Welcome back, Fangbangers! So, I just got back from Eyecon’s The Vampire Diaries‘ convention, last night. And I am still reeling over all the BODILY CONTACT I got to have with the stars of the show!
(Yeah, this TOTALLY didn’t happen to me at the convention. But it COULD HAVE!)
In case you missed it, yesterday’s Eyecon-themed post was all about THIS GUY . . .
That’s right, fanboys and fangirls! On Saturday, I got to spend a good portion of the day listening to Paul Wesley chat about his life and career (but, mostly, I just stared at his midsection, and waited for his navy blue hoodie to make an “accidental” abs-revealing move upward, as he answered fans’ questions).
Today, it’s all about THIS GUY!
There are simply NO WORDS to describe how intensely erotic exciting it was to spend the day in such close proximity to a man I would really love to sleep with admire so intensely, for his top-notch body work ethic, unmatched talent for making my panties drop to the floor every time he’s on screen deftly exposing the heart of any character he plays, and genuine dedication to hot on-screen sex making the world a better place.
If it is at all possible, Ian is about ten times better looking, not to mention, more charming and eloquent, than he appears both in interviews and on-screen. When I got the chance to actually meet him face-to-face, even though I spent most of those Very Meaningful 30-seconds doing this . . .
. . . and even though he had already posed for about a BILLION other photographs with equally smitten fangirls, he still managed to make me feel like I was the only girl in the room with him. (Oh, and I got to touch his BARE ARM!)
But, obviously, you didn’t click on this post to hear about ME . . .
Obviously, you want to learn more about HIM! So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get IAN-ED . . .
Regarding his charitable work, and the Ian Somerhalder Foundation . . .
I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to be a monkey more in my entire life . . .
Ian takes his dedication to the environment, in general, and his Foundation, specifically, extremely seriously. When the Q&A session first opened, he brought on stage with him a very precocious little lady named Devon Haas, who will be heading up the ISF Kids Army . . .
“Just because you are a kid, doesn’t mean you don’t have a voice,” said young Devon.
With Devon’s help, Ian and his Foundation will be tackling all sorts of important environmental and world issues, such as helping Earthquake victims, promoting the use of clean and green technology, protecting the rainforest, and rescuing animals the world over from homelessness, hunger, and cruel mistreatment. “I love all animals,” said Somerhalder. “I believe that the more compassion we have for animals, the better place this world will be . . .”
As proof of his dedication to making the world a better place and his belief that young people have a voice, when asked by two young girls, how they could get their charitable organization off-the-ground and running, Ian offered to PERSONALLY help them to do that. During the Convention, a boatload of TVD-themed memorabilia, signed by Ian himself, was auctioned off to raise money for the Foundation. Most notable amongst these auction items was a kind of freaky looking adorable baby doll dressed and crafted to look just like Damon Salvatore.
Interested in knowing how much it costs to have Ian Somerhalder’s baby? It sold for . . . wait for it . . . $3,000.
OK . . . so, baby dolls aren’t exactly what I personally prefer to spend my hard-earned dollar bills on. I prefer to spend them attending conventions, where you get the opportunity to fondle the arms of hot celebrities. But hey, it’s for a good cause, right? Did I mention that the lucky winner got to hug and kiss Ian, AND pose with him for a “family portrait.” $3,000 is suddenly starting to sound not-so-expensive, after all . . .
Regarding Damon Salvatore, a.k.a. The Hottest Vampire on the Planet . . .
Ian opened up the question portion of the afternoon, by personally thanking fans for loving Damon Salvatore so much, and for having the insight and empathetic ability to move past his “slight flaws.” (i.e. a tendency to bite people’s heads off, shameless womanizing, and, possibly, VERY advanced alcoholism)
“So, what if it’s only 7 a.m.? I was thirsty . . . and I ran out of Soccer Mom! Don’t judge me!”
