Behind the Scenes of Episode 2 | Interview with the Vampire Season 2 | New Episodes Sundays | AMC+

"Do you know what it means to be loved by death?" is something that... No pain. Santiago says to his victims on stage as he basically lulls them into their death. ♪♪ So all of a sudden, we're in Paris and we're in exciting post-war Paris. There's a certain intellectual fervor that is taking over this particular city. Paris is everything that Claudia's been waiting for. I love getting old baguettes, and, like, Louis, wearing this little scarf is what Louis imagines French people wear. I'm the reticent vampire of the night there on the east. I don't think Louis is really playing at stereotypes of an American tourist. I think he is that. He's living it. He is the stereotype of an American tourist. What do you want? How are you going to get there? There's some giddiness there, and there's some humor that they haven't had. Certainly not since they killed Lestat. Our finest seats. O'Byrne: And then they get to meet these vampires. And this is really the thing that Claudia has been desperately seeking. And in Armand, we have someone that is really intriguing to Louis. So both of them are over the moon. You learn when they go to the theater and they meet the coven, Claudia or someone that needs community. Louis is someone that needs to know that community is there, but to be away from it a lot. ♪♪ Welcome to "The Displacement of Reason". What sold Prague to us as a shooting location for Paris was not the physical Prague, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and can recreate Paris in many, many ways. It was this huge factory we walked into looking for the vampire theater. The Americans are here. And almost immediately, I just saw the sparkle on Marla LePere-Schloop's eyes, and our production designers, and we said, "Okay, we're home." This is where we need to be. It's just spectacular. That was a key factor that brought us to Prague, was landing this location and understanding how vital that was going to be to season two. The prospect of getting to work on a TV show where there's a theater company was just too exciting to pass up, and we wanted to have an exciting leading man, Santiago. So we got the great Ben Daniels. We here at Teatres de Vampires delve into the underbelly of the human soul. Anderson: Santiago and the whole coven -- it's like a breath of fresh air. It's like this new mischievous energy that comes into the show. Hayles: This is what she's been waiting for. And she envisions a family with these coven members, just living her best life, eating people. [Cheers and applause] Johnson: Santiago is certainly the most theatrical of everybody in the vampire theater. Everything you're about to see... Johnson: He thinks he's Laurence Olivier. ...is real... Johnson: But he is mesmerizing, and he is captivating. ...and appalling! Johnson: And the audience loves him. I love you for it. And Claudia immediately falls in love with what he represents and wants to be a part of it. [ Screaming ] Santiago: No, no, no, no, no, no. Let her speak, sir. I'd like to point out, also, just a little aside, that the woman who plays Annika, the first victim we see, is actually our director's assistant. We found out that she is an actress, a very good actress, and primarily an actress. Sinead, who played the woman, she was very, very good at being terrified. It was very upsetting to see because it was like all of her in her entirety. But for Claudia, I think Claudia fully was like, "Where are the stairs to the stage? Like, get me on there right now." Up. Johnson: It was just so funny to be working alongside the set next to somebody who all of a sudden is on stage being devoured by Santiago and later the rest of the company. And it's brutal and beautiful and just so theatrical and so brilliant. [ Cheers and applause ] -Bravo! Anderson: There's, like, 14 vampires now on the show. And I was like, "Wow, this is intense. This is like a new thing." And they all had relationships already, and they've been rehearsing and they've been, like, shooting these plays. It was really helpful for me personally to walk into this whole world of vampires. It was, like, unfamiliar and different as well to what we established in season one, but also just, like, a very funny, very lovely group of people. I ask you now -- was it worth the wait? ♪♪ Malloy is finally getting his footing when it comes to how to deal with the fact that there are now two vampires instead of one. Are you two going to finish each other's sentences for the whole session? We've been together 77 years, Daniel. What was fun was realizing that we'd spent all of season one with Rashid lingering in the background. You're lingering, Rashid. It was fun for me to see, like, little things that Assad was doing in season one as Rashid, where you can see him under it What do you think will happen to Mr. du Lac when you publish this book? I love working with Assad. He's so intense and it's wonderful to play against. It's really fun. She wanted to say yes, but she didn't trust you. You hadn't given her a reason to. Zaman: It's not Malloy's fault that he's here. He was brought here by Louis. But now that he is here and he's prying, Armand has to preserve their relationship and their history together. If you're willing to ask your questions and then listen. It becomes a battle of wits. What happened next? ♪♪ O'Byrne: And we have this phenomenal scene in front of this -- we always called it the Murder Mansion. It's described exactly how we see it. They arrive, and then Louis and Armand have this wonderful flirtation. Enjoy yourselves. Mmm. That might have been one of the best days of my life. It was -- [ Laughs ] It was -- Honestly, it was just adults playing. You coming? A hit before the play? Hayles: What I really liked about Levan's direction in this is that when we got in the mansion, it was like, "You're vampires. Go have fun. -Be vampires." -[Shouting] Zaman: The chaos in the background and vintage noir romance happening in the foreground. She's something, your Claudia. Spark in the dark. The thing that I remember most about filming the Murder Mansion scene was that it's like -- [Imitates glass shattering] "Ah! Ah!" Just, like, all this madness happening behind him. You must work harder on that. And every single time something smashed or popped, I was like -- just jumping. You're not going in? I am now where I most want to be. But somehow, Assad just managed to, like -- just very focused and didn't flinch.