The late 2000s and early 2010s saw a bevy of vampire films dominating Hollywood – The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, and The Twilight Saga. The Vampire Diaries was so popular it would go on to spawn two spinoffs – The Originals and Legacies.
If you saw The Vampire Diaries, then you most certainly remember Paul Wesley. He played Stefan Salvatore, the gentle-as-a-dove vampire (ironic, isn’t it?) that was brother to the up-to-no-good supposedly misunderstood Damon Salvatore, played by Ian Somerhalder.
Both brothers were hopelessly in love with the Mystic Falls belle Elena Gilbert, brought to life by Nina Dobrev. Ring a bell?
In true vampire fashion, Wesley has driven a stake through the hearts of fans of the series. The 40-year-old actor declares that he has no interest in ever returning to the franchise, or any vampire-related project, for that matter.
In his words, “I would never do another vampire anything, period, let alone Vampire Diaries.”
Wesley said these words when he sat down for a feature article with InStyle. During the interview, he gave a sneak peek into his private life, including his early days as an actor, his vegan lifestyle, his love for animals, and his experience starring as Stefan Salvatore.
He talked about other, more personal things. And it might interest you to know that, despite being a vampire, even if it was only on-set, Wesley is not above tearing up over a movie scene.
When he was asked if he misses anything about his role as one-half of the Salvatore brothers, he responded, “I don’t really miss anything about playing him, and I don’t mean that in a [negative way].”
Wesley pointed out that he starred as the character for eight seasons over eight years, admitting relief that the character is now in the past.
The actor, who now stars as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Wars: Strange New Worlds, also talked about his time as Stefan Salvatore and his experience playing the character.
He stated, “I loved how dynamic he was. Because the show ran for such a long time, in order for it to not become monotonous, every season, he sort of had a different arc. At one point he was pure evil, and he started out as the good guy and then he ended as the good guy. But I liked the challenge of trying to keep the character fresh.”
Stefan Salvatore is Wesley’s most popular role to date. During the interview, he revealed that he is still trying to shed the character, even though he last portrayed him in 2017. Even though he didn’t explicitly say so, we believe this is one of the reasons he has no interest in reprising the role.
In his words, “When I get recognized, it’s because of Stefan. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done, as far as popularity. I’ve done a bunch of roles since The Vampire Diaries, but nothing has been nearly as popular, so I think you have to get that next thing that puts you into a conversation that involves you and not the character that you’re known for playing.”
