Marguerite Moreanu stars in FIRESTARTER: REKINDLED
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Lady of the Night

In THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, every character is a demon, an undead or a vampire... except for one. And Marguerite Moreau plays that lone mortal. As Jessi, the woman who tempts the Vampire Lestat into dropping his romance with an evil Egyptian queen hell bent on dominating the world, she is both innocent and corruptible. But in real life, Moreau is an intelligent woman with a professional career that stretches back to her youth.

Following her early success in THE MIGHTY DUCKS trilogy, Moreau took a cue from the likes of Jodi Foster and dropped out of the acting scene, opting instead to pursue a degree from Vassar.

Marguerite Moreau is a mortal who longs to be a vampire in QUEEN OF THE DAMNED.

© 2002 Warner Bros.

"I majored in political science with a minor in theater," reveals Moreau. "I wanted to be President of the United States until I was 15 and realized what that really was. Then I considered some sort of public policy. I went over to the UN and studied international affairs. Once I realized how everything is set up, I became disheartened. I thought I could do better in this environment and not become bitter. I think acting is about telling the truth and, unfortunately, politicking is wheeling and dealing and lying. I would have turned into a different person."

After graduating in 1999 and showing she could handle comedy in the summer camp satire WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER and Shakespearean drama in the all-digital feature RAVE MACBETH, Moreau found herself the lone human amidst a cast of vampires in DAMNED. Ironically, the actress admits she did not read the Anne Rice book the film is (mostly) based on until she was cast because, "I didn't want to get my hopes up and become too attached to the whole genre before I had actually signed my name on the dotted line." She quickly adds, "I've always been a big fan of vampires. They are so hot and sexy. It's just an unquestioning confidence that is fearlessly attractive I think."

Also a fan of more traditional genre fare, Moreau displays a rather eclectic taste when rattling off her favorites.

"I love ROSEMARY'S BABY, although we call it a dark drama a black comedy. I love CARRIE. I love THE LOST BOYS. I like BLADE. I love THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI and NOSFERATU.

Danny Nucci (Vincent Sforza), Marguerite Moreau (Charlie McGee) and Malcolm McDowell (John Rainbird) in FIRESTARTER: REKINDLED

© USA Networks

Moreau is also starring in the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries FIRESTARTER: REKINDLED, a sequel of sorts to the 1984 Drew Barrymore film based on the Stephen King novel. And while she plays a grown up version of Charlie, the character first portrayed by Barrymore, she confesses to having a hard time with the original feature.

"I watched a few minutes, after I had just finished reading the book probably just 10 minutes," she says choosing her words carefully. "And it was so not my vision of how the powers came to be. I had to shut it off because it destroys your vision of the book."

As a result, the actress views the miniseries as a continuation of the novel, not the feature film.

"I loved the book," she says. "I used [FIRESTARTER: REKINDLED] as an excuse to read it and I saw the script as volumes two and three. I wanted to find out what happened, but I guess that's sort of the green in me."

She also admits to drawing from her own experiences to add depth to the character of adult Charlie.

"I think I took [director Robert Iscove's] character and I just took the steps that I thought she would have taken when she grows up," says Moreau. "So much happens in adolescence and, to me, one of the things that attracted me to the script was the idea of acceptance. Does this girl accept herself? Everyone can kind of relate to that and she's on the extreme end because, you know, she can light fires with her mind."

Marguerite Moreanu stars in FIRESTARTER: REKINDLED

© USA Networks

Perhaps the highlight of this production, however, was the opportunity to work alongside two of the industry's most legendary actors Dennis Hopper and Malcolm McDowell.

"Oh, man," she sighs. "The majority of my scenes are with [Hopper], so I was pretty lucky. I remember we were doing this one scene in a huge train station and it's a conversation scene for four pages. I'm in the middle of the scene and it's a gorgeous two shot a huge space so a lot of people can be in this space and I realize everyone is watching and it's like theater because it's Hopper. And I was like, 'All right girl, as you're eating your soup and doing your lines, you're going head to head. Bring it on.' It was so exciting and he is dapper and dashing and he's got these blue eyes that are incredibly intoxicating. And then you're like, 'Oh yeah, he's crazy though.' It was great."

Ultimately, she looks at the project as an amazing learning experience another step in a career she has long since conquered.

"I was working with legends," says Moreau. "I came onboard because I wanted to learn all that I could. These guys know what they're doing. So I think I was maybe a little green, but I wanted to jump up in front of camera and say, 'Let's go, let's go, let's go!' So I think I was more excited than scared."