Daniel Molloy

Daniel Molloy is a fictional character in the Vampire Chronicles universe created by Anne Rice. He first appeared in the novel Interview with the Vampire, but also makes appearances in The Queen of the Damned, and briefly in Blood and Gold.

Fictional biography

Daniel was the young, unnamed "reporter boy" who interviewed Louis in Interview with the Vampire. He has ash blonde hair, violet eyes and "a student's face". After the interview (and Louis's refusal to turn him into a vampire), he became absorbed in finding Lestat. He did not find him but he did find Lestat's watch and Armand in Lestat's house in New Orleans. Armand was fascinated with Daniel and chased him around the world for approximately three years before they began a proper relationship together. Daniel is given a small vial of Armand's blood to wear around his neck as protection from other vampires, who would sense the power in Armand's blood. Together they bought an island resort that Armand dubbed "Night Island." Daniel is despondent, however – he desires more than anything to become a vampire and Armand holds out from doing so for a long time.

Their relationship lasts for ten more years. Daniel continues to hunger for immortality, and Armand persistently refuses. This dichotomy of the two switching between the role of the dominant and submissive partner adds a sado-masochistic undertone to their relationship. Armand needs Daniel as a teacher and guide in the modern world, where Daniel needs Armand in order to survive (he self-destructs any time he attempts to leave Armand). They are trapped in a game where neither is truly master or slave.

Daniel does not appear in The Vampire Lestat but returns (and is named) in Queen of the Damned. Ultimately, it becomes clear to Armand that Daniel is truly dying, in part from extensive alcohol abuse. Against his better judgment, Armand brings him home and performs the Dark Gift, making Daniel an immortal vampire. This occurs just before Lestat's San Francisco concert. Daniel was thirty-two when transformed.

Shortly after the events in The Queen of the Damned, Daniel leaves Armand. Having disrupted the cycle of master/slave by receiving what he wanted, the pair can no longer stand one another. It is not known what happened to Daniel after the separation. We obtain insight into Daniel and his relationship with Armand in The Vampire Armand. Armand states that he made Daniel a vampire out of loneliness, and because Daniel was dying. Armand believes a vampire will inevitably come to hate its creator, so he knew in making Daniel immortal that he was setting into motion the end of their relationship. At the time of The Vampire Armand, Armand knows that Daniel is alive, wandering, and powerful enough to survive on his own. Armand knows that by making Daniel a vampire he turned his romanticism of the morbid into something far darker and more dangerous, but he does not at this time seem to know that Daniel is going mad.

Daniel emerges again in Blood and Gold in the care of Marius. Here he seems to have lost his mind and is obsessed with making toy cities. Fortunately, Marius says that his faculties will be restored to him in time.

Daniel Molloy in movies

In the 1994 film Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Daniel Molloy is played by Christian Slater. The role was originally supposed to go to River Phoenix, who died before the scenes involving Molloy were shot (most of the film had already been completed). Slater took on the role at the last minute, donating his salary to Phoenix' favourite charities. At the end of this film, Molloy is not bitten by Louis in the house on Divisadero Street, but rather by Lestat in his car while driving over the Golden Gate Bridge. It is hinted at that Daniel has accepted that becoming a vampire is a bad idea, but that Lestat's biting him will leave him with the option of either dying or accepting the Dark Gift. This is the very end of the movie, and we do not know what Molloy chooses or what happens to him.

He does not appear in the 2002 film Queen of the Damned, even though the book devotes a great deal of time to his relationship with Armand. Armand, played by Matthew Newton, is seen at the rock concert and Sonoma house without Daniel.