25 Things You Didn’t Know About Interview With The Vampire
23. Christian Slater Worked On The Film For Free
Christian Slater was given the role of Daniel Malloy, the interviewer himself (the character isn’t named in the novel, only upon his return two books later) after the death of River Phoenix, who suffered a dramatic overdose a week before filming was due to begin.
Stephen Dorff was considered for a moment before Slater was locked to replace Phoenix - but the actor recognised the weight of what he was doing, filling in for a contemporary of his that had passed on so young. As an homage, he donated his entire fee for doing the movie - a quarter of a million dollars - to two of Phoenix’s favourite charities.