Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley Bid Farewell to “The Vampire Diaries”

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The men of The CW’s The Vampire Diaries recently gathered in Los Angeles for a press conference to bid adieu to the long-running series, which airs its series finale on March 10.  It was a time of reflection (and dejection) for the foursome as each lamented about the end of the series and reflected on the evolution of each of their characters over the series’ 171 episodes. Series stars Ian Somerhalder (Damon Salvatore), Paul Wesley (Stefan Salvatore) and Zach Roerig (Matt Donovan), all of whom spent eight very successful years together, were on hand along with Michael Malarkey (Enzo St. John), who joined in season five. (Somerhlader and Wesley are pictured above.)

The Vampire Diaries, created by Kevin Williamson and based on the successful book series by L.J. Smith, premiered on The CW in 2006, further boosting the vampire mania that took hold early in the new millennium.  Hot on its heels came the big-screen Twilightsaga along with HBO’s True Blood, and it was soon apparent fans of vampire folklore were not only ready to sink their teeth into anything vampire related, they were thirsty for all they could get.

“The vampire story is something that’s existed since Nosferatu and I don’t think it’s going to go away,” Wesley mused.  “It’s about creating an inventive storyline using that symbolism, but I don’t think people automatically watch something because its vampires anymore, like they used to.”

Over the course of the series, each of its core male characters underwent many transitions.  Good-guy Stefan would become the deadly Ripper; bad-guy Damon developed a modicum of empathy for the humans he once fed from and discarded like an old chicken carcass; Matt endured numerous personal losses and eventually found solace in law enforcement, and vampire Enzo, like Damon, would rediscover an appreciation of the human condition after finding love with witch Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham). (Somerhalder, Wesley, Roerig and Malarkey are pictured below, left to right.)

Steve Gidlow

Steve Gidlow, a long-time columnist for MediaVillage ("Behind the Scenes in Hollywood"), has written about television and pop culture since 1994, beginning in Australia.  Since moving to Hollywood in 1997, Steve has focused on celebrity interv… read more