Paul Wesley takes responsibility for Nina Dobrev feud: 'I was a pain in the ass'

"I was taking my acting seriously. I was a little bit intense," the actor recalled

Paul Wesley is looking back on the early days of The Vampire Diaries with fresh perspective, admitting he was largely responsible for the off-screen tension between himself and co-star Nina Dobrev.

Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Wesley acknowledged that although he and Dobrev didn't "immediately" hate each other, they often clashed while filming the CW supernatural drama because of his intense approach to work.

"I will take a lot of responsibility," Wesley said. "I was a bit of a curmudgeon, grumpy, pain in the ass. I was taking my acting seriously. I was a little bit intense, and everyone else was a little bit more chill."

The actor explained that despite their disagreements, he and Dobrev remained committed to delivering the best performances possible as Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert.

"We would butt heads on set, but then the minute the cameras rolled, it was like we knew we wanted to make it magical," Wesley said. "You can have two really good actors and the chemistry isn't there. For whatever reason, Nina and I had this chemistry. Regardless of us not getting along, it somehow clicked."

Wesley said their relationship gradually improved during the show's sixth season as he mellowed over time. He even recalled jokingly telling Dobrev before she exited the series in 2015, "You're gonna miss me one day."

His prediction ultimately came true. After Dobrev returned to film The Vampire Diaries series finale, Wesley realised how much he had missed working alongside her.

"We looked at each other, and I was like, 'I missed you.' I missed her. I missed having her around," he said, adding that their friendship developed naturally after years of working together.

Today, the former co-stars are close friends and are preparing to reunite on screen in the upcoming adaptation of Aggie Blum Thompson's novel You Deserve to Know, produced by Alex Cooper's Unwell Network. Unlike their The Vampire Diaries days, however, they won't be playing romantic partners.