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‘Interview With the Vampire’ Director on Casting Tom Cruise Over Daniel Day-Lewis and the Backlash That Followed: ‘The Entire World’ Said ‘You Are Miscast’


'Interview With the Vampire' director Neil Jordan reflected on his decision to cast Tom Cruise as Lestat and the outrage that followed.

He had led the highly successful “Risky Business” and “Top Gun” and received an Oscar nomination for “Born on the Fourth of July.” But, not everyone was convinced he could play the titular vampire, Lestat de Lioncourt, and his casting caused a considerable amount of backlash among fans of Anne Rice’s original book. In an excerpt from his new memoir published in The Telegraph, director Jordan reflected on his decision to cast Cruise opposite Brad Pitt and the outrage that followed, recalling how he originally offered the role to Daniel Day-Lewis. Pitt, who joined the film straight after “Legends of the Fall,” was exhausted by the night shoots and the character’s nature, Jordan said.

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