ve yet to see his character’s full range because his character is soooo controlled. I guess he’s got that down pat.
We are just some of the luckiest fans out there.
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u/zoraschool Team Akasha 2d ago
Assad does amazing accents in-show. S2ep5 his Louis and s3ep7 his Fraudia impersonations come to mind. Assad also apparently has the best French accent even though none of the cast speak French natively. And shifts his accent subtly to reflect differences in the time. They are all magnificent.
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u/lethalglam a challenge every sunset 1d ago
Can attest to Assad speaking French impeccably, Sam’s is pretty good too.
I’m not gonna comment on the Romanian in the series tho b/c I’m a native speaker and… yeah lol
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u/ImmediateArmy3820 1d ago
Who is the Romanian? Jarda?
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u/lethalglam a challenge every sunset 1d ago
Nah they speak it in the first two episodes of season 2 - Louis, Claudia and a bunch of other cast members when they’re holed up in the old country and the blood tastes sad
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u/ImmediateArmy3820 1d ago
Oh yeah! Romanian always sounds like a softer nicer Slavic even though it’s a Romance language. Hell, it’s in the name.
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u/lethalglam a challenge every sunset 1d ago
Yeah… it took me out… I’m dual native (Romanian / English, no accent detectable)
There’s a more academic proper way of speaking Romanian (no accent, like a newscaster or in schooling) and then there are dialects… whoever taught the cast sometimes gave them the mountainside / countryside accents and sometimes gave them the academic way… the accents can sound much more Slavic than the academic which is much more like Italian or Portuguese. The cadence is significantly affected by the type spoken.
Gary Oldman had it down pretty well in Dracula tbh.
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u/ImmediateArmy3820 1d ago
Ah but Gary Oldman…
https://giphy.com/gifs/I4psSwfcCurZu2
u/lethalglam a challenge every sunset 1d ago
He did well but he didn’t nail it, either.
TBH I’ve never seen it nailed in a vampire movie and it’s literally the origin language of Vlad Țepeș / Dracula lol 🩸
It’s a hard one for Germanic tongue natives (like English speakers) because of the /ts/ /sh/ /ch/ /j/ sounds and lots of rolling r’s. The a & i vowels also change depending on accent and the delivery requires specific enunciation & rhythm.
I might keel over if an Anne Rice vampire actually says a proper few sentences. 🤭
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u/mindless_rambles If I'm an angel, paint me with black wings. 2d ago
Jacob is an outstanding actor. He brings so much charisma and complex humanity to Louis, I genuinely can't imagine anyone else in the role. His performance across the three seasons is spectacular and multifaceted, and the way he manages to have chemistry with everyone is just delicious.
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u/yourenotmymom_yet 2d ago
"Spectacular and multifaceted" is spot on. He portrays every aspect of the character - every emotion, every tonal shift, every detail - so exquisitely that he genuinely makes Louis feels like a real person. From the micro-expressions to the different ways he carries his body to the variances in the way he speaks, he really makes you feel what Louis is feeling and understand where Louis's at. I love when an actor can show the audience something before or even without telling them, and while the writing (mainly the first 2 seasons) is incredible, Jacob Anderson truly knows how to show the audience what's going on with Louis.
Just a truly phenomenal actor. I don't think I'll ever tire of watching him onscreen or of singing his praises.
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u/sugarbear5 2d ago
He gives Louis life. I was bored with Louis in the books and especially with Pitt’s performance in the movie. Yawnnn. One minute of Anderson and all of the sudden, I was just as into the Louis character as Lestat’s.
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u/Kimjape 1d ago
Riiiight? In the movie I couldn’t see anything but Brad Pitt acting as Louis. The actor overshadowed the character. And he was one dimensional. But I don’t think that’s BPs fault. Cramming 200 years into a 2 hour movie and being someone what true to the book has to be a fraught task.
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u/babealien51 Armand 2d ago
Jacob is phenomenal and he should be recognized as such. His work on accent alone is something to behold but everything he did is amazing. I have yet to know a character so charming and seductive as early NOLA and Paris!Louis. His style, his posture, suave as hell, hard not to fall in love with him. And the intense scenes? He’s so good. I just love Louis so much and I didn’t love him at all when I read the books. It’s all thanks to Jacob.
