“I don’t want this to feel like a musical.”

The Vampire Lestat star Sam Reid fought to sing live on the show

"I don't want this to feel like a musical."

By Samantha Highfill

Samantha Highfill

Samantha Highfill is an executive editor at **, where she’s worked for more than 12 years covering television.

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May 25, 2026 9:30 a.m. ET

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Sam Reid as Lestat on 'The Vampire Lestat'. Credit:

Sophie Giraud/AMC

- In *The Vampire Lestat*, Lestat is on tour, which means audiences will be enjoying lots of new music.

- Although Sam Reid pre-recorded the music, he also fought to sing live during scenes.

- "I don't want it all to be perfect," Reid says.

A month before pre-production began on *The Vampire Lestat*, star Sam Reid was in a recording studio in Los Angeles. Because for Lestat de Lioncourt, the music comes first. (And also from a production standpoint, it just makes sense.)

"I had to have some demos recorded so that I could shoot the scenes," Reid tells ** about the upcoming season of *The Vampire Lestat* — formerly titled *Interview With the Vampire* — which follows the vampire's life as a rock star in 2025. After the success of Daniel's (Eric Bogosian) book, Lestat wants a chance to rewrite the story, so he's making a documentary while on tour.

Sam Reid as Lestat on 'The Vampire Lestat'.

And a season on tour means lots of songs from series composer Daniel Hart. But Reid didn't just record the music in a studio. "I also sang live in the show," the actor reveals. "I haven't seen the mix yet, that might have been a mistake, but at the time, when I fought for the singing live, I was a bit like: I don't want this to feel like a musical. I don't want it to look like a music video. I want to see some f----ups. I want to see the veins when I'm singing. I don't want it all to be perfect. I want it to feel like it's an organic happening."

Of course, the show's soundtrack will use the pre-recorded versions of the songs, but in the show, Reid says, "they mix in some of the live singing."

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Because for Lestat, a song is never just words on a page. He's always working through some sort of trauma ... or revenge. "[Singing live] meant that I could act the scene rather than me trying to mime along to a pre-recording," Reid says.

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He took a similar approach to playing instruments. Although he admits that he "can't play half the instruments that I have to play," he made sure to learn the parts that they'd be filming.

"I'm very specific that we work out when you're going to see me play the instrument, and then I'll learn that part exactly," he says. "If you heard it, it might be a bit rough, but I learn it to the recording so that I'm playing it exactly."

Lestat wouldn't have it any other way.

*The Vampire Lestat *premieres June 7 on AMC and AMC+.

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Source: “EW Drama”