From The Ground Up

Whether he’s playing a bloodthirsty vampire, saving the planet or doing an interview while running through an airport, Ian Somerhalder pulls off any role with infectious charisma.

- Sarah Osei

As we speak to Ian Somerhalder, he’s sprinting through JFK, racing to catch his next flight, but you wouldn’t know it from his gracious demeanour. He couldn’t be further removed from the cruel vampire the world got to know him as. It was exactly a decade ago that the Louisiana native first mesmerised audiences as the sarcastic, suave Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries, a milestone the actor proudly shares with Schön! “Staying in business in the entertainment world for ten years, whatever you’re doing, is an impressive feat,” he proclaims, “so I’m glad we’re having this ten-year anniversary together.”

Now, as he’s gearing up for a new project, Netflix’s highly-anticipated V-Wars, Somerhalder wants us to see a completely different side to him: “After playing Damon for so many years – the fun, sexy, kind of crazy, very dangerous, very self-centred vampire – I wanted to play someone who was very human. His only superpower is just being a dad, being a great doctor.”