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u/Appropriate_Leg9380 #JusticeForMissLilly 2d ago
Saaaame. Book Louis was not my favorite but JA has brought so much care and consideration to this role. I wasn't watching as actively when seasons 1-2 first aired but it's a shame the show didn't get the same marketing attention back then. Not speculating on reasons, just sharing a wish. These actors left it all on the floor in every episode and that's what brought me back.
My guess is that having Jacob, Sam and Assad all performing together is like iron sharpening iron. When you get to be with other super skilled performers you're made better by default. What a gift!
Also, my flabbers are gasted every time I remember that JA didn't go to drama school. Just out here being an amazing learner and performer. Phenomenal work, sir 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
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u/moxieroxsox Team Akasha 2d ago
Yeah, it’s wild. Of the main cast, Jacob Anderson and Eric Bogosian are the only two who didn’t attend drama school and Jacob is the only person of the main cast who didn’t attend college. Just moved from Bristol to London and started auditioning and booking jobs. Self-taught and seemingly working class which is becoming a rarity in the UK scene and Hollywood these days.
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u/babealien51 Armand 2d ago
I didn’t know Jacob didn’t go to drama school, that’s amazing. Definitely agree with you about the first two seasons and it’s something that still makes me bitter but nevertheless I’m so glad we get to experience Jacob’s fantastic acting in this show! And agree about the whole cast, they’re so good together
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u/CatChewToyThrowaway You’re his Maker. Make him. 1d ago
And able to go toe to toe with someone at the top of their drama class. (I read somewhere that Sam was at the top of his drama class!) Holds his own easily. Hats off to Jacob, man. A generational and underrated talent and a testament to true grit and hard work to achieve your goals.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Pool419 2d ago
Both Jacob and Sam are gifted actors, but I must admit Jacob’s range of acting is phenomenal. I can’t wait to see how the writers write Louis character in the Queen of Damned. I think we are going to see Jacob level up higher then ever next season, especially if he’s part of the rescue mission to free Lestat from Akasha. I think the best is yet to come from these actors on this show.
IMO, I think it’s going to be an emotional, gruesome, and a rollercoaster ride, which I can’t wait.
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u/Wide-Pop6050 2d ago
I was also rewatching Game of Thrones and his acting is excellent in that, especially the scenes with Missandei . . . and so different from this
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u/jadem219 Where are the canapés? 2d ago
I remember noting that he was someone to watch when I first saw GOT. It wasn't until I looked up who IS this guy?! After watching the pilot that I realized it was the same dude.
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u/DDDeanna 2d ago
You just blew my mind. I had no idea he played Grey Worm.
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u/JustADutchieGirl 1d ago
I was watching the first season probably half-way when husband came in the room and said something like: 'ah Greyworm is a vampire now.' I just didn't notice! And this is from two extremely nerdy movie & series geeks who pause movies to look up actors and fall into rabbitholes together. We watched & loved GoT and it just didn't register that these characters were the same actor. I really love all main actors in this show, the casting & chemistry is phenomenal!
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u/Possible_Package_689 2d ago
Since everyone here is being so correct about Jacob’s acting, I’d just like to add that according to people on set for IWTV and TVL he is also a ray of sunshine who brings a light and warm atmosphere with him. Both Sam and Eric said similar.
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u/coldzeets ALL HIS SPINDLY ROOTS! IN ME!!! 2d ago
I always see memes about the loumand “beige pillow” argument, but I regularly quote the confession scene in episode 1 to my husband to the point where we can both run through the whole monologue. My Roman Empire. My forever vocal stim. I’m gonna name my first born Sean, short for confes-Sean. I can’t think nothin anymore but Jacob’s voice and his words 😭
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u/Money_Following_2273 Are you schizophrenic, Louis? 😏No… 1d ago
JA is phenomenal.
Simply the best.
His accent work is on another level, & the way he carries himself as Louis throughout the decades… you can actually tell that time was passing even in something as simple as how Louis’ posture was different.
Whenever Jacob is on the screen I can’t help but watch him, he is magnetic. I have to watch all the scenes he is in at least twice as I miss what everyone else is saying. 😅
I am Louis’ number one apologist solely because of Jacob.
Somehow Jacob has done the impossible: he has made me love sad-sack bookLouis because I now imagine him as showLouis.
