Interview With the Vampire: Eric Bogosian Teases the Stakes for Daniel in the Season Finale (Exclusive)

The penultimate episode of AMC’s Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire left fans with a major shocker when it took viewers — via Daniel Molloy’s (Eric Bogosian) dream — back to the night Daniel first met Louis de Pointe du Lac. The scene, set in San Francisco of the 1970s, was an interesting nod of sorts to Rice’s novel, but that wasn’t what was so shocking. The stunner was that Rashid (Assad Zaman) was apparently present decades ago as well, something that Daniel had seemingly forgotten. Now, Bogosian teases how this sudden revelation that Rashid may not be what he appears ups the stakes for Daniel heading into the season finale.

There’s already so much at stake as these interviews begin. Daniel is already, he’s in another country, not just another country, but in a very foreign environment. The building, everything about it is very strange. He could possibly not survive this interview. That’s a potential. But all of those things are going in. By the time we get to the seventh episode, though, the ground is just disappearing under his feet,” Bogosian told ComicBook.com. “Kind of like when somebody experiences earthquake, the ground just turns to jello, and everything is changing even more. And I mean, my experience of it and is that he’s got that feeling, I think fear, but fear that grows into a kind of dizziness, which I have experienced in my life because I’ve been around some scary things. And it’s not what whatever you think fear is going to feel like, it feels like you’re going to pass out or something.”

He continued, “So his illness is very in the foreground and breathing down his neck. And here’s this guy [Rashid] who’s not what he appears to be. And that creates also a kind of fear because if you’ve got something that you think is something and then it isn’t what you think it is, then that’s going to freak you out a little bit too, which then throws everything else into play, especially the whole story. And if the whole story is not what it appears to be, then what the hell am I doing here in Dubai? So really, I mean, since mortality is very in the foreground for Daniel to begin with, I think it just really pushes him right to the brink of the kind of fear of, wow, everything is just going to go kablooey here for me. And that, for a guy like Daniel or for me, translates into anger.”

As for what or who Rashid actually is, fans have been working overtime trying to solve this one. There have been quite a few theories about the mysterious character with some suggesting that Rashid is actually a member of the Talamasca, a secret organization that researches and investigates the supernatural — an organization that AMC viewers are likely to find out more about in the next series in its Immortal Universe, Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches. Others have suggested that Rashid could be another major character from the Interview With the Vampire book or something completely different altogether. It’s a mystery that will hopefully be solved with this week’s season finale.

Has Interview With the Vampire been renewed?

The critically acclaimed series has already been renewed for a second season.

“The scope and breadth of this show, and what Mark and Rolin have delivered, is just stupendous,” Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, said in a statement. “They have rendered the rich and vibrant world of Anne Rice‘s Interview in a wonderful way, and we’re incredibly proud. From the set build to production design, costumes, and more — no detail was overlooked. This stellar cast delivers powerful performances that emotionally connect us to these characters and their humanity. We look forward to sharing the final product of this extraordinary effort with audiences in just a few short days and are thrilled that this story will continue. This is only the beginning of an entire Universe featuring enthralling stories and characters that capture the spirit of Anne Rice‘s amazing work.”

Interview With the Vampire airs Sundays at 10/9c on AMC. You can also stream new episodes on AMC+.