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. He is also briefly mentioned in The Vampire Armand.

Not to be confused with Dannel Malloy.

Fictional biography

Daniel was the young, unnamed "reporter boy" who interviewed Louis de Pointe du Lac in Interview with the Vampire. He is described as a tall, slender young man with ashen blonde hair, violet eyes and 'a student's face'.[1] After the interview (and Louis's refusal to turn him into a vampire), he became absorbed in finding Lestat de Lioncourt and leaves San Francisco for New Orleans to search for him.[2] He did not find Lestat but he did find Lestat's watch and Armand in Lestat's house. Armand was fascinated with Daniel and chased him around the world for approximately four years before they began a relationship as 'secret lovers' together for another eight years.

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.[3] Together they traveled and spent time in England, New York City, and finally settled off the coast of Florida on 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.

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 The 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 performs the Dark Gift, making Daniel an immortal vampire. This occurs on their private jet, just before Lestat's San Francisco concert. Daniel was thirty or thirty-two when transformed. There are some discrepancies in the Vampire Chronicles timeline that leave Daniel's exact age uncertain.[4]

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. However, Marius says that his faculties will be restored to him in time.

In Prince Lestat, Marius saved Daniel's sanity. They are companions living together in Rio.

Vampire family

Daniel Molloy in movies

In the 1994 film Interview with the Vampire, 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 options 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.

References
  1. Rice, Anne (1988). The Queen Of The Damned. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 73. ISBN 0-345-35152-5.
  2. Rice, Anne (1976). Interview With The Vampire. New York, New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 342–346. ISBN 0345337662.
  3. Rice, Anne (1988). The Queen Of The Damned. New York, New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 101–102, 107. ISBN 0345351525.
  4. Ramsland, Katherine (1993). The Vampire Companion: The Official Guide to Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. New York, New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 303–305. ISBN 0345397398.
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