THE VAMPIRE DIARIES’ Ian Somerhalder on Damon’s Issues with Katherine, Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, Mason and More

Ian Somerhalder.

It was six years ago this week that LOST premiered and we met Oceanic survivor, Boone Carlyle. But just one season into THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and it’s hard to imagine Somerhalder as anyone other than Damon Salvatore.

The show is on fire right now — though, lucky for Somerhalder, Damon is not… thanks to Elena who came to his aid in last week’s episode.

Looking toward this Thursday and the season ahead, I spoke with Ian about what’s already transpired and what we can expect to come…

Last time we talked on the phone, just before the season 1 finale, you said that you were feeling pretty uncomfortable with the reveal of Damon’s “sensitive side,” if you will. And we’ve certainly seen more of that in the past couple weeks. So are you still unnerved by the whole concept of Damon being vulnerable? Still feeling the same way?
Ian Somerhalder: Still feeling the same way. No, I just think that Damon’s edge is a good counter to a lot of the emotion on the show. And I just feel like I’m falling flat on my face when it comes to seeing his softer side. So it’s a battle within myself, which maybe works, because it’s definitely a battle within Damon.

Don’t you think that seeing this side of him gives more depth to the character and sort of dimensionalizes him?
IS: Oh, absolutely. Without a shadow of a doubt. There’s no question. So, yeah, it’s fun. It’s all great. I think that, you know, watching Damon try to get back in the good graces of Elena is– I mean, I don’t know how you even do that after you tried to kill her brother. Well, “try” is not even [the right word], as far as he was concerned. You know, regardless of whether he knew the ring [which saved her brother] was there or not, it was still such a brutal move. I guess you hurt the ones you love, but I mean, that is absurd. That’s not like cutting off your nose to spite your face. That’s like cutting off your head.

Well, yeah, that’s the thing. Even if Damon is showing that he has feelings for Elena, it’s not like he knows how to deal with them properly. It’s not like he’s buying her flowers or anything. He’s snapping her brother’s neck.
IS: Yeah, exactly. That’s funny, actually. Can you imagine Damon showing up at Elena’s house with a couple dozen roses? No, Damon wouldn’t do roses. He would get, like, peace lilies or something. Can you imagine how awkward that would be?

Do you think Damon has any real remorse for his bad behavior?
IS: Yeah, definitely. You know, when Stefan had a bit of a drinking problem, he said it, that there are times he feels guilt and remorse. It’s just the level of it [that’s in question]. Damon has the ability to reason with himself in an uncanny manner and just delude himself… which works out well for him.

Sure, though he’s probably feeling a good deal of regret over all those years he spent pining for Katherine, knowing what he does now.
IS: Yeah, I think he feels more stupid than anything. It’s a bummer. A big waste of a hundred and fifty years. But he did it for a reason.

Love… right?
IS: Love, yeah, of course. You know, I was just talking to one of my dearest friends a couple nights ago, and he was dating a girl for quite a while, went to New York to see her and found out that she had a boyfriend the entire time they were together. And it just floored him. I mean, look, men do that to women all the time and women do that to men all the time, but he just never thought that would happen [to him] and he felt stupid. You know, he felt bummed and then he felt kind of sad and foolish, because how do you not know? So Damon is in very much the same [head space]. He was duped by blind love.

But he’s still not letting it stop him from falling for Elena, which is interesting.
IS: Well, it’s kind of hard not to fall for Elena. She’s a pretty amazing little chick.

You’re now getting to do scenes with both Elena and Katherine. Is there one character that you enjoy more than the other?
IS: Well, they both have their own charm and they both pose their own issues. But it’s fun to do scenes with Katherine by virtue of the fact that she’s not only Damon’s equal, she’s his superior. She’s stronger than him, been around a lot longer than him, she could kill him in a heartbeat if she really wanted to. So there’s a really risky, danger element to it. And Nina [Dobrev] is just so sassy when she’s Katherine. You know, I remember last season when Damon would vamp out — put in the eyes and the teeth and the whole thing — it gives you this license to sort of be a little wacky and it’s fun and Nina takes full advantage of that. But Elena, she’s so disarming. She’s so hauntingly beautiful and sweet that I think it sort of levels Damon. You know, he’s truly figured out the difference between Katherine and Elena. There’s an ocean of separation between the two of them and I think he wishes that Katherine would’ve been Elena.

And then there’s Caroline… and the fact that she’s now a vampire. I’m assuming that’s going to add a whole new element to what’s going down in Damon’s world.
IS: Yeah, I mean, she brings her own issues with her inexperience, but she’s also an ally. He can’t treat her the way he used to treat her and I think it puts him in check. It’s pretty funny to watch him fly across the hall, because Caroline pushes him. It’s pretty cool. I mean, she’s going to be able to help in a lot of ways and I guess Damon has to get over the fact that he can’t kill her. Right now.

Right now?
IS: Not a good idea.

Not a good idea because Elena said no or because of some other reason?
IS: Well, Damon knows what he needs to do. He needs to get rid of Caroline, because she’s going to cause too many problems. His instincts are right and Stefan knows it. It’s just like when all those other vampires were in town — stuff’s going to go wrong and it’s all inexorably going to fall back on the two of us — Damon and Stefan. So, we’ve got to nip that in the bud.

But you can’t right now.
IS: No, and that sucks.

But, as you mentioned, she could be an ally for Damon.
IS: Absolutely. Once he gets over the fact that he needs to kill her, I think she’s going to prove herself to be useful. And not just useful as a minion, as a snack or as a good time! She could be a real ally if he needs one. I mean, who knows how she’s going to react, she might tell him to go screw himself. He’s done some pretty bad sh-t to her.

Yeah, and now she’s realizing all of it. Of course, I’m wondering how long it will take Matt to realize things aren’t quite the same with her.
IS: Poor Matt, man. He’s just so nice and tries to do the right thing. But, I’ll tell you what, to have a hot, vampire girlfriend would probably be pretty awesome. I bet she could show him a few things.

Wouldn’t get boring. Just as it’s not boring to watch Damon in scenes with Bonnie. Some fans feel like there might be a little bit of sexual tension underneath all that hatred she has for you. I don’t know if there would ever be any development on that front.
IS: Well, the thing is, there is a lot of anger there. I mean, Bonnie’s been through a lot because of this relationship that Elena’s brought into the whole fold. So I don’t blame Bonnie for having an insane amount of disdain for what Damon represents and who he is. But at the end of the day, Bonnie’s going to hopefully do what’s right to protect Elena. And, you know, as long as she stops trying to set me on fire and stops doing that head thing where my face is going to explode, then I’m fine with it.

Do you see Damon turning his attention anywhere other than towards Elena this season?
IS: I think right now, he’s got his hands full. Caroline is running around as a vampire. There are a lot of issues with Mason. And there’s Katherine. He’s got a full plate. I mean, the love of his life totally screwed him over because of his naivete. The girl who looks identical to her, who’s so sweet, he just totally f-cked over and he’s pretty much lost that relationship. And now he’s got this guy in town who is a werewolf who can basically kill him. These are major, major problems. I think it’s going to fun watching him deal with all these things.

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