Now-Iconic The Vampire Diaries Casting Almost Didn't Happen
Paul Wesley could have played Damon if the writers hadn't interfered.
After its pilot episode aired, The Vampire Diaries quickly became a true pop culture phenomenon, with hundreds of fans following the cast from one promotional event to the next, and the faces of Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder appearing on numerous magazine covers, in millions of social media posts, and on posters hanging in lockers and bedrooms around the world.
It is safe to say, the supernatural show has become the road to stardom for its main cast. But such a popularity would be hard to achieve if the casting was not spot-on.
The three main stars undoubtedly had an amazing dynamic and phenomenal on-screen chemistry that helped sell the whole love triangle trope to viewers. Today, it is impossible to imagine anyone other than Dobrev playing Elena Gilbert and Wesley and Somerhalder portraying the Salvatore brothers. But as it turns out, Damon and Stefan Salvatore could be played by completely different actors.
Co-creator Julie Plec told The Hollywood Reporter that Paul Wesley had always been on their radar, but at first he had been auditioning for the role of Damon. It was understandable since the actor was 27 when he first appeared on the set, and Damon was turned into a vampire at 25 and was supposed to look that age throughout the series. But even though the casting directors loved Wesley for the part, the creators were not convinced by his performance.
"We said, 'He's not ready for Damon, not enough humor there,'" Plec explained.
This superhuman intuition made perfect sense when Ian Somerhalder was cast as Damon at Kevin Williamson's insistence, and Wesley came in to read for Stefan.
"I connected with Stefan more and wanted to play Stefan," the actor told THR.
Even though Stefan was much younger than his brother, Wesley went back and auditioned. He described how there were a dozen guys auditioning against him, but he had a plan. While other guys were chatting with Nina Dobrev, he avoided the actress until the moment they were in the room. And since they were reading the scene where Elena and Stephan first meet, it sounded very natural. Plus, they had such a palpable chemistry that the writers just couldn't say no, despite Wesley's age.
"I guess my plan worked," the actor concluded.