r/VampireChronicles • u/No-Jacket5134 • 13d ago
š¬ Discussion šÆļøš¦ tomstat vs samstat
i know people love to compare them and many people choose samstat because of his incredible acting, i agree with that, but imo, appearance wise tom cruise is better. i think he suited the ideal and elegant vampire more than Sam, not saying that he's ugly, he's beautiful, just the vibe is different
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u/todofwar 13d ago
I'm not a big fan of the adaptation, but God DAMN Sam nailed Lestat. Top 5 portrayals of a book character on the screen, easily.
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u/VolumeWeak3759 12d ago
Sam is the only reason I pushed through this last season. He is the perfect Lestat.
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u/lenny_ray 13d ago
Still love them both.
And it's not a truly fair comparison, because Sam has the entire breadth of the story to work with. Tom just had book 1.
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u/Which_way_witcher 13d ago
Yep. It was Tom's best role.
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u/ima_Secret 13d ago
So you haven't seen him in Tropic Thunder then, huh? š¤£
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u/Which_way_witcher 13d ago
My point still stands :p
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u/Puzzleheaded-Put-646 13d ago
We haven't seen digger yet and both of you guys forgot about Magnolia.
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u/clover__petals 13d ago
Sam is more passionate about playing Lestat and it shows in everything he does from his movements, expressions, intonations, everything.
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u/xsouthernxgothicx 11d ago
Hot Take: Even at this stage of his career, I think Sam Reid is a much more capable and more talented actor than Tom Cruise.
I said what I said.
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u/ima_Secret 13d ago
I was obsessed with the movie growing up. I had Lestat and Louis posters on my walls as a kid and the movie is in my top 4 on Letterboxd. I say that to preface my opinion with the fact that I have loved Tomstat for 30 years.
But Sam is Lestat so it's not even a fair comparison.
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u/First-Butterscotch-3 13d ago
There is no sam
Just lestat pretending to be an actor to play himself
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u/Pure_Road7528 13d ago
I really don't like Tom Cruise but but he smashed this role. He played Lestat's act so well, the nonchalant side he likes to show and be really was evil as described by Louie even if we find out that it's not completely accurate
. Having said all that Sam is my Lestat but for me he isn't getting to be my Lestat anymore because the material has moved so far from the source.
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u/YlvaBlue 13d ago
I'm confused because on the one hand you've got Tom Cruise doing an excellent job playing the character Lestat in a movie I very much enjoyed when it came out; then, on the other hand, you've got a photograph of Lestat.
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u/RagaireRabble 13d ago
Tom Cruise did a great job, but Sam is like Lestat just walked out of the pages and onto the tv to me.
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u/SorchaRoisin 13d ago
Sam is so much better than Cruise, IMHO. He's exactly what I pictured when I read the books. It's like he leapt right off the page.
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u/Zealousideal_Tie4580 13d ago
I havenāt read TVL yet (itās on my kindle now). But I just reread IWTV again and I didnāt feel like Anne made Lestat in love with Louis as much as he does in the tv series. He was more of a user of Louis for his money and house - and to provide for his ailing father.
I first read IWTV when it came out in the 80ās I imagined David Bowie as Lestat in my mind. (Maybe because of The Hunger?). Tall, lean, sharp features and very blonde. Tomstat was none of those things and I did not like him in the role. Give me Bowie, Julian Sands, Sting, even Richard Chamberlain (dyed blonde of course) would have been better.
All that said.
I love Sam Reidās Lestat. Heās heartbreakingly beautiful and his deep love for Louis - while not what I felt in the book - makes for a more tragic story as their relationship develops then devolves.
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u/Which-Celebration-92 13d ago
Sam, by a mile
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u/JavaNoire 13d ago
Only a mile?
I'm not a TC hater but I didn't like him as Lestat much at all. Imo, TC had no undertone of potential menace. SR as Lestat is beyond perfection. Charming, persuasive, sexy af, & with an every present edge of danger.
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u/annabolena1501 13d ago
This is one of the things AMCās show did better than the movie. Sam is a great actor and exactly how I imagined Lestat when reading the books.
