Ian Somerhalder asked to leave “The Vampire Diaries” in Season 3.
“I was so upset about the trajectory of Damon, so much so that at one point I was sitting across from [showrunner Julie Plec] in her office in Atlanta almost in tears—actually, my eyes were quite misty—and asked… pic.twitter.com/fwyD6FwMKd
— Variety (@Variety) September 3, 2025
-Ian Somerhalder starred on The Vampire Diaries for 8 seasons as bad vampire boy Damon Salvatore
-With a new book coming out soon, he is revealing secrets from his past, one of those being a time he attempted to quit the show
-Ian revealed he attempted to quit during Season 3 “I was so upset about the trajectory of Damon, so much so that at one point I was sitting across from [showrunner Julie Plec] in her office in Atlanta almost in tears—actually, my eyes were quite misty—and asked out of the show. I was so angry about it. I wanted off. Because I saw the writing on the wall. Damon was heading toward the love-interest role. I was like, ‘Sh*t, I’m in my early thirties, I’ve got a lot of this heat because of this show, I’m sure I could go find something that’s really cool and dark and edgy’… I was like, ‘They’re going to turn me into a sappy character.’ Julie was like, ‘You’re not leaving the show. First of all, you’re one of the stars and one of the parts of the beating heart of the show; and two, you signed a six-year contract, so that’s not happening; and three, don’t worry, there has to be layers.’ She said, ‘Dude, I get it, Damon cannot be a one-trick pony. This is a one-hundred-episode arc of a man, there are ups and there are downs, and there are times when he’s the villain, there are times when he’s the hero.’ I had to trust in that process.”
-Julie Plec states that Ian was jealous of Paul Wesley getting to play bad along with The Originals cast being villains as well. Various cast members were apparently unhappy with The Originals getting so much attention.
-Nina Dobrev who was the series lead ultimately left after Season 6 leaving her two love interests behind for remainder of the series.
