Sheila Atim was born to be a queen!
The Ugandan-British actress has been revealed to play the role of ‘Akasha’ in ‘The Vampire Lestat’, the third season of AMC’s ‘Interview with the Vampire’.
Akasha is considered the First Vampire in Anne Rice’s expansive immortal universe, with her proper debut being in ‘Queen of the Damned’, the third book in The Vampire Chronicles series.
The casting has been highly anticipated among fans of both the show and the books, and there were huge expectations, as this isn’t the first time Akasha will be brought to life onscreen.
The Great Mother – as Akasha is known among vampires – was once portrayed by late American singer and actress Aaliyah in the 2002 movie adaptation of ‘Queen of the Damned’.
The news of Atim’s casting as Akasha was greatly received by fans, and the cast and crew of ‘Interview with the Vampire’ have been very vocal about her ability to play the beloved character.
Atim recently starred alongside Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis in ‘The Woman King’.
She has also worked with Sam Reid (who plays Lestat in the show) in the musical ‘Girl from the North Country’, where she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical.
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What to expect in the new season
While the new season will mainly be adapting Rice’s second book, ‘The Vampire Lestat’, executive producer and writer Hannah Moscovitch said the writing team also pulled materials from ‘Merrick’, ‘The Vampire Armand’, and ‘Queen of the Damned’.
“In terms of how we chose which pieces of The Vampire Lestat to use this season, because we’re running through the subjectivity of Lestat, it has to do with what he wants to remember,” Moscovitch said, during the panel at New York Comic Con on October 10.
“What he’s willing to remember and then what memories are going to come for him, whether he liked it or not,” she added, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Executive producer Mark Johnson, meanwhile, described the new season as “so unpredictable and so surprising.”
“On one hand, it makes total sense. These are the characters we know and we love, but it is the most – somebody just described as the most f**ked-up – surprising.”
The new season is also “so wild and unexpected and jaw-dropping and funny and yes, like the first two, really romantic,” said Johnson.
Who else will be joining ‘The Vampire Lestat’?
Joining Atim in the new season is Noah Reid (‘Schitt’s Creek’) as Larry; Ryan Kattner (‘Destroy All Neighbors’) as Salamander; Seamus Patterson (‘Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities’) as Alex; and Sarah Swire (‘The Boys’) as TC.
Previous major casting announcements include Jennifer Ehle (‘Pride and Prejudice’) as Lestat’s mother, Gabriella; Christopher Heyerdahl (‘Under the Banner of Heaven’) as Marius; and Damien Atkins (‘Take This Waltz’) as Magnus.
Sam Reid, of course, will be reprising his role as Lestat – the new season’s titular character – together with Jacob Anderson (Louis), Assad Zaman (Armand), Eric Bogosian (Daniel Molloy) and Delainey Hayles (Claudia).
‘The Vampire Lestat’ is expected to air sometime in 2026.
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