‘The Vampire Diaries’: Michael Trevino and Zach Roerig Accidentally Hit Each Other Multiple Times While Filming
The Vampire Diaries represents the CW’s response to what was a pronounced pop culture interest in all things vampires — one that still has a hold on viewers. The edgy teen fantasy series premiered in 2009 and ran for eight seasons before wrapping up in 2017.
The series — like many popular and long-running fantasy shows — has developed a dedicated fan base that’s still eager to hear details of what went on behind the scenes despite the show’s conclusion having come and gone.
Stars from the show took to the stage at a recent Comic-Con in Northern Ireland to answer fan questions about their experiences on the set. During his discussion, Michael Trevino revealed that the set could get pretty dangerous — accidentally.
Michael Trevino played Tyler Lockwood in ‘The Vampire Diaries’
The Vampire Diaries tackles an age-old question when it comes to immortal beings: what happens when you’ve run out of ideas about what to do next after surviving for centuries? For vampire brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore, the answer is returning back to their hometown. Except, of course, their hometown of Mystic Fall has undergone some serious transformations in the centuries since they left it.
What follows is a vampire-loves-human story that’s wrapped up in teenage drama with the added flair of being set against a backdrop of the undead. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight — other popular iterations of the same themes — The Vampire Diaries offered an ensemble cast of characters to help fill out the worldbuilding and give fans more stories to follow.
Michael Trevino played Tyler Lockwood, a character who was part of the series for its entire eight-season run. During that time, Trevino had some hard-hitting action scenes to film.
Michael Trevino and Zach Roerig roughed each other up on set
During the Comic-Con Q&A, Trevino was asked a question about the funniest scene he had to film. While the back and forth between him and his former co-stars (Kayla Ewell and Candice King) on the stage suggest an inside joke that wasn’t shared, Trevino did open up about “certain sequences with Zach [Roerig].”
He reflected on how every fight sequence between himself and Roerig (who played Matt Donovan) seemed to end with something going “wrong.” “He’d accidentally hit me or I’d accidentally hit him,” Trevino remembered. “I remember one time I slipped and just completely kneed him right in his private parts.”
It makes sense that a show filled with so many physical scenes would result in a few accidental blows landing that really hurt. That means some of those grimaces and grunts during a particularly physical fight scene weren’t necessarily fake!
What is Michael Trevino up to now?
Obviously, Trevino is still well-known for his time playing Tyler Lockwood, but he jumped from that supernatural-themed TV show into another hit series on the same network. In 2019, the CW premiered a new series called Roswell, New Mexico.
While this show doesn’t have vampires and werewolves, it does have aliens living without fanfare among humans until a larger alien presence threatens their peaceful co-existence. Trevino plays the role of Kyle Valenti, a main character in the show. As the son of the town’s sheriff, much of Trevino’s role is about grappling with the past harm his family has done and figuring out what it means for the way he wants to live his life.
Will the time spent on two dramatic, supernatural-themed CW shows typecast Trevino? Only time will tell, but the work has definitely gained him a growing fan base that’s excited to see what he does next!