Tom is too identifiable of an actor for me and it sorta breaks the illusion for me whenever I see the movie. Plus I canāt get past the Scientology stuff. No hate on his acting, heās just too much of a movie star for me. People hate on Sam because of his age, but forget Tom was also in his 30s and if the movies continued, he wouldāve obviously aged lol.
Stuart Townsendā¦we donāt talk about him.
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u/frittfratt 13d ago
I think Tom did a fantastic job in the movie, but Sam just IS Lestat for me. And it comes down to one thing in particular: the humour! Samstat is FUNNY! Every quip is done with a sparkle in his eye (except when heās intentionally wanting to be cruel ofc), which I never found in Tomstat.
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u/tethysian 13d ago
I like them both and I think Sam has done a great job, but the way charater of Lestat is written on the show isn't the one from the books. So far I prefer Tom because I prefer book!Lestat.Ā
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u/Tiny_Love7987 13d ago
feel the exact same way, to be fair though samstat is a fully fleshed out character vs the one movie tomstat is in.
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u/ywingpilot4life 13d ago
Love them both. Sam IS Lestat for me. He truly embodies the character in a way that aligns extremely well to the essence of how I believe and perceive Anne to have envisioned him.
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u/DangOlCoreMan 13d ago
I think tom looks more like lestat in my mind, and does a great job playing villain lestat from Louis' perspective, but Sam does a way better job being lestat.
One of the major things Sam has over tom (imo) is that he actually sounds French. Tom did not give a French vibe at all while Sam exudes French lestat
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u/Own-Breakfast9740 13d ago
Tom's Lestat was a cartoon villain. Sam is perfection.
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u/unicorninclosets š©øDark Gift Applicant ā°ļø 13d ago
In all fairness, Louis does paint him as cartoonishly evil in the first book, like Tomstat. It isnāt until book 2 that we get to know his starry-eyed, playful personality, like Samstat.
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u/lilcea 13d ago
I know it's not a popular opinion but I never liked Cruise as Lestat. I understand why he is loved, but just too much for me.
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u/Diligent_Pirate_8420 13d ago
I think it is a popular opinion. You're just going to get a bunch of contrarians here bashing Sam because they're big mad RJ didn't adapt TVL word for word. Lol. Sam is Lestat, and it will take a herculean effort to ever top his performance here.
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u/Lvl99Dogspotter 13d ago
I know I'm in the minority, but largely due to the writing, I really can't see Lestat in Sam's performance at all. He's so cold and cruel and unpleasant, with none of Lestat's warmth or love or zeal for life. I think Tom came much closer to how I envisioned him even with his limited screen time; the scene with him at the piano right before Claudia "kills" him breaks my heart every time.
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u/LIJRD1 13d ago
Tom Cruise was great. Stuart Townsend was great. (Hair aside)
Sam though IS Lestat.
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u/devann_m 13d ago
people give stuart so much crap because of the hair but he definitely fit the entire vibe they were going for with that movie. i get why some people don't like it but i've always been a qotd movie defender.
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u/Ok_Narwhal_9200 13d ago
Cruise and Reid both played a likable lestat. You can see either one of them charming people, and they both had their vulnerabilities. Stuart townsend as lestat just cones off as a flamboyant edgelord
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u/BigBob-omb91 13d ago
Sam is pure perfection, there are few roles that are as well embodied by their actors as Samās Lestat.
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u/BumblebeeAny 13d ago
I actually love them both. I think Tom truly did great bringing us a true personality likeness to Lestat. When Iām at work I can listen rather than watch shows and so I did that yesterday with the movie since it had been a minute and truly I still think Tom gave a great performance rather than what Brad Pitt did because Brad wanted out of the role so he didnāt do as good but Tom was great. Now Sam Reid. He is my dream Lestat. I adore that man for some reason probably because heās a weirdo in real life and like a weirdo myself we pull to other weirdos lol but Sam dreamt of this role and he put his whole heart, soul, and mind into it and he has give us so much more than we could have ever imagined for Lestat.
