And as charming and riveting as Townsend's Lestat may have been, the famous vampire was already made iconic on the silver screen by the much more established Tom Cruise in 1994's Interview with the Vampire.

Source: https://screenrant.com/how-stuart-townsend-was-cast-in-queen-of-the-damned/

“Bailey Bass is a talented actor who did a remarkable job bringing the character of Claudia to life in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire.

Source: https://deadline.com/2023/03/interview-with-vampire-claudia-delainey-hayles-replaces-bailey-bass-recasting-season-2-1235315289/

“Due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances I’m unable to return to Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire for the second season,” shared in a statement.

Source: https://www.justjared.com/2023/03/31/amcs-interview-with-a-vampire-series-recasts-claudia-delainey-hayles-to-take-over-bailey-bass-role/

Interview with the Vampire show avoids a common adaptation problem by altering its structure to fit with the episodic format as opposed to a single movie.

Source: https://screenrant.com/the-vampire-armand-interview-with-the-vampire-character-explained/