Lestat is the infinite warm-blooded man, who combines a penchant for action,with a lack of regret and a refusal to compromise. Lestat lives according to his own whim and in defiance of society's rules. He courts disaster and at times lands himself in considerable trouble, but in the end he usually ends up gaining from his excesses. As a vampire, Lestat wants to use his evil image to do good. In his own words, it is better to be evil in appearance yet good inside, than good in appearance yet evil inside. His goal is eventually to redeem himself and so he chooses to feed on those mortals who commit evil against their own kind. He is a bloodthirsty vampire, who aspires to be good, but can't be. Lestat loves style and excess, and as a vampire shows a predilection for velvet, no matter what the dictates of current fashion.
Nicknamed the Brat Prince, Lestat is 6 feet tall, with long blond hair and vivid blue eyes. He is the seventh son of a minor French aristocrat and decides at the age of twelve that he wishes to join a monastery. He is driven in this by his love for order and goodness. His father forbids him from pursuing this goal and takes away his books.
Dissatisfied with his life at home, Lestat attempts to run away with a travelling theatre group, only to be returned to Auvergne a short time later. Lestat's mother, Gabrielle is hurt when Lestat runs away. She is the only member of his family that he really gets on with, although he sometimes resents her for her tendency to indulge in long periods of silent reading.
One day, Lestat's desire for adventure leads him to try his luck at hunting a pack of wolves. He manages to kill eight of the wolves, although he almost dies in the attempt. His bravery wins him the friednship of Nicolas and together the two of them set out to seek their fortunes in Paris. When they arrive there, they gain employment in a theatre and Lestat quickly becomes a famous actor.
Eventually Lestat is abducted by a vampire called Magnus, who forces him to accept the Dark Gift. He teaches Lestat the rudiments of being a vampire and then destroys himself in a roaring fire, leaving a wealth of priceless treasure to his chosen successor. Lestat uses Magnus' material legacy to buy the theatre and a series of presents for Nicolas.
Lestat is visited in Paris by Gabrielle, who informs him that she is dying. In order to save her from her fate, Lestat transforms her into a vampire. In the middle of their explorations together, they encounter Armand's coven. Armand mobilises his coven against the two newcomers and uses Nicolas to try and lure Lestat, but it is Lestat who is triumphant in this conflict.
Lestat then decides to make Nicolas into a vampire. Unfortunately, this action does not bring Lestat and Nicolas closer together. Instead they quickly begin to drift apart. It is then that Armand asks to join Lestat on his travels and tells him the story of his existence. Lestat refuses Armand's request and persuades him to take up the management of the Theater des Vampires, where the remains of his coven await him. He then sets off in search of Marius, an ancient vampire who has been described to him in considerable detail by Armand.
After ten years of searching, Lestat is so stricken by the departure of Gabrielle and the death of Nicolas that he goes into the ground to experience what is described in The Vampire Lestat as the first death. It is then that Marius seeks him out and brings him to the island where he lives. Marius tells Lestat his life story and shows him the mother and father of the vampire race. Lestat awakens the mother vampire, Akasha, and she permits him to drink her blood. The two are then separated by the father vampire, Enkil. When he discovers what has happened, Marius feels compelled to send Lestat away for his own safety.
Lestat travels to New Orleans to be with his ageing father. It is there that he meets Louis and later Claudia, both of whom he transforms into vampires. These three then live together for sixty five years, until Claudia's hatred for Lestat drives her to try and destroy him. In a greatly weakened state, Lestat goes into the ground once more in 1929.
He is awakened once more in the 20th century by the sound of rock music and becomes a rock star himself. His music awakens Akasha and she abducts him. It is Akasha's belief that all humanity's problems are caused by men and once she has wiped out most of the vampires in the world, she sets about destroying them. Despite the fact that he loves Akasha and gains great strength from drinking her blood, Lestat cannot stand to support her in this. In the end Akasha is defeated by another ancient vampire called Mekare.
In The Tale of the Body Thief, Lestat agrees to temporarily switch bodies with a human called James Raglan, so he can experience being human again. Unfortunately, James Raglan doesn't return Lestat's body at the allotted time and Lestat is forced to embark on a lengthy quest to retrieve it. He is aided in this by David Talbot of the Talamasca, who he ends up making into a vampire against his will.
Lestat's final adventure (to date) is described in Melmoth the Wanderer. He is visited by a creature called Melmoth, who purports to be the devil himself. Melmoth shows Lestat heaven and hell, and asks him to join him in his struggle against God. Lestat refuses, but is so shaken by the experience that he surrenders himself to abject misery.
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Tom Cruise as Lestat in the movie Interview With the Vampire. |
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Tom Cruise as Lestat in the movie Interview With the Vampire. |
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Tom Cruise as Lestat in the movie Interview With the Vampire. |
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Tom Cruise as Lestat in the movie Interview With the Vampire. |
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Tom Cruise as Lestat in the movie Interview With the Vampire. |
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Tom Cruise as Lestat in the movie Interview With the Vampire. |
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Tom Cruise as Lestat in the movie Interview With the Vampire. |
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Tom Cruise as Lestat in the movie Interview With the Vampire. |
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Stuart Townsend as Lestat in the movie Queen of the Damned. |
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Stuart Townsend as Lestat in the movie Queen of the Damned. |
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Stuart Townsend as Lestat in the movie Queen of the Damned. |
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Stuart Townsend as Lestat in the movie Queen of the Damned. |
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Wax model of Lestat available for purchase (at a high price) by clicking here. |
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U.K. paperback cover of The Vampire Lestat . |
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U.S. paperback cover of The Vampire Lestat. |
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Cover of The Vampire Lestat graphic novel. |
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Lestat on the cover of the Queen of the Damned graphic novel vol. 7. |
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Lestat on the cover of the Queen of the Damned graphic novel vol. 8. |
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Lestat on the cover of the Queen of the Damned graphic novel vol. 9. |
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Lestat on the cover of the Queen of the Damned graphic novel vol. 10. |