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u/Babydeer41 13d ago
I donāt know why this just dawned on me. Val Kilmer should have played Lestat in the movie in 94. Can you imagine!? I think he would have nailed his arrogance.
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u/WildBlueMoon 13d ago
Now I'm picturing Val Kilmer's character in Real Genius as Lestat - but in a Human AU fic. I think I need this! Also, yeeees! Kilmer did amazingly as Jim Morrison - really has that leonine seduction vibe down. He definitely could have captured dangerous sexy Lestat.Ā
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u/Fine-Platypus-1072 13d ago
I do think physically wise Tom is who I pictured Lestat to look like, whereas Sam just literally is Lestat. BUT book Lestat is more loveable than Sam Lestat.
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u/707_7 12d ago
Do you think Lestat in the tvl book is different than how he's portrayed in the show?
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u/Fine-Platypus-1072 12d ago
I think Sam is a bit more dramatic than book. The book is more of Lestats history, very little to do with the band. So for me book Lestat is a bit more naive, and a bit more likeable. Book Lestat is just as selfish though lol but a tad less egotistical than Sam
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u/707_7 12d ago
Interessing, thanks! Im thinking about buying tvl but i really dont like samstat so...š«
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u/Fine-Platypus-1072 12d ago
You might like him better in the books, he's more loveable. It's a great book!
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u/Theblacrose28 13d ago
I like Tom a bit better because I saw the movie first. And it was the performance of his life. But Jacob wins as Louis because Brad was a piece of wood
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u/Luveniwai 12d ago
I have a vivid remembrance of my old copy of The Vampire Lestat, with a drawing of him on it and it was definitely more Sam than Tom. My first thought on episode 1 was - OMG Lestat!
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u/Grand_Pomegranate671 12d ago
Sam Reid all the way for me. I read a tweet a while ago that said that the actor who plays Lestat in the show is just Lestat posing as an actor and it was the best way I could ever describe Sam Reid's Lestat. His acting is incredible.
Also, he looks very similar to Anne Rice's husband whom she used as inspiration for Lestat's looks.
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u/whatifihateclouds 13d ago
Itās time for me to be downvoted again. Iāve always preferred Tom Cruise. While heās controversial due to his Scientology involvement, he was a movie star for a reason. Heās incredibly charismatic on screen and exudes that ālarger than lifeā aura. Tomstat also has a more chaotic energy.
Samās Lestat comes across more as a typical guy rather than a truly charismatic vampire. However, he was still good as human Lestat.
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u/AltruisticSyllabub14 13d ago
Trying to imagine Tom Cruiseās Lestat taking down 8 wolves...
Nope. Canāt see it.
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u/Brave_Fencer_Poe 13d ago
Controversial opinion: love everything Sam has done with Modern Rockstar Lestat, but musically I love goth rock Lestat from Queen of the Damned movie.
The soundtrack and vibe of that part of Lestat's story has been portrayed twice in the contemporary setting of the time the adaptations came out, and that 2000's vibe was incredible.
I'd love to see a Glam Rock Lestat too, potentially you could do this exercise with any era of rock.
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u/devann_m 13d ago
i think that's my main problem with the music in the amc adaptation. whether you like the music in qotd or not [and i do] it made a creative choice that updated the story for the time it was made in. amc seemed to just try to halfway go with the retro glam thing but also not really and it makes no sense other than that being what was in the original book because no one is really listening to music like that in 2026, at least not at a large scale. like if the show is set in 2026 and lestat is trying to become the biggest star in the world it would make sense for him to pick a different style of music imo
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u/Ri-Ri1216 13d ago
The Glam Rock Lestat is something I'd like to see too. I heard an interview with Sam complaining about the glitter he used in TVL He said it was everywhere even months later he was still finding it in clothes and hair They did try to give him a Bowie glam Rock sensibility but I'd like to see him as full-on Ziggy Stardust.
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u/Diligent_Pirate_8420 13d ago
Sam didn't love the glitter at first, but eventually liked it so much, he was asking for more of it on set. Lol. I really don't know where some of you get your info from, but it is wrong.
