‘Interview with the Vampire’s Delainey Hayles on the “Heartbreak and Confusion” of That Big Fight

Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 4 of Interview with the Vampire.

The Big Picture

• Tensions are already brewing in Paris between Louis, Claudia, and the rest of the coven as
  Interview with the Vampire
  Season 2 continues.
• Delainey Hayles enjoyed delivering Claudia’s iconic lines and performing on stage despite Claudia’s discontent.
• Hayles says that Claudia feels betrayed by Louis choosing Armand over her, highlighting their fractured relationship.

Although the second season of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire has ushered in a welcome change of scenery now that Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) have journeyed to Paris, it seems their trials are only just beginning. Claudia’s initial desire to seek out the existence of other vampires has been a mixed bag, to say the least, but crossing paths with the local coven that makes up the Théâtre des Vampires, led by the ancient maitreArmand (Assad Zaman), seemed promising at first. While Claudia believed she’d found a community to settle in with, Louis navigated the potential for new love with none other than Armand himself.

The only problem is that this duo has been lying about their previous association with the Théâtre’s very co-founder: Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), and now, the coven is starting to sniff out the inconsistencies in their story. Pair that with the fact that Claudia has just been given the starring role in a new long-running production — one she can’t stand — and it seems tensions in Paris are going to boil over to a head sooner rather than later. The only question is how long it will take the veteran journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) to uncover it all from what he can piece together through conversations with both Louis and Armand, as well as Claudia’s salvaged diaries.

Ahead of the premiere of Season 2, Episode 4, “I Want You More Than Anything in the World,” Collider had the opportunity to catch up with Hayles for a conversation about what plays out for Claudia this week. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, Hayles discusses why she so enjoyed getting to say Claudia’s most iconic Episode 2 line (after having some previous swear words cut), how much advance work went into prepping for Claudia’s big stage debut, the significance of Claudia’s growing relationship with local dressmaker Madeleine (played by Roxane Duran), what Claudia really wants to hear from Louis during their big fight about Armand, and more.

Delainey Hayles Was “So Happy” About Claudia’s Best Episode 2 Line

COLLIDER: I’ve been trying to think about how to ask you this question. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there’s been a reaction to a particular line of Claudia’s earlier in the season, and I feel like you’re going to know what it is without me even having to say it. [Laughs]

DELAINEY HAYLES: I’ve been getting DMs about it. [Laughs]

That scene is such a great encapsulation of where Louie and Claudia’s relationship is and how they’ve evolved to be able to call each other out. What was your reaction to reading that line in the script and knowing that you were going to get to be the one to deliver it?

HAYLES: We’re talking about “slapping hands,” right? [Laughs] In the first episode, I had a lot of swear words, and I was very happy to get to say them. I was very excited. But then I think some of them got chopped, and I was like, “Oh no, let the girl swear!” Then I got script two, and I was like, “Oh!” [Laughs] I was so happy that it was kept in. The writing on this show is ridiculous, and it feels so fitting for Claudia. She’s an older woman now. She will say what she has to say.

Delainey Hayles Loved Being On Stage for Episode 4 — Even if Claudia Hated It

Claudia also struggles with being an older woman in a body that hasn’t blossomed, will never blossom, and now she has to step into the role of Baby Lulu, which reaffirms all of that negativity that she holds about herself. The episode shows us the evolution of that first performance and her energy for the crowd, but by the end of around 500 performances, she’s so shut down. What did you enjoy about getting to do a theatrical performance like that as part of the show?

HAYLES: I was filming the end of [Episode 2], and then we started rehearsals with the 1927 women who do the projection and they choreographed it a bit. They were teaching me whilst I was filming other episodes. It was a lot of fun because, as they were making it, I had an idea of what it would be like, but when we got it on stage, it was nothing like I imagined. It was 10 times better than I imagined.

I had my own interpretation of how we would do it, but it was completely different, and I had a lot of fun filming it. When I saw my costume, Claudia’s Baby Lu costume, I was like, “Okay, I see the direction we’re going in now. This is insane.” Then I saw the projections, and it was kind of hard because we had little marks on the floor, but the lenses plus the stage lights made it very hard to see them. It was a guessing game of where to stand so the projection hit me correctly.

I had the time in my life doing it. I couldn’t say the same for Claudia. She hates it from the moment she gets the script and the dress. But in the beginning, she’s appeasing the coven, trying to fit in and subjecting herself to these different lengths in order to be accepted. That’s what she’s doing in the beginning performance, and then, over time, she realizes, “This is not me, and I will only go so far.”

Claudia also talks about how she has struggled to fit in with the coven because they’ve closed ranks. So she seeks a friendship, a relationship outside of the coven, with Madeleine. In the book, it’s a mother-daughter dynamic, but the show seems to embrace more of a romance. Were there discussions about changing that connection, as this woman becomes someone who is very important to Claudia?

HAYLES: We had lots of discussions about her and Madeleine’s relationship, and I think the writers do such a good job at making the story relevant to today’s times. Looking at Claudia’s circumstances, I think they were able to maintain the purity in her and Madeleine’s relationship, but also dig a bit deeper and understand that these two women are going through pain and their community is ostracizing them, and they see that in each other. The writing gives you, in the beginning, little droplets, little cookies of that. And I like that.

Roxane [Duran] and I had lots of conversations about it with [director] Levan [Atkin], and they definitely see something in each other. I like the fact that the way it’s written is very clear, but what I also like is people can take away what they want from it. I have my own opinions on what it is, and I think you’ll get that in the writing, in the scenes, but I don’t want to put my own stamp on it. I like how it’s written. Very open, very direct.

Louis Choosing Armand Feels Like a Betrayal to Claudia, Says Delainey Hayles

Louis and Claudia have it out towards the end of the episode after she discovers Armand knows the truth about Lestat, and has known for a while. What do you think she wants Louis to say to her in that moment? What do you think she’s asking him to give her that he’s not really understanding?

HAYLES: I think she wanted Louis to be like, “Claudia, you’re the first priority. Yes, I told Armand this, but my priority is you.” But in that moment, it’s clear that he picks Armand, and that’s what it is. I don’t think it’s so much about what they did to Lestat. If she could, in her world, she’d be like, “Yeah, I did it. I’m going to do it again.”

It’s the fact that, in this moment, Louis betrayed her. They had this plan, they were supposed to stick to it. She kept her end of the bargain, he didn’t. He picked another one over her. And it’s heartbreak and confusion, in a way. She’s confused as to why it was so easy for him to give that up. He didn’t know Armand this long. Why was it so easy for him to push her to the side again?

When they first get to Paris, Claudia asks Louis what he would be without her or Lestat. How do you think Claudia would answer that same question? Or do you think she hasn’t even really considered that?

HAYLES: I think she’d give a surface-level answer about who she is, but she doesn’t entirely know who she is. She can’t walk us into these places like the other vampires do. At her core, she doesn’t know, because her circumstances make it hard for her to learn. She’d try to give a very headstrong answer. What do you think?

I think who she is, as a vampire, is linked to them. Try as she might, she can’t separate herself in that way. But at the same time, all these vampires are so connected, and everyone’s intertwined with everybody else, and everything just gets so messy and complicated. So it’s difficult to say.

HAYLES: I sometimes think about what her hobbies would be, because her being a vampire is all she’s known. Louis takes up photography. What would Claudia be? Who would she be? What would she do? But her circumstances are the thing holding her back.

New episodes of Interview with the Vampire Season 2 premiere weekly on Sundays and are available to stream on AMC+.

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