Why ‘Vampire Diaries’ Stars Candice King, Nina Dobrev Admired Lucille Ball, Angelina Jolie
On The Vampire Diaries, both Candice King and Nina Dobrev played admirable women. Sure, they made mistakes in love and became vampires themselves, but who hasn’t made a few regrettable decisions? Elena (Dobrev) and Caroline (King) made the most of their situations, and the actors once said they looked up to pioneering women like Lucille Ball and Angelina Jolie.
King and Dobrev were on a 2011 Television Critics Association panel with their fellow Kick-Ass Women of The CW. Representing The Vampire Diaries, King and Dobrev shared their admiration for their predecessors. The Vampire Diaries is now streaming on Peacock and HBO Max.
Candice King admired Lucille Ball who could do it all
Love, drama and vampirism were a lot to balance, but King recognized she had it easy by comparison. She looked up to Lucille Ball, who did it all plus comedy. You might not think to compare The Vampire Diaries with I Love Lucy, but King thought she wouldn’t be there without Ball.
“I know it’s not necessarily stunt work, like kicking booty, but I think Lucille Ball was a pretty kickass woman,” King said. “She paved such a beautiful path for women in television and she could be clumsy and make a fool of herself and still just carry herself with such grace and poise and you still laugh your ass off. I think she’s pretty kickass.”
Nina Dobrev agreed Lucille Ball paved the way for shows like ‘The Vampire Diaries’
In the ‘50s, it was controversial for Ball and Desi Arnaz to discuss pregnancy on I Love Lucy. Shows like The Vampire Diaries had no such restrictions. Just the fact that The Vampire Diaries was among female-led shows like Nikita and Hellcats, and followed Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Alias, showed that Ball’s legacy lasted.
“Just like Candice said, Lucille Ball has paved the way,” Dobrev said. “But there’s more opportunity now and there’s more women in higher positions and there’s a lot of opportunity there. We’re a great group and there’s a lot of television with strong women and it’s good now because it’s reflective of the society and the way it is in reality.”
Angelina Jolie was Nina Dobrev’s action heroine
As action goes, The Vampire Diaries wasn’t quite as intense as Nikita. Elena did have to do some fights in some episodes though. Reflecting on women in action, Dobrev cited Angelina Jolie. By 2011, Jolie had already done two Tomb Raider films, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Wanted, Gone in 60 Seconds, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and Salt. Jolie would later call those films therapeutic.
“I think watching Angelina Jolie movies is always kind of inspiring and awesome,” Dobrev said. “Some of us get to do it depending on the episode but it is really cool. Like, I remember watching Tomb Raider, and there’s this woman who’s, like, beating up all of the guys. It does feel very empowering.”
