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There are bound to be a few cast changes when a show is on the air as long as The Vampire Diaries was. And that was most certainly the case with The CW series. Actors came and went; even main star Nina Dobrev left The Vampire Diaries after season 6. But one cast member admitted they exited the series because of their character’s storyline.

'The Vampire Diaries' cast pose for pictures on the red carpet at Comic-Con to promote their show.
The cast of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ | Photo by Chelsea Lauren/WireImage

Michael Trevino played Tyler Lockwood in ‘The Vampire Diaries’

The Vampire Diaries introduced viewers to Tyler Lockwood, played by Michael Trevino, in the show’s pilot episode. He was an arrogant high school football player dating Vicki Donovan, his best friend Matt’s sister.

Later in the series, Tyler learned that his short temper was thanks to his werewolf gene. And after Tyler accidentally killed someone, that gene was activated, and he joined the other The Vampire Diaries teens in the supernatural world. Caroline Forbes, a vampire, helped him acclimate to being a werewolf, and the two developed romantic feelings for one another. Although, their relationship was not built to last.

Klaus Mikaelson, an Original vampire, eventually turned Tyler into a hybrid — half-vampire, half-werewolf. But Tyler left Mystic Falls after the sixth season. He did return in the show’s final season, though. Unfortunately, Damon killed Tyler, but he came back as a spirit in The Vampire Diaries series finale.

‘The Vampire Diaries’ actor revealed why he left the show

During an interview with People in 2015, The Vampire Diaries star Michael Trevino discussed why he chose to leave the show after season 6.

“You know, it’s difficult to write for Tyler,” the actor explained. “The whole werewolf lineage and storyline itself is pretty difficult. Once you become a werewolf and you’ve taken on that transformation, you won’t really see Tyler hanging out with Stefan or Damon. And werewolves are recluses — they stick to their own and they’re not always around, really.”

Trevino continued, “To be honest, I’m surprised I didn’t run out of storyline earlier. Having Klaus come in and make Tyler the first hybrid kept me on the show and kept things interesting, along with the lovely relationship with Caroline that Tyler had. They really found a way to stretch out his storyline and so that fact we’ve made it to six seasons, I’ll be forever grateful for that. I had a good run.”

“They also don’t want to keep me on the show and have a repetitive storyline,” he admitted. “Not only for myself, personally, as an actor, but then also for fans — they don’t want to see the same recycled storyline. That’s just the truth. As the show evolves, you have different characters come in because you need new energy. It was just a bit difficult to not have to repeat ourselves when it came to Tyler, so it was just best to move on at this point.”

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‘The Vampire Diaries’: Nina Dobrev Knew She Was Leaving 2 Years Before Her Exit

Michael Trevino shared his favorite part about playing Tyler

While speaking with People about The Vampire Diaries, Michael Trevino explained his favorite part about playing Tyler Lockwood in the show.

“Definitely the first werewolf transformation,” he revealed. “That was exciting and nerve-racking, leading up to it. That was the first time we had ever done a transformation, so it was new to all of us in terms of finding out a way to shoot it and execute it properly.”

Trevino added, “Also, turning into a hybrid. There was a lot of physicality involved in playing Tyler Lockwood! He’s always turning or freaking out or getting into a fight or pulling on chains and screaming. For an actor, it’s pretty damn exhausting! But it was fun to go there and play that for six years.”

The Vampire Diaries is available to stream on Netflix.

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