The Vampire Diaries Ian Somerhalder Calls Directorial Debut âMy Favorite Experience Everâ Read more at
Fans of The CWâs The Vampire Diaries got a special treat today when series star Ian Somerhalder made an appearance as part of Wizard Worldâs Cleveland Comic Con event. The packed house eagerly lent their attention to the actor as he answered questions about his work on TVD and his own passions, including his very own organization, The Ian Somerhalder Foundation (ISF). As Somerhalder offered a solid 45 minutes of both profound advice and a good laughs, ScreenSpy was there to get the scoop on his favorite on-set prank that never happened, how he feels about getting to work on The Vampire Diaries, and his love for 90s music.
We also managed to get him to dish about his upcoming directorial debut which is slated to air this March. Entering to a buzzing crowd, the actor addressed fans both warmly and humorously, starting off by assuring the few gentleman in the room that it being there was all worth it. âI know this is like going with your girl shopping, but bear with it, she will be nice to you,â Somerhadler said. He went on to joke, âEvery guy in this room â itâs like shopping. Shopping for the ladies.â After inciting a room full of giggles and cheers, Somerhalder changed the tone by revealing his softer side, discussing animals rights and the love for the work he does with the ISF foundation. With the fame that has come with his role on The Vampire Diaries it might seem easy to lose sight of what matters, but Somerhalder remains grounded. When taking about what his own philosophy on life is, the Vampire Diaries star offered some simple, but thoughtful advice. â[There are] three things I can promise you will make your life not even really fulfilled, but make your relationships great, make your health great â three things I think this world is missing,â Somerhalder said. âOne of them is gratitude, the other is reverence and the other one is compassion.â
He clearly practices what he preaches â especially the gratitude aspect of his life philosophy â as was seen while he shared some thoughts about his past and present opportunities, including his work on The Vampire Diaries. âItâs been such an amazing ride. I remember waking up every morning in Hawaii and thinking âGeez-Louise,â I get to go to work with these amazing people. Or when I wake up to work on The Vampire Diaries and I have to say some not so great lines about some ghosts or some witches.â
While not everyone seems to exhibit the same general empathic nature that Somerhalder possesses, he believes itâs something that isnât taught. Rather, itâs in you by nature but most importantly is given the opportunity to grow and become instilled in you as life happens. Somerhalder credits his foundation for a lot of his own personal growth when it comes to those three things.
âI think those things are instilled in you,â Somerhalder said. âThey were instilled in me from when I was a child. But when it really solidified was when we started ISF.
Thereâs still so much change that needs to be had, or to be created and perpetuated and sustained. ISF really helped us realize that gratitude, reverence and compassion were really three missing from our lives â life, in the world.â
While heâs definitely got a soft spot, he can also be a little mischievous, something Somerhalder illustrated while sharing the details of a prank he almost pulled on his TVD co-star Paul Wesley. On the first day of shooting season one of The Vampire Diaries, Somerhalder planned to play a potty joke on trailer neighbor, Wesley, by covering the opening of his co-stars trailer toilet with plastic wrap in hopes that⊠well, you get it. Somerhalder eventually backed out of the joke as Wesley entered the trailer. âI regret this, I regret this every day,â Somerhalder said. In spite of never carrying out the prank, the actor was still proud of his handy work. âI went in in an expert way, with precision and like an x-acto knife, put Saran wrap over the toilet. But you couldnât see it. I looked at angles and with the lighting, it was just perfect. You just couldnât see it,â Somerhalder said.
After recounting the almost events of a well-planned prank, Somerhalder shared some exciting news about The Vampire Diaries March 12th episode, which saw him take the directorâs chair for the first time.
According to Somerhalder, he very recently put the finishing touches on âThe Downward Spiral.â
âI just turned in my cut yesterday,â the actor revealed.
So what was it like going from actor to director? â
Coolest thing ever. I worked with 130 people â well, even more with artists included, about 170 who all had my back. I had an incredible story that Brian Young and Caroline Dries wrote. And literally a group of my â my cast â my brothers and sisters, everyone had my back,â Somerhalder said.
The experience wasnât just fun for the actor though. It was also a new learning experience. âIt was the coolest environment to learn in,â Somerhalder said. âAnd thank you Warner Bros for the couple million bucks to spend really creating an incredible 42 minutes of television. It was my favorite professional experience ever. And Iâve done some cool s***. That was the coolest thing ever imaginable.â He also had some serious appreciation for the episode title. âThe episode is called âThe Downward Spiralâ which is actually my favorite Nine Inch Nails album. Every episode of this show this season is a song from 1994,â Somerhalder said. âThe early 90s were actually really badass for music.â
Somerhalder left fans with a request for the upcoming March 12 episode. âIf you can, watch this episode live. Get the whole experience and show the network and the studio that you care. Thatâs the only way they really know who watched it. But itâs a fun episode. Itâs pretty badass.â
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