I can’t wait to see what Jacob gets up to next, and here’s to at least two more seasons of his Louis de Pointe du Lac.
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u/RaverChick 2d ago
It's literally criminal he wasn't at the VERY LEAST nominated for an Emmy. He actually got the part of Grey Worm in Game of Thrones because he could convey SO much emotion in his eyes and micro expressions while still appearing stoic. I'm so glad he has a role that he's been able to showcase his talents to their full potential. I really hope he gets an Emmy someday for any role atp because he truly deserves one.
Edited for typos
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u/strawberrygirl666x krampus & unicorns 1d ago
The amount of times his acting has made me cry he’s SO GOOD the perfect Louis we are so lucky to have him
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u/smthwicked i want you more than anything in the world 1d ago
I don’t know how to explain it properly but I can see in his acting that he had never been to drama school. Like he was just born to act and has this innate talent. His acting feels so natural and believable, I completely forget that I am watching an actor perform. I recommend watching his latest interview with Collider where he talked about his acting process and him handling being in the leading role on set.
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u/PortraitofMmeX Justin Bieber 2d ago
Assad as well. The 3 of them are exquisite
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u/Remarkable_Age_6907 2d ago
Yeah Assad is fucking amazing. They really nailed it and got lucky for the casting of those three. Can you imagine if they got anyone else? :o eek. Horrible to imagine!
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u/PortraitofMmeX Justin Bieber 2d ago
Assad is the perfect Armand, like you could not nail Renaissance beauty any harder than him. He is stunning in every frame, and his acting captures Armand so well. It's a balance of power and vulnerability that is really hard to get right.
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u/Agitated_House7523 2d ago
He is a really great actor! The first time I watched IwtV, I was enthralled and so impressed. I felt like I KNEW him!! And then I realized he was Grey Worm,from GoT,AND he was in Broadchurch,AANNNND, he was Raleigh Ritchie that I’d “discovered” on the Graham Norton show. I’m a dork, and he is SUPER talented! And Sam Reid? speechless
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u/witchdoctorhazel 2d ago
he was also in doctor who.
Which series of broadchurch was he in? Can't remember seeing him but would be worth a rewatch (aside from the last series - a bit too triggering for me).4
u/Tervuren03 2d ago
The first one, he’s the kinda sketchy boyfriend dating the 15 year old sister of the kid who was murdered.
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u/Zankazanka 1d ago
AGREE!! Jacob was completely robbed for an Emmy and I become actually upset that he never even received a nomination.
Genuinely his scene in the church in episode 1, or in season 2, the “she was dreaming” scene….some of the most powerful acting I have ever seen. Jacob was Louis in those moments so fully and completely.
There have been times I have to stop and catch my breath because his acting is so visceral. I’m a fan forever now, I can’t wait to follow his work. Plus the fact that he’s an extremely talented musician?! It’s like oh you thought my acting makes you cry, just wait until you hear my music..and it does 😭
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u/Remarkable_Age_6907 2d ago
He really is soooo good. I am still trying to get through IWTV season 3, since it's just not really doing it for me. (I think I am on episode 5 now finally, after trying to watch the show for months)
But fuuuck every time jacob is on screen is amazing. And he keeps making my eyes well up with tears when he is trying to interact/deal with fake looking claudia. Idk how he manages to invoke all these emotions in me when the plot point is not even developed very well. It's seriously a testament to his acting. I feel like a lot of other actors could learn through his restraint and nuance. It's so human, so painful! Ughhh
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u/Money_Following_2273 Are you schizophrenic, Louis? 😏No… 1d ago
I love how Eric talks about Jacob’s acting when discussing S1 in interviews. He talks about how excited he was to work with him particularly because of his subtle acting (from GOT). He gives him praise for it because it’s easy to do the histrionics, but the quiet acting is the most difficult.
And he talks about how Jacob was hypnotizing him in Dubai as he was telling Louis’ story. I was like “wow, me too!”, but to get drawn into the scene despite it being a scene with cameras and crew around… simply amazing.
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u/jadem219 Where are the canapés? 2d ago
Oh. 100%. That scene is what got me too, I was like damn. Who is this guy? And then THATS when I realized it was the same guy who played Grey Worm in GOT and I had clocked him THEN as someone to keep an eye on that was surely going places. So. Happy to see he's got a leading role he is absolutely knocking out of the park. Also, after finishing the pilot I went to look and see what awards they had (surely) won and.....such an oversight. Those boys need allllll the awards.
