Mayfair Witches Star Jack Huston On Lasher’s True Feeling For His Witches

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches episode 5 was appropriately entitled “The Thrall,” as it explored Lasher’s hold over Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) now that she is the Designee of the Mayfair family. Picking up after last week’s betrayal by Aunt Carlotta (Beth Grant), the episode opened with Rowan and Ciprien (Tongayi Chirisa) squirreled away in their own blissful world and seeming not to acknowledge his stab wound or the house fire. But it wasn’t long before they realized it was a trick of the mind played by Lasher, who wants nothing more than to boot Ciprien out for good and have Rowan all to himself. The question then becomes what Rowan really wants, and how she will utilize the power that her connection to Lasher gives her.

As part of AMC’s Immortal Universe, Mayfair Witches has seen great success that resulted in an early renewal for season 2. While it takes place in the same timeline and even location as last year’s Interview with the Vampire, the two series have yet to collide as each show establishes the rules of their respective supernatural entities. One entity of great importance in Mayfair Witches is Lasher, played by Jack Huston (House of Gucci). A powerful spirit who has been attached to a different witch in every generation of the family, there is still little known about his origins and even less about his motives. But no matter what Ciprien and the Talamasca or Carlotta and her Christianity may think about it, Lasher insists he is wholly devoted to Rowan and her desires.

Related: Why Anne Rice Hated Tom Cruise’s Interview With The Vampire Casting

Screen Rant spoke to Huston about his initial way into Lasher, his take on the spirit’s true feelings towards each of the Mayfair Witches, and how he hopes to see the overlap between the series and Interview with the Vampire manifest.

Jack Huston on Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches

Screen Rant: When you stepped into the world of Mayfair Witches, were you already an enthusiast of Anne Rice, or had you already read the novels?

Jack Huston: I hadn’t read a thing, to be honest. [Laughs] Total transparency. But I personally think that sometimes there’s a benefit to that, especially when you’re taking something that is a novel and adapting it to screen. There’s got to be artistic license to make it your own, which I think is what our wonderful showrunner, Esta, and Michelle and our producers at AMC were so excited about. It’s taking what is already a monumental trilogy of novels, and turning them into this show.

I was excited to learn about it through the show. Sometimes you can be a little tainted, or maybe a little coerced, into thinking it should be one way. I wanted to be rather free and open to exploring and collaborating on something unique and original.

As you are exploring, what have you come to find about Lasher? How do you view him: is he a devil or a more neutral entity? And what are his true feelings towards his witches?

Jack Huston: I always think there’s a massive gray area there, because I think we all have ulterior motives. It’s self-preservation, isn’t it? I think he exists for them as they exist for him, so he wants to be present and to continue to fulfill his goal and become what he wants to become. But I think that the idea of playing him as something purely evil, or as this apparition without feeling or thought or care, might be quite dull to me.

I wanted to add the interest and the excitement of emotion and feeling, and who’s to say he doesn’t feel? I fully played that he loved every witch he was attached to, and I fully played that it broke his heart when Dierdre died. I fully decided that Rowan is now his new love.

Every single time he’s around these women that he’s attached to, he wants to empower them to become their own person and to accept who they are and embellish who they are; to really use this power. “It’s a gift and, boy, what a gift! I can help you become the greatest.” It’s the idea of watching a prodigy on the piano giving up the instrument. “Are you crazy? Do you know how many people would give their hand to be like you?” I think there’s something quite fun in that.

In episode 5, you’re playing these cat-and-mouse games in the house. And you tell Rowan, “You can choose. If you want me gone, I’d be gone.” Do you think Lasher is being fully transparent? Can we really say that, right now, Rowan doesn’t want him gone?

Jack Huston: Well, that’s the thing! I truly believe that in episode 5, what he’s doing is saying everything is her choice. Whether she knows it or not, he exists to do her will. I think that’s the perfect example of what we think we want as opposed to what we really want, and the psychology of the human brain. I think it was a cool exploration into the psyche of someone like Rowan, who is very conflicted while discovering all these things about herself.

There’s this love triangle that’s happening between Sip and Lasher, and sometimes you want the bad boy, but sometimes you want the good guy. It’s very hard. It’s tough, but that’s part of the intrigue. I think he wants her to know that, yes, he can create and manipulate and do these things, but not without her. She’s still the absolute puppeteer; he’s just there to do her well. But he can make her as powerful as she could possibly be if they work in harmony, so he needs her to discover that herself. He can’t tell her that; she needs to understand it herself.

I was going to ask about the love triangle situation. Do Lasher and Ciprien both fill the same role in Rowan’s life, or can they coexist? Clearly, Lasher does not want to coexist.

Jack Huston: I don’t want to coexist with any other guy! [Laughs] I mean, jeez, now we’re talking. Tongayi’s my dearly beloved friend, but Sip? There’s no room for Sip. I love Tongayi, but Sip can get out of here.

What has been your favorite part about building that dynamic with Alexandra Daddario, and what is it like to play off each other in these moments?

Jack Huston: By the way, Alex is so cool. She’s the most amount of fun, and she’s got a great sense of humor. When you’re doing something like this in the 110-degree heat of New Orleans in the middle of Summer, it’s pretty taxing. But she was just great, and like a true leader. We have such fun on set, and I’d worked with Tongayi before, so he’s my dear old friend. It was brilliant coming back together.

If I made some say myself, I thought there was great chemistry from the minute we were there. It’s fun when you’re playing with someone who’s willing to explore and collaborate and do certain things. I’m always coming from a world of exploration, like, “Let’s dig into this, and let’s find certain nuances that might not have been there before.” We had such a great team of people, and Esta is just the coolest in the world. I couldn’t say enough good things about our showrunner; one of my favorite experiences has been working with her.

As you said, we saw the dynamic between Dierdre and Lasher, and now we’re seeing Rowan and Lasher. Presumably, as we get into the episodes, we’ll see Suzanne’s first interaction with Lasher as well. Are there any other Mayfair witches we have yet to see that you hope to interact with? Or that you can tease who we will be meeting down the line?

Jack Huston: Oh, good question. You might meet a few more along the way. I think there’s some stuff hidden in there. In a second season, where they could take this is anyone’s guess, because it’s so crazy and so cool. All I can say is there’s a gentle yet amazing build in this show that’s consistently surprising and exciting. Not having read the books, and going through episode by episode, I was like, “What? Oh, how cool. This is great.” Without giving any spoilers away, it takes us on quite a naughty journey.

Finally, AMC has said the Immortal Universe will indeed lead to crossovers. Lasher is eternal and vampires are immortal, so is there anyone from Interview with the Vampire that you would like to see Lasher interact with?

Jack Huston: All of them? I feel like that would be a great crossover anyway. And also, in future novels that I know are in the work, and hats off to everyone for thinking of it and putting it all together. I would be very excited to see things cross paths.

About Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches

The series will focus on an intuitive young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.

Check out our other Mayfair Witches interviews here:

Next: Where to Watch Mayfair Witches

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches airs new episodes on Sundays at 9pm on AMC, though they are available a week early on AMC+.