Trivia: Kirsten Dunst (Claudia) had her first on screen kiss, with a much older Brad Pitt, in this film.
Trivia: At 5'7, Tom Cruise was shorter than Lestat de Lioncourt (the character he played), who towered over the characters in the book version. Cruise was placed on elevated platforms to emphasize Lestat's height difference from the other vampires.
Trivia: River Phoenix was cast as the interviewer but died before shooting began. He was then replaced by Christian Slater who donated his entire salary to River's favourite charity projects.
Trivia: The part of Daniel Malloy was originally given to River Phoenix but as principal photography rolled he died of a drug overdose outside Johnny Depp's' Viper Room. The part had to be recast quickly and Christian Slater got the job. If you look right at the end of the credits you will see the film is dedicated to River.
Answer: It's a matter of technicality. Killing one's own, as in committing murder, would be a different scenario than executing someone for a crime. That seems to be the case here.
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