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Spoilers follow for theInterview With the Vampireepisode I Could Not Prevent It, which premiered on AMC June 23.
Vampires are supposed to live forever.
But to play Claudia is to know, Hayles says, that shes a doomed character.
It felt like,whew.
It felt like,Oh my God, her storys done.
Claudias death is such a climactic moment.
I know you read Anne Rices novel after being cast.
What were some emotions you anticipated bringing into this scene?The thing I thought about mostly was anger.
Claudias not going to go out without a fight.
Is it like,Shes singing, and thats representing that, in a way, shes finally free?
I was combatting both, and then director Emma Freeman put everything together for me.
She said I know Claudia better than anyone, so I should do what I feel she would do.
Which is what I did.
Theres other elements that come into play, like CGI.
But she told me thats not something I need to think about.
Just think about the performance, which is obviously what I know how to do better than special effects.
Take me back to what you felt that morning of filming.
I was trying to stay relaxed because I can start doom-thinking.
I really wanted to do her justice.
It was a heavy, heavy movement.
You have your own interpretation, and then you hear others and you meet in the middle.
Heres one thing were gonna tweak.
It was really lovely to not be by yourself.
I felt very hugged by everyone.
Claudia doesnt beg for her life.
You have a great Can I cry and say that Im sorry, too?
line where Claudia mocks all the sympathy the coven and audience are giving Lestat.
Shes bubbling and then shes boiling and then shes overflowed.
He had a job to do, but he was really supporting me through it.
Its not very fun to do when youre screaming and his little face is crying.
That was what brought everything together.
But I was very thankful Roxane was there and we had each other.
I havent seen the full episode yet; Ive seen drafts of it.
But when Madeleine disintegrates first, that was very, very sad.
And Tami Lane, the makeup head, was liaising with Ted, who supervises VFX.
I think we had four or five rounds of prosthetics added until I reached my final form.
We reached a crescendo where it was like, Lets go full out.
I think it was just that the coven is so terrible.
You could be God himself and they would not care.
Youre coming to their coven and you better behave correctly.
That was mainly what we were focusing on.
If, in another world, Lestat was on trial, he would also imitate a French accent.
Its just his way of pissing off everybody.
And hes very good at it!Hesverygood at it.
I love Ben so much.
His Santiago, I was struggling to keep a straight face.
And youre like, Oh, I really love that!
Okay, let me stay in it.
You were inThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobeon the West End.
And then she just hates it from there, so that was really fun to play.
What I loved about Levan Akins direction is that he treated it like every performancewasa theater performance.
We had new extras and audience members, and it was the first time they were seeing it.
Each time I did it, Id have new faces to see.
They were confused, but they were enjoying it.
And in the trial, we had audience members and they got told to react how they wanted to.
There were bits where they heckled, and I think those got kept in.
And you want to do it well, because youre like,Theyve never seen it before.
And, yes, Im wearing this blue costume, but just keep watching, it gets better.
I think I work best when I have a little bit of pressure on me.
I dont really remember myself at 14 because I think I blocked out all those memories.
Or trying to find your people, but you dont know your people cause you dont know yourself.
I Dont Like Windows When Theyre Closed is a real bop.
It got stuck in everyones head.
It was a really catchy song, however much Claudia hates it.
I can still sing it right now.
Im not going to.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
