Alternate Best Actor 1994: Tom Cruise in Interview With The Vampire

Tom Cruise did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Lestat de Lioncourt in Interview With the Vampire. 

Interview With the Vampire, which tells the story of the life of a southern plantation owner as a reluctant vampire having been turned by a far more eager vampire.

Much casting controversy ensued in the casting of star Tom Cruise in the role of Lestat from source material writer Anne Rice. Cruise, though still had some forays away from it beforehand, largely was working within crafting and maintaining his still ongoing star persona. This persona that in no way has anything in common with the fancy vampire who loves being a vampire in Lestat, seeming more befitting a more off-beat actor perhaps just on the surface. The thing is though despite Tom Cruise being a great star, he has shown the ability of an actor throughout his career. I think perhaps Rice should've been more concerned by Brad Pitt in a more standard leading part as Louie, the more reluctant vampire, where he seems a bit lost at times particularly in the early scenes of the film, more so than I feel is the intention for his character, whereas Cruise seems right at home. Now as usual though Cruise's portrayal actually isn't entirely alien to his star persona as one would assume, though this is probably one of the bigger stretches of his range. This as Cruise does do an accent here, smartly he doesn't overplay his hand fashioning a slight English accent, perhaps better described just a historically refined accent that honestly simply works for the part. It does more than that though in that you can easily accept him within the role with that touch. This furthered by his physical manner here that takes a distinctly classical patrician manner, that again Cruise is believable in crafting and importantly consistently realizing his Lestat as a classic vampire villain, of sorts. 

Now where there is an overlap between Cruise as his persona and in the role. This is that Cruise typically delivers a particularly type of intense personality. Intensity though specifically related to a personal drive that almost comes through in every Cruise performance, this one included. The difference here though instead of trying to win a race, hustle pool or be the top gun, he wants suck blood, a lot of blood. Cruise's particular intensity serves the character as his eyes just have that certain manner of a man, well a vampire, who lusts for the undead life of the vampire. Cruise's sort of energy he brings is ideal in crafting this idea of the man who just loves the state of being as such. His initial intention in trying to get the moody Louie to be part of this life with him. Cruise makes this a particular sort of villainy as he brings that star presence but instead wields it here as part of the power of the persona through that willingness just to go head first, into a feast. Cruise's performance really is quite essential, as the film takes quite awhile to find a plot, more of just having random acts of vampirism for awhile. Cruise though is what makes these engaging as throws himself into every scene, and honestly, in a rare instance of it, I kind of forget its really Cruise in this part despite technically having those remarkable traits of his presence present. 

The film finds its direction once Louis randomly bites a juvenile plague victim and Lestat blithely turns the victim into a vampire, Claudia (Kirsten Dunst). This where we have the two vampires becoming parents of sorts to the little girl slowly becoming a woman stuck in a little girl's body. Cruise is fantastic in actually managing to find the right balance in these scenes between a flamboyant humor and actually selling the general concept of it. This in portraying Lestat's genuine fascination with the new vampire, as he did with Louie, and the sincere, though devious, joy that Cruise portrays in every fiendish smile of his. This though with a certain cheekiness that is overtly comical when scolding Claudia for randomly killing people, and Cruise again plays it nicely with that balance he finds. Eventually though Claudia turns on Lestat attempting to kill him leaving a more feral vampire in the wake. Cruise once more does not lose the state of the character showing sort of those edges of viciousness in his manner as it comes full front. This switching to sort of the overt monster which Cruise pulls off with a genuine ease. Cruise then disappears for much of the film, with only an enjoyably creepy Stephen Rea to pick up the slack, before appearing in the denouement. These are two scenes honestly at odds against each other one a more repentant Lestat recognizing his past mistakes and the other a flamboyant return to evil. As much as there is the hypocrisy Cruise is effective again in showing an even more dreadful state in presenting Lestat with none of his pomp or circumstance to hide behind. Cruise finding just the right hint of a depth there, carefully not showing a fully regretful side of Lestat but at least a slightly understanding one of how he got to his dismal state. This against his final scene where Cruise is magnificent again in just throwing himself into the sheer bliss again at Lestat embracing his life again. Despite being at odds with his previous scene, it works because of Cruise's performance again that honestly owns both the role but also the needed tone for the material. He shows that quite frankly Lestat enjoys himself too much to really ever better his ways. Again I think it is almost easy to forget that really none of this should work on paper, and in a way one can understands Rice's concern. Tom Cruise as a flamboyant vaguely European vampire does sound positively ridiculous, but Cruise not only pulls it off, it does it to the point you just accept the character and forget this is Tom Cruise, which is something quite special in itself.