Interview With the Vampire: Bailey Bass on How Claudia Has the Same “Essence” From the Book

Last week, AMC’s eagerly anticipated adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire debuted on both the network and AMC+, bringing to life the beloved novel in a brand-new way — including some changes to some of the novel’s details. Among the changes from page to screen viewers will see as the first season of the series continues is a major shift in the child vampire Claudia. Played by Bailey Bass, this new take on Claudia is a bit older than her literary counterpart, but according to Bass, even though the character you see on screen is different, she has the same essence of Claudia from the novel.

“At the end of the day, she is the same Claudia,” Bass told ComicBook.com. “She has the same essence in the book. You see this feral, powerful, strong, craving independence person, that little vampire that’s stuck in this body. The only difference is now she’s 14 and I’m Black. Anne Rice was one of the most pro-diversity, pro-LGBTQIA people, and because of that you see it translate so effortlessly in this world. All we did was just make it in 1910 and changed what the characters look like a little bit, but it just opened the door to having more expression on screen.”

Bass went on to explain that for her, a big part of that expression was Claudia’s hair and getting to embrace a natural texture as part of the authenticity to this take on the character.

“A big part of it was hair for me,” Bass said. “I feel like curly hair is not represented on screen a lot and if it is, it’s not in a way that’s always embraced. And I made it an effort to make sure that we are representing Claudia’s hair throughout her entire life, throughout her experiences. She never conformed, I actually debated that. I’m like, ‘should she try and straighten her hair in some of these scenes?’ And I’m like ‘No, the beauty about Claudia is she never wants to be like anyone else.’ Despite being stuck in this body, she doesn’t want to be other women, she wants to be herself just older, and that’s the beauty of her. She’s so strong.”

And for Bass, it’s that aspect of not just Claudia but the whole world of Interview With the Vampire that she feels invites fans in.

“What’s nice about vampires and what’s really nice about this show is it’s in this fantasy-esque genre, but it has so much depth that it allows people to feel seen in a way that they’re not always seen on screen but get lost in the world. So, it’s not in your face, they just get to sit back and enjoy something, and then at the end of the episode, they’re like, ‘Wow, that person looks like me,’ or, ‘Wow, I remember feeling that way when I was that age,’ or, ‘Oh gosh, my kid acts like that.’”

Interview With the Vampire airs Sundays at 10/9c on AMC and AMC+.