Having started off the series seeming like your run-of-the-mill, super gorgeous, and back breakingly funny, 160 something-year old sociopath, Damon Salvatore has grown into this extremely complex and suprisingly emotional character, one who is capable of loving another human being, and making genuine sacrifices in service to that love.
Ian, who believes that all acting is about searching for the “truth” behind a character’s words and motivations, enjoys the difficult, and sometimes emotionally exhausting, work of peeling back the layers on Damon’s character.
So what’s next for Damon Salvatore? Both Paul and Ian, have suggested, not entirely in jest, a switch between the basic roles Damon and his brother will play in Elena’s life, in the upcoming season.
“Yes, Damon will become Stefan. Stefan will become Damon. And Elena will become very confused. She’ll wake up in bed one morning, turn over and say, ‘Woah! What are YOU doing here?'”
(Umm . . . I think she’ll manage to get over THAT little “bout of confusion,” JUST FINE! Don’t you?)
Speaking of Paul, Ian complimented his TV brother for, not just knowing Stefan inside-and-out, but also possessing a deep understanding of Damon’s machinations and inner workings. “Paul has just been waiting to jump into Damon’s skin, and shed Stefan’s,” Ian hints. “He genuinely wants to be able to bite someone’s head off.”
Now, I know Ian and Paul both referred to this whole “Body Swap Scenario” in their respective Q&A sessions, more or less, in jest. But, now that I think about it, this actually wouldn’t be a bad plotline . . . provided it was only temporary, of course!
Regarding his favorite scene to film . . .
I was positively THRILLED to hear that Ian’s favorite scene to film on TVD was also one of my own! Of course, I am referring to the fabulous scene in which Damon and soon-to-be vampire Vicki Donovan “frolicked” (his word, not mine) around the Salvatore Mansion in their undies, to the scintillating sound of “Enjoy the Silence.” Though filming the scene was bittersweet for Ian, who adored working with Kayla Ewell (the actress who played Vicki Donovan), and knew that this was the Beginning of the End for her character, he loved the hidden complexities of this deceptively simple moment between two extremely damaged individuals.
“On one hand, you have this fun, funny, and incredibly sexy scene,” Ian explains (though I must admit I am ad-libbing a bit here). “But then, when you think about it, it’s incredibly dark. Vicki is just so broken. And Damon knows what he is about to do to her.”
Regarding biting people . . .
As all TVD fans know, a whole lot of “biting” goes on in this show! What you may not have noticed, however, is how that “biting” has evolved since the pilot episode. According to Ian, the costume department used to provide the actors playing vampires with very short fangs. And, in order for those fangs to be caught on film, the actors had to take really LARGE exaggerated bites out of their victims.
Having to do this take-after-take irked both Ian and Paul to no end (not to mention REALLY hurt their mouths). “Can’t we have longer fangs, so that we can take smaller bites, like normal vampires do?” Ian quipped to the producers of the show.
By Season 2, Ian and Paul had their wish. Their fangs were longer. And their neck bites were . . . more “realistic” looking.
Regarding flashbacks . . .
When asked which time period, he would most like to experience, via Salvatore Brother’s Flashback, Ian suggested the roaring twenties. “I would love to see Damon in a speakeasy, drinking illegal liquor, and sucking on flappers,” Ian noted.
I smell a Boardwalk Empire crossover episode!
Damon Salvatore meet Al Capone.
Regarding the Hillywood Parody . . .
While discussing the much-talked-about Vampire Diaries Parody that has been making its way around the YouTube circuit, Ian noted how impressed he was with the show’s producers’ impressive ability to understand, and be able to convey, the subtle nuances of the show (WAYYY Too-Small-Season 1-Fangs, included). “You could tell they [the Hilly girls] just put so much time and effort into it, and it really paid off,” Ian noted.
As for his favorite scene in the parody? “The part where ‘Katherine’ is stuck in the tomb, and she’s got her face up against the glass,” Ian explained. “That was hilarious.”
Regarding upcoming film roles . . .
