Interview With the Vampire Star Jacob Anderson Reveals Why We're So Obsessed With Vampires

Interview With the Vampire has been a huge success for AMC with the series topping streaming charts during its first season as well as picking up an early renewal for a second season ahead of its series premiere on October 2nd. And it isn't just Interview With the Vampire that has caught audience attention. Peacock has also leaned into vampires with its adaptation of Vampire Academy and it's safe to say that vampires are back, though in many ways they've never left. Thanks to series like The Vampire Diaries and The Originals and True Blood and even movies like the Twilight series, vampires have long been part of our cultural conversation and Interview With the Vampire star Jacob Anderson had an idea why.

Speaking with NPR, Anderson thinks that part of why we're so obsessed with vampires is how they are "human monsters" and not only that, they tie into the darker aspects of what human beings think and feel.

"It's something about them being in the shadows and only being able to come out at night, it ties into intrusive thoughts or the things that we think or feel that we would never want anybody else to know that we think or feel," Anderson told NPR. "And they are also arguably the most human monster myth that's been created. Vampires are more or less just immortal human beings. It's just that they can only survive by taking the life out of other human beings, I think that there's a human thing about desire that's like, well, what if my desire is harmful to somebody else? Or like, what if my desire would make me a pariah to others? That feels like it ties into vampirism."

He also said that while there is something alluring about immortality, it's also frightening and explained that he finds the idea of living forever to be a terrifying concept.

"Maybe this is revealing too much about myself, but I remember having this thought – it haunts me now: What if I just kept living? Like, what if this is just forever?" he said. "I find that really terrifying as a concept. Because then you have to live with all of the people you disappoint, or the times you disappointed yourself. You have to just sit in that. But that's also being an adult, right? You are an immortal version of your childhood self that can look back and go, 'Whoa, whoa, wait a second. I have to find a way to feel OK about it.'"

What is Interview With the Vampire About?

A sensuous, contemporary reinvention of Anne Rice's revolutionary gothic novel, Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire follows Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), and Claudia's (Bailey Bass) epic story of love, blood, and the perils of immortality, as told to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). Chafing at the limitations of life as a Black man in 1900s New Orleans, Louis finds it impossible to resist the rakish Lestat de Lioncourt's offer of the ultimate escape: joining him as his vampire companion. But Louis's intoxicating new powers come with a violent price, and the introduction of Lestat's newest fledgling, the child vampire Claudia, soon sets them on a decades-long path of revenge and atonement.

Will There be a Second Season of Interview With the Vampire?

While the first season of Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire is well underway on AMC and AMC+, the critically acclaimed series has already been renewed for a second season, a renewal that was handed out ahead of the series' premiere.

"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+.