10 More Horror Movie Performances That Proved EVERYONE Wrong

Whether he’s riding a motorcycle, jumping out of planes, or running like no other human being has ever run before, Tom Cruise is one of those actors often tagged with the “always plays themselves” label. 

This is why it’s always so strange when he steps outside of his wheelhouse, be it as a hedonistic musician in Rock of Ages, a self-aware motivational speaker in Magnolia, or as a brooding bloodsucker in 1994's Interview with the Vampire.

As Lestat de Lioncourt, Cruise's story is recorded by a reporter, including the transformation of Brad Pitt's Louis and Kirsten Dunst's Claudia into fellow vampires and his various scrapes across his long and eventful life. This was a brand new side to the superstar, way darker and over-the-top than anything audiences had seen from him up until that point.

Though he ultimately went back to being a living Action Man, the role of Lestat is forever linked to Cruise and is always one of the first examples deployed when talking about actors playing against type. This performance will live on forever, partially through all the distrubing fan fiction out there between him and Louis.