Armand is a fictional character in The Vampire Chronicles novels written by Anne Rice. At the end of the series, he is approximately 500 years of age. His outward appearance is that of a beautiful adolescent boy, 5’6, with curly auburn hair, large brown eyes and slender fingers. His features are at times compared figuratively to those of Cupid or a Botticelli angel.
Fictional biography
Armand is born in 1481 in the former Kievan Rus' to the acclaimed hunter Ivan. His original name is Andrei.
As a child he can paint vivid pictures of Jesus Christ, Madonna, and the Eastern Orthodox Saints. His astonished parents eventually reveal his gift to the monks in the Monastery of the Caves, who live ascetically underground, sustained only by water and small amounts of food.
When their ruler, Prince Michael, orders Andrei to paint an icon and bring it to the castle of his brother, the supposedly dead Prince Feodor, Andrei is captured by Tartars, brought as a slave to Constantinople, and subsequently sold to a Venetian brothel, where he is sexually abused and develops amnesia.
After the incidents in Interview with the Vampire, Daniel Molloy tries to find Lestat but is instead found by Armand. Daniel links Armand to the new time, and they form a relationship. Daniel grows more impatient, longing to be turned to a vampire, and he and Armand become estranged. By 1985, Daniel destroys his health to the point that he is near death, so Armand finally turns him into a vampire. Daniel is Armand's only fledgling to date, and they cannot stay together afterward.
Portrayal in other media
- In the 1994 film Interview with the Vampire, Armand was portrayed by Antonio Banderas.
- In the 2002 film Queen of the Damned, Armand was portrayed by Matthew Newton.
- In the 2006 musical, Lestat, Armand was first portrayed by Jack Noseworthy, who left the role a week after the pre-Broadway performance began, and was then replaced by his understudy Drew Sarich, who went with the production onto Broadway.
- In the 2022 AMC TV series Interview with the Vampire, Armand is portrayed by Assad Zaman.