‘The Vampire Diaries’: Ian Somerhalder Was Almost Seriously Injured on Set by Co-Star
Fans of the CW’s The Vampire Diaries became huge fans of Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, and Nina Dobrev — the show’s three main stars when it began. Somerhalder played Damon Salvatore, and his character grew from a vicious 170-year-old vampire to undead character fans could identify with over eight seasons. But he nearly got seriously injured during an on-set injury with his co-star.
Kol Mikaelson actor Nathaniel Buzolic almost seriously injured Ian Somerhalder
The Vampire Diaries involved stunt doubles for the intense action sequences in the show. According to Entertainment Weekly, the stunt choreographers often worked with the directors to map out what the stunt doubles had to do. Then, the assistant director and line producer had to figure out how much time and money was involved in making the sequence happen. Once all of that got approved, hair and makeup got to work. They gave the stunt doubles the exact hair and makeup as the actor they portrayed.
Entertainment Weekly notes Ian Somerhalder had stunt doubles in the series, but he also performed his own stunts. And it seems he almost got knocked out completely by Kol Mikaelson actor Nathaniel Buzolic. Buzolic spoke to Quem magazine on a trip to Brazil for the Bloodlines Convention. The actor said he almost seriously injured Somerhalder when a fight scene went awry.
“We were in a fight scene and something did not work,” he said, according to International Business Times. “For a few minutes I thought, ‘My career will end here and be chased by fans of the show for life’.”
Ian Somerhalder also dealt with walking pneumonia while filming
Not only did Ian Somerhalder almost deal with a nasty injury from The Vampire Diaries. But he acted in the series while seriously ill. According to Entertainment Weekly, Somerhalder dealt with a nasty bout of walking pneumonia at the end of 2010. Due to his illness, he had to use automated dialogue replacement in several episodes to improve the quality of his voice.
“It was a battle. There was nothing I could do,” he recalled. “First of all, you have to take a bunch of medications so you can actually speak and breathe, and that dopes you up, and then you’re like one of those little bobblehead Chihuahuas. You’re just kinda goin’. When you can’t breathe out of your nose, or you have a mouth full of cough drops so you’re not coughing through the entire scene, it makes it difficult.”
The showrunners were used to facing difficulties with sickness and injury. “Oh yeah. We’re plagued. Plagued with injury,” executive producer Julie Plec recalled.
How old was Ian Somerhalder during ‘The Vampire Diaries’?
Ian Somerhalder played a vampire who looked like he was still in his early to mid-20s. So, how old was the actor when he played Damon Salvatore?
Screen Rant reports Somerhalder was just 30 years old when he started playing Damon, and he was 37 years old when the series ended. Nina Dobrev was only 20 years old when she played the 17-year-old Elena Gilbert. Somerhalder and Dobrev dated from 2010 to 2013 despite their age gap.
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