Those of you who were hoping to get a glimpse of Ian Somerhalder’s baby blues on the big screen, may have to wait a little while longer. Unfortunately, Ian doesn’t have any movies coming out this year. (Note: No mention was made, during the Q&A, of the film entitled Cradlewood, that remains listed on Ian’s IMDB page.)
“All of us on the show would LOVE to find a great movie that fits into our busy schedule,” Ian noted, a bit wistfully. “But shooting nine months out of the year, and for 15 hours a day, makes it difficult to do that. That’s just the nature of series work.”
As for Ian’s dream film role. “I would love to find a part that is as different from Damon Salvatore as possible. I’m very intrigued by underdogs . . . people who triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve success. I think everyone can relate to that, in some way,” Ian explains.
(Now, of course, I think Ian would be AMAZING in ANY role he plays. And yet . . . I DO think it MIGHT be a bit difficult for him to land the role of one of those prized Underdog Characters, considering he looks like THIS . . .
But, hey! You never know!
Regarding that Naked Dancing scene from Rules of Attraction . . .
Speaking of movies . . . remember that AWESOME scene in Rules of Attraction, where Ian dances half-naked on a bed in a room at the Ritz Carlton to George Michael’s “Faith?”
“That was actually the most improvized scene EVER,” Ian recalls. I was filming a few scenes with Faye Dunaway (She played Ian’s mother in the film) in a restaurant at the Ritz, when Roger Avary (the director of Rules of Attraction) came up to me and said, ‘You are going to strip naked and dance on a bed.’ I thought he was kidding . . . He wasn’t. So, I’m on this bed, and they are BLASTING . . . Faith . . . and I just start doing it. Then, when it was all over, I walked through the lobby of the Ritz Carlton in my underwear because I could! It was awesome.”
(Man, if only the Ritz Carlton knew he was coming! They could have charged people extra to stay there! I bet they would have made a MINT!))
Regarding beginning a career in acting . . .
Ian in the shortlived television series, “Young Americans.”
When asked by a teen what someone should do, if they are interested in “breaking into The Biz,” Ian suggested that the most important thing that an actor can do is get an education. Once they have a working framework of knowledge, aspiring actors and actresses can get their feet wet, by joining local theater groups, and scouting out local casting offices. “It’s a tough business. Sometimes, it can break you down. But it’s a rewarding career too. And it never gets easier,” Ian explains. “In fact, if you ever think that acting is easy, you are not doing it right.”
Regarding a possible future in politics . . .
So, are we destined to have a President Ian Somerhalder in the years to come? Not, if Ian has anything to say about it. “My Foundation sponsors would KILL me if I ever decided to get into politics. It would make their lives SO much more difficult than they are now,” Ian jokes. “But, seriously, I have no desire to enter the political arena. I know my place in this world. And I feel it is to reach people through my foundation and through sharing my craft.”
Regarding pancakes and civil war reenactments . . .
Did you know that Ian makes AWESOME pancakes?
Or, that he used to do Civil War Reenactments as a kid?
Now, you DO!
Regarding supernatural powers . . .
For the final question of the afternoon, Ian was asked which of Damon’s supernatural vampire powers he would most like to possess. His reply? Compulsion. “With that power, I could make anybody do exactly what I wanted them to do . . . which is a pretty tricky prospect,” Ian conjectured.
And yet, Ian wouldn’t use those powers to do the same Naughty Things most of us would probably use them for . . .
“Well, maybe a little bit,” Ian admits sheepishly.
But, predominately, Ian would use his compulsion powers for GOOD, not evil. “I would want to go to all the political leaders, and heads of state, and stop them from making such terrible choices about the way this country is run,” he insisted.
You see, my fellow Fangbangers, THIS is why Ian Somerhalder — despite being a breathtakingly beautiful, rich and famous actor — is a much better person than I am. Ian TRULY wants to SAVE THE WORLD . . . I just want to see it naked.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for today, folks.
For my next and final bit of Eyecon reporting, I will be covering the Michael Trevino and Steven R. McQueen Q&A session, which also took place on the third day of the convention. See you then!
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