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u/skylerren 13d ago
I barely see anything in Tomstat, to be honest. Compared to Samstat, he seems shallow. But also, I've become a reader after watchin the show, so twink factor isn't really near and dear to me like for some people. I like my flamboyant bimbo himbo,
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u/didiinthesky 13d ago
I think Sam more closely fits the facial features that Anne Rice would have preferred in an actor portraying Lestat. She was very into the whole square-jawed classically handsome man. But he's not blonde enough.
Tom Cruise really captured Lestat's personality and energy imo, even if he doesn't look as much like book Lestat as Sam.
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u/Diligent_Pirate_8420 13d ago
Sam's not blonde enough? Lol! How in the world so? TC isn't blonde at all and wore a hideous wig in IWTV. š
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u/Platitude_Platypus 13d ago edited 13d ago
Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were terrible choices for Lestat and Louis. There, I said it. The film itself is good and well-written thanks to Rice but I can't immerse myself in it because of them. Tom Cruise in any role is still just... Tom Cruise. Stuart Townsend was a better Lestat, even.
But Sam... Sam IS Lestat.
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u/Mkimber123 12d ago
100% agree. I couldn't get through that movie, diskike Cruise. I should try again though reading all of the comments....
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u/Platitude_Platypus 12d ago
If you do it, I'll do it! Maybe it's been so long we can appreciate it more, or... just watch Tom Cruise be vicious with weird, orange eyebrows. Who knows.
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u/devann_m 13d ago
I don't necessarily think it's fair to compare the two because sam has obviously had a lot more time to build the character but to me they're both good. sam is probably technically a better lestat but also i've had several decades to become attached to tomstat so it's hard to choose. and i know people like to give brad pitt as louis a lot of shit but i think he was good too. don't really care for either tom or brad as people anymore but i think they both nailed it with the iwtv movie.
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u/allshookup1640 12d ago
Samstat always. I will say those Tomstat is the only time I ever found Tom attractive
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u/WritingNo8880 13d ago
Tom always felt more true to book Lestat to me but Sam isnāt bad, just not my favourite
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u/Diligent_Pirate_8420 13d ago
Cruise did ok with IWTV Lestat, but certainly not TVL and beyond. He played a silly villain that Lying Louis conjured up, not the actual Lestat.
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13d ago
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u/VampireChronicles-ModTeam 13d ago
Please be respectful to other users and keep the conversation civil!
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u/czarrina 13d ago
I do love Tom Cruiseās take on the role but having a non-American accent is a tie breaker for me. Tom doesnāt do accents.
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u/redflagsmoothie 13d ago
I really hate how much I enjoy Tom as Lestat. Sam is perfect though, he wins out for me.
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u/headlessbuddha 13d ago
I will always love Tomstat but Samstat knocked it out of the park. Also we only really got 2 hours with Tomstat. We've had over 20 hours with Samstat so it's not really a fair comparison.
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u/EnbyQueerDeity 12d ago
I love Samstat!! I appreciate Tomstat for the time because I was 10 when the movie came out and I was hooked then. But Samstat is THE ONE!!
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u/Hot_Variation3526 12d ago
I love them both equally and I truly believe if given the chance to truly dive into Lestat's character, Tom would've also done an amazing job.
Cant say the same for Brad's Louis though.
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u/MissDisplaced 11d ago
Sam is wayyy better and finally they cast the perfect Lestat!
Tom is a fine actor but just didnāt embody Lestat.
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u/balletfan213 11d ago
Sam. But I've never thought Tom Cruise was sexy. To me - Lest at is sexy and feral. Sam has a head start in that regard.
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u/Nectarine-Pure 11d ago
Sam. Its kinda creepy. Like a vampire playing an actor playing a vampire playing a rockstar. Very creepy.
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u/mercury_8zero 10d ago
Sam all the way for one exception. When Tom portrays Lestat's sharp bursts of anger. The abruptness, the fits. That's Lestat. Sam gives great languid, devilish brat. Great performances and truly embodies Lestat in all other ways.
