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Jared Leto is 'only one' who can play Lestat, says director of Interview with the Vampire reboot

Josh Boone wants the Suicide Squad actor to take on Tom Cruise's former character

Jacob Stolworthy

Monday 09 May 2016 12:47 BST

(Getty)

When Tom Cruise was cast as Lestat in 1994 film Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice - author of the novel it was based on - wasn't impressed.

It's fair to say Cruise went on to prove Rice wrong (after branding the decision "bizarre," Rice reneged and admitted that "...from the moment he appeared, Tom was Lestat for me"), but now the novelist should get used to the thought of another actor taking on the role.

With the upcoming reboot's script now complete, director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) has been candid about who he wants in his film.

Posting on Twitter, he wrote: “Lestat - there can be only one. #JaredLeto”.

It's hard to deny that Leto would be an inspired casting decision for Lestat, the Oscar-winning actor showing he's willing to go above and beyond for a role (as showcased via his role of the Joker in David Ayer's upcoming Suicide Squad).

The planned reboot - based on Rice's The Vampire Lestat - has been designed in the hope that other volumes from Rice's Vampire Chronicles will get film reworkings, including Queen of the Damned and Prince Lestat.

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

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1/14Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Bill Murray

With only one Oscar nomination to his name (2003's Lost in Translation), Bill Murray is one oversight that - in many people's eyes - could easily throw the Academy Awards into disrepute.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Samuel L. Jackson

Considering he's one of the most bankable film stars in the world, it's a surprise that - with over 160 credits to his name - Samuel L. Jackson has only received a mere one nomination (Pulp Fiction in 1994).

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Joaquin Phoenix

With three previous nominations under his belt - for films including Gladiator and The Master - it was his performance as Johnny Cash in 2005 biopic Walk the Line that was expected to see him win an Oscar (he lost to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman's for Capote).

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Brad Pitt

The ever-present fixture he remains in Hollywood today, you'd think Brad Pitt would have won an Oscar by now; while serving as producer of 2014 Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave, he currently has zero acting wins to his name despite three nominations (Twelve Monkeys, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Moneyball).

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Tom Cruise

Still one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, Tom Cruise seemed like a sure awards bet back in the Nineties with films Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia all earning him nominations - and yet, he never once emerged victorious.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Richard Gere

Would you believe us if we told you Richard Gere has never even been nominated? Well, it's true - and, quite honestly, shocks us quite a bit. Poor guy.

Juan Naharro Gimenez

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Gary Oldman

One of the film industry's finest character actors, Gary Oldman has been nominated just the once for playing George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Johnny Depp

Despite his recent dip in quality, Johnny Depp has delivered several Oscar-worthy performances in the past. With a total of three nominations to his name - all for post-2000 releases including Pirates of the Caribbean and Finding Neverland - it's more a wonder he didn't receive more recognition for standout films such as Ed Wood and Donnie Brasco in the Nineties.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford may now be the world's highest-grossing actor (sorry, Samuel) but still doesn't have the Academy Award to back up such a feat. In fact, he's now into his third decade of not receiving recognition from the Academy with his sole nomination arriving back in 1985 for Witness.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Edward Norton

Edward Norton is just the kind of actor you'd assume would've scooped a statuette at some stage or another, but no - Norton just has three nominations to speak of; his first in 1996 (Primal Fear), his second in 1999 (American History X) and his third just last year (Best Picture winner, Birdman).

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

John Malkovich

American actor John Malkovich was nominated once in 1984 (Places in the Heart) and again in 1993 (In the Line of Fire) but hasn't posed much of a threat since.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Annette Bening

Poor Annette Bening, who has come close to victory four times (The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right) but is yet to clinch one.

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Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Glenn Close

...well, it could be worse; she could be Glenn Close who has been on the shortlist six times for films including Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons and, most recently, Albert Nobbs.

Actors you think have won Oscars but haven't

Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter may have received a Best Actress nomination for Wings of a Dove (1997), but it was her Best Supporting Actress nomination for 2012's Best Picture winner The King's Speech that seemed a sure bet; Melissa Leo's role in The Fighter won that round.

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Interview with the Vampire, directed by Neil Jordan, starred Cruise alongside Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst. The story chronicles Lestat and wayward soul Louis' time together following the latter's transformation into a vampire.

Queen of the Damned was made into a film in 2002 with the late singer Aaliyah and Stuart Townsend in the lead roles.

Leto won an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club in 2014.

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