As a longtime connoisseur of supernatural television, I can’t help but marvel at the near-misses that almost derailed one of my all-time favorites, The Vampire Diaries. If you had told me back then that Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev, and Ian Somerhalder wouldn’t have been cast in their iconic roles, I would have laughed so hard I might’ve drained the life out of a few victims myself!
Transformed into one of numerous series capitalizing on the horror genre inspired by novels about attractive vampires feeding off their victims’ life force. Alongside shows like ‘True Blood’, which catered to a more adult audience, this series garnered such a large following that even after its termination, fans continue to yearn for a comeback. Such sustained interest is often due to characters being convincingly portrayed by the right actors. Remarkably, the lead actor was initially turned down for the role of Stefan Salvatore by creators Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson who felt he wasn’t suitable for the part.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the creators of the series reminisced about nearly dismissing Wesley, who acted alongside Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder, due to concerns that he was too old for the Salvatore role, given that the character is a 161-year-old vampire. However, upon seeing him on set, they swiftly recognized their initial assessment was incorrect. Plec stated:
Initially, Paul Wesley stood out amongst ten other potential candidates for the role of Stefan, and Kevin and I had expressed our reservations about his age, stating that he seemed too old for the part. Consequently, we declined him, expressing, “We don’t want him; he’s too old.” However, the network suggested changing the character from Ian to Paul Wesley, which we vehemently opposed, labeling it a poor idea. Eventually, Kevin and I were the last ones to hop on board the Paul Wesley bandwagon. It wasn’t until his first day of shooting in the cemetery with Nina Dobrev, where they unexpectedly met for the first time, that we realized our mistake. “Oh my God, we were so wrong,” we thought. “How mortifying, as he is absolutely perfect for the role.
The Vampire Diaries Almost Didn’t Have Its Perfect Casting Combination
The trepidation around Wesley’s casting was not the only decision that Plec and Williamson almost made the wrong choice on. As Plec explained, the role of Elena Gilbert almost didn’t go to Dobrev due to her being sick during her first audition. Plec said:
The process of selecting the main actors was humorously detailed due to our continuous difficulties filling each role. Nina initially auditioned early on but fell ill, which led us to overlook her initially. She had to persistently fight for another chance and submit more videos for us to reconsider her when she recovered. Fortunately, this happened just as we were at a loss, scratching our heads.
In regards to the climactic segment of the puzzle, Damon Salvatore’s role was a close call for the series, given that Somerhalder’s initial audition wasn’t his best, a fact humorously acknowledged by Plec as being so well-documented that “it’s become part of the show’s official lore at this point.” She expressed this as:
“Immediately, Ian caught our attention because I was already a fan of Young Americans. However, during his audition, things didn’t go as planned and he acknowledges this fact, along with everyone else. It’s now common knowledge. Yet, there came a point where we found ourselves questioning, ‘If he isn’t our Damon, then who could be?’
Ultimately, finding the right actors for the main roles might have been challenging, but it turned out that their casting was ideal for the show. Not only did The Vampire Diaries debut with one of the largest premieres on The CW, it also ran for eight successful seasons and even spawned two spin-offs – The Originals and Legacies.
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2024-09-15 21:04