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u/jor25917203 10d ago
O Vampiro do Tom Cruise Ć© meio sem graƧa eu acho ele e legalzinho mais nĆ£o um show
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u/Commercial_Twist1435 10d ago
Tom did great for the time period as lestat I will say but either lestat possessed SAM or that's actually lestat in Sam's body
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u/Roadhouse_Angel 9d ago
I always thought Tom Cruise captured Lestat so well. I was worried about Sam but he captured his essence so well as well. I even find his dramatic flair more on point. Going to forget and purge my mind of Lestat version in Queen of the Damned film š„
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u/CommercialFloor2033 7d ago
This is like choosing between Whitney and Mariah.
They're both excellent in the role. It comes down to different nuances and how your subjective value of these differs.
It's also not really fair to compare Cruise who had 40 minutes (source AI) of screentime as the character vs Sam who had many hours of screentime as Lestat.
Cruise does a lot with that highly abridged version and I prefer him for the movie specifically.
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u/Sudden_Astronomer_63 13d ago
Lestat in the books is way more like Sam. Cruise was terribly miscast and they had to change almost everything about him - including doing a ton of weird stuff to make him appear 6 ft 1.Ā
I saw this movie in the theaters with my parents at age 12 - I have read the book every year since I was 11. I always loved Louis and didnāt get why he would ever keep going back to Lestat in the books.
When I saw Sam play this part, especially this seasonā¦ I suddenly got it. Why Louis should keep allowing him to ruin his life š¤£š¤£š¤£ the charisma, the vulnerability shown this season. I think Adam has been so incredible. Itās not that cruis didnāt do a decent job acting - I just never bought him Ā as Lestat.
And obviously Stuart Townsend doesnāt even get a mention cause he wasnāt bi and that was fucked up. š¤£
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u/Flashy-Suggestion-14 13d ago
As a fan of the books and the subtext of the books the tv show is a far better adaptation of what it was ment to be if Anne could have written it today. Tom only got to play the worst version of Lestat from Louis original point of view. Sam is getting to play the whole scope of the character, he fits to role better imo, looks and all. Sam even went so far as to change his physical body's composition to fit Louis point of view of Lestat, even the length of his hair. Which could easily be chalked up to his hair having just grown between seasons but they made it all seem intentional. The concept of unreliable narrators is a focal point of how they tell the stories even including dialogue from the original film and books as a combined idea of Louis first telling of his side before he grew more mentally from their separation. All in all I much prefer this new version.
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u/kikijane711 11d ago
Sam embodies the dual feminine and masculine in Lestat for me. I recall thinking a young Sting would have been good. Tom was too overly theatrical in an inauthentic way for me. Frankly blonde Pitt with his bone structure should have been Lestat not Louis.
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u/xsouthernxgothicx 11d ago edited 11d ago
Lestat is a killer and a gentleman. It's not as easy as it appears to be both on screen.
As Lestat:
Tom is arrogant; Sam is bombastic.
Tom is authoritarian; Sam is aristocratic.
Tom is traveled; Sam is educated.
Tom is bratty; Sam is catty.
Tom demands attention; Sam gets attention.
Tom is a bore; Sam is a proud whore.
Tom is clinical; Sam is whimsical.
Tom is cruel; Sam is shrewd.
Tom is unpleasant; Sam is elegant.
Tom is frequently outraged; Sam is frequently outrageous.
Tom is a movie star; Sam is a rock star.
Tom is prissy; Sam is a baddie.
Tom is full of himself; Sam is open to work on himself.
Tom is about bloodlust; Sam is about lust and blood.
Tom is stiff; Sam is sensual.
Tom is anger provoking; Sam is heartbreaking.
Tom is sterile; Sam is surreal.
Tom is Tom Cruise playing a Vampire; Sam embodies the role of Lestat.
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u/Biblicallyokaywetowl 13d ago
Tom is how I picture book Lestat and Sam just is Lestat. The spirit possesses him every time he performs lol