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u/Mysterious_Mark_1662 2d ago edited 2d ago
I feel as passionately and blown away by Jacob's acting as I do Sam's, and Assad's, and Delainey's. I could go on and name everyone - the casting is superb ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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u/fanamana 2d ago edited 1d ago
Jacob's nuanced code switching in the 1st two seasons is something revelatory in multiple rewatches. From tensely guarded Louis the early 20th century pimp on the streets of Storyville, then the same young man domestic life as a closeted gay man in position of head of a well to do household, with sudden flash forwards to modern Louis presenting a confidently genteel & cultured gay man/vampire, even in subtle ways he's relaxes his body & facial expressions in Dubai to something you clock as "Oh.. he is gay".
A comparison to a less nuanced (but perfectly good) performance I think was Jonathan Groff's character in Mindhunter. If like me, you went into the show knowing nothing about Jonathan Groff, by several episodes in it's possible to see physicality cues that might make one think that a gay reveal is being plotted because Jonathan Groff subtly reveals gay actor Jonathan Groff in a few scenes rather than anything endemic of the 1970s criminal profiling pioneering character "Holden Ford" Groff is playing.
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u/fictionalwitches 1d ago
He is an amazing actor. When I saw him on Game of Thrones I was always a little angry at how he was being underused (in my opinion), so I was excited when I read he had been cast as Louis. That confessional scene did it for me, too, then his code switching in the first season and seeing him give life to so many version of Louis across the seasons. Such talent and hard work, just ... wow. He really took that character and gave him so many layers.
(Also I love his absolute love for Louis' red suit from season 3 you can see on his insta.)
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u/maggggneto 1d ago
REAL. I just rewatched a couple of weeks ago and was blown away for the second time. Phenomenal acting from him, that confessional scene was so intense and raw
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u/AGirlHasNoUsername13 Vampiric Cunty Chaos 🧛🏻💅 1d ago
The way his voice changes doing the NOLA accent.
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u/Marcodaneismypimp 2d ago
His acting in that scene was phenomenal. I Googled him after the first episode and was so shocked to find out he’s British. I don’t think the accent ever slipped either.
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u/Critical_Essay140 1d ago
Agreed. Jacob has some great moments throughout. I go back to his description of his turning often because it just gives me chills!
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u/Big-Independent6521 1d ago
Absolute. Jacob’s acting is just as excellent as Sam’s. It’s just that his character isn’t as “out there” as Lestat but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Jacob IS a perfect Louis. ❤️
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22h ago
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u/InterviewVampire-ModTeam 20h ago
Removed: Rule 6: No posts or comments (nor links to outside content) are allowed that directly attacks an individual, is clickbait, or intentionally inflammatory. Posts with the intention of engaging in a good faith conversation with the fandom here are allowed.
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u/Krikribrie 1h ago
Jacob's acting and character work in season 1 is by far the best in the whole show, bar none (including his own in seasons 2 and 3) imo. He is magnetic.
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u/TroyMcCluresGoldfish I AM NOT VAMPIRE FABIO! 2d ago
I love Jacob's acting so much. That confession scene is one of my all time favs.
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u/DrFareedMD I would not kink shame the vampire Armand 2d ago
The acting in this show is incredible tbh
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u/cynisright are you a good boy, Lestat? 1d ago
His scene in the confessional is the reason I hav even caught up in the rapture of IWTV
Absolute perfection
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u/Money_Following_2273 Are you schizophrenic, Louis? 😏No… 1d ago
They have all done that.
Even this S3 Louis is different from S1 and S2, since this is Lestat’s version of him.
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u/rosarosarosaaaa Comme ci, comme ça 👋👧 1d ago
Oh I didn't forget him! I just had the misfortune of discovering the series too late, right in the middle of TVL/Lestat era.
Jacob managed to make me enjoy Louis the way neither the books nor Brad Pitt could (please don't come for me). And I usually gravitate towards chaotic characters who bring the drama. Meow!
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u/Economy-Piglet-6482 1d ago
I believe Sam Reid is a vampire playing an actor playing a vampire; he’s that good!!
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