Ian Somerhalder, who famously portrayed Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries, has revealed why he seriously considered leaving the show during its third season.
In an exclusive excerpt from Samantha Highfill’s I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries, Somerhalder describes his frustration with the evolving storylines and his character’s trajectory.
“I was so upset about the trajectory of Damon, so much so that at one point I was sitting across from Julie [Plec] in her office in Atlanta almost in tears actually, my eyes were quite misty, and asked out of the show,” Somerhalder said.
“I was so angry about it. I wanted off. Because I saw the writing on the wall. Damon was heading toward the love-interest role. I was like, ‘Shit, I’m in my early thirties, I’ve got a lot of this heat because of this show, I’m sure I could go find something that’s really cool and dark and edgy.’”
Somerhalder’s frustration stemmed from a season increasingly centered on the Original family, with Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) taking a villainous turn and Damon expected to be the hero.
Julie Plec, the showrunner, reassured him that Damon’s story had layers and emphasized the narrative balance: “If one’s going dark, the other has to go light, there’s a balance in the narrative that we want to be playing around with these characters and giving you all exciting and interesting things to do.”
The actor explained that he initially feared Damon would become a “sappy character,” losing the darker edge that had drawn audiences to the role.
Plec encouraged him to trust the storytelling arc, reminding him that the series would span over 100 episodes with room for both heroic and villainous moments.
Ultimately, Somerhalder stayed with the series, navigating the ups and downs of Damon’s character and cementing his place as a fan favorite.
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