The news that Hollywood poster boy Tom Cruise had been cast as Anne Rice's anti-hero Lestat in Neil Jordan's adaptation of Interview With The Vampire drew more howls of protest than a werewolf convention running low on steak. This was the guy who whooped his way through Top Gun. How could he possibly bring this powerful figure to blood-curdling life? On the whole, "the Cruiser" proved his critics wrong, dying his hair and embodying the ominous grace the role demanded. Even so, the overriding impression in some quarters was - it's Tom Cruise playing a vampire! Never in a million years would audiences have thought that this full-of-beans fighter pilot/exasperated relative of Dustin Hoffman/racing car petrolhead would be chewing necks across the centuries! The star rarely strayed that far from his comfort zone again (aside from projects such as Magnolia and Collaterol), making this an intriguing curio performance that divided opinion. In the main, Cruise went back to his groove as the clean-cut dude up to his collarbone in trouble, as opposed to draining veins as one of the big bads.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
