What Not to Do Before a Kissing Scene, According to ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Star Ian Somerhalder
Fans of The Vampire Diaries know Ian Somerhalder for his role as Damon Salvatore, the charismatic immortal who oozes sex appeal. The star has loads of experience when it comes to performing steamy love scenes on screen. With that in mind, the pro dished how to prep for on-the-job kissing and what any actor should avoid before up-close scenes.
Somerhalder explained what to steer clear of when prepping for an intimate scene
To the delight of fans, Ian Somerhalder made an appearance on Elle Magazine’s Thirst Trap back in 2019. Although he was there to promote his other vampire-themed series, Netflix’s V Wars, many of the interview questions were also devoted to The Vampire Diaries. Somerhalder shared plenty of details about his acting experience, including how to prep for a great on-screen smooch.
“How do you prepare for a kissing scene,” Somerhalder pondered as he teed up his expert advice. “You wanna wait to have that, you know, steamed broccoli and salmon later. You know, we had to do these scenes where we were so close, you know.”
At that point, the actor sprang into an amusing solo routine of Damon and Elena-type chatter. Using his hands to represent the up-close and personal characters, he improvised dialog, saying, “‘Damon, you have to stop killing people.’ ‘I don’t want to stop killing people.’ ‘I love you.’ ‘I hate you.’”
Classic Damon.
With his hands close together to symbolize action with co-stars in very close proximity, Somerhalder explained, “And we were literally like this. When you’re next to someone like this for hours [in] a day, and they’re eating salmon and broccoli and onions, [and] garlic mixed with coffee and protein powder, it becomes pretty gnarly.”
One ex scene partner from ‘The Vampire Diaries’ vouched for the star’s kissing skills
Somerhalder dished sage advice about on-set smooching etiquette. And according to one former scene partner from The Vampire Diaries, the star knows what he’s doing.
Chris Wood, who portrayed the fan-favorite villain and leader of the Gemini Coven, Kai Parker, described what it was like locking lips with Somerhalder. The actors never hooked up on The Vampire Diaries, but they partnered in a spoof video to reenact an iconic moment for fans. On the show, Damon and Elena share a hot kiss in the rain. But in the spoof, Wood briefly steps into Elena’s shoes in a surprise twist.
When Wood popped by Young Hollywood back in 2016, host Audrey Cleo asked him if Somerhalder is a good kisser. “Oh yeah,” replied Wood. “He’s good. He’s got a nice pout. I would say it wasn’t too wet, but it was in the rain. So, it was wet. But, you know, I didn’t not enjoy it.”
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