‘The Vampire Diaries’: Ian Somerhalder Revealed the Character He Would Ax From the Show

The Vampire Diaries retired in 2017, but many are still enthralled by the characters and the actors who played them. And when it comes to fan fiction, the Internet is always buzzing with “what if?” scenarios. With that in mind, The Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder explained what he’d change about the narrative. Specifically, he revealed which character he would ax and why.

‘The Vampire Diaries’ boasted an enormous roster of talent

Based on the young adult novel series of the same name, The Vampire Diaries followed the adventures of supernatural beings living in the fictional Mystic Falls, Virginia. Aside from the undead heartthrobs that roamed the town, there were also werewolves, hybrids, witches, ghosts, doppelgängers, hunters, sirens, and unsuspecting human townsfolk.

With all the creatures populating the fictional small town, the roster of characters — and the actors who played them — was lengthy. And as a result, some of the storylines became pretty complicated, especially when it came to romantic entanglements.

A couple of years after The Vampire Diaries ended, Somerhalder spoke to Elle about which character he would remove from the mix if he were responsible for rewriting the show. The actor gave a pretty logical response based strictly on strengthening the overall narrative.

Ian Somerhalder would nix one of the original characters if he could rewrite the show

Back in 2019, Somerhalder opened up to Elle in a YouTube segment called Thirst Trap. In the video, he answered questions about his life, his career, and his signature role as the vampire Damon Salvatore. Elle’s Thirst Trap allows interview subjects like Somerhalder to opt out of answering uncomfortable questions by choosing to take shots of mystery cocktails instead.

After checking out the gnarly looking drink dubbed, On My Mind, aka brain hemorrhage shot, the actor was totally game to answer question number 7. The storyline-based question about The Vampire Diaries seemed a much safer bet than the strangely colored and textured mystery beverage.

Question number 7 read as follows: “If you could rewrite [The] Vampire Diaries, without one of its characters, excluding yours, who would you nix — Elena, Stefan, Jeremy Jenna, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, Vicki, Tyler, Alaric, Klaus, or Enzo?”

The actor answered, “Well, I am not drinking that sh*t. So, we could exclude Jeremy and only because Elena wouldn’t have been so angry with Damon because he killed her brother, not once, twice. And the audience still loved Damon.”

For the record, not only did the audience root for Damon, but they got behind his romance with Elena, who was originally tied to Damon’s brother, Stefan. Somerhalder’s portrayal gave the hedonistic vampire, Damon, charm, wit, and a remarkable magnetism, making him a fan-favorite character.

Somerhalder continued, “Now imagine you’re a lady. You have a boyfriend, or you have a guy you like, and he kills your brother, are you still gonna go out with him? That’s what happened in Vampire Diaries.”

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