For close to a decade, Ian Somerhalder ruled the supernatural genre, stealing millions of hearts with his smoldering looks and witty comebacks. As an internationally acclaimed teen idol, he seemed to have a secure future.
Throughout the run of ‘The Vampire Diaries‘ from 2009 to 2017, the belief remained intact. In fact, many fans were expecting even bigger projects from the television star. But right at the peak of his success and fame, he abruptly called it quits on acting. Now, after keeping silent about this issue for nearly seven years, the actor is sharing what really went on behind the scenes.
Ian Somerhalder’s Breaking Point Behind The Scenes
Ian Somerhalder began his career as a child model before jumping into acting. He first turned heads in 2004 with his television debut as Boone Carlyle on ‘Lost.’ But it was ‘The Vampire Diaries’ that launched him into global stardom in 2009.
He became a teen heartthrob with his portrayal of the bad-boy vampire Damon Salvatore. While the series raised eyebrows for its declining quality in later seasons, Somerhalder’s popularity never took a massive hit.
After the CW show’s 2017 conclusion, Ian rewarded fans by appearing as Dr. Luther Swann in ‘V Wars.’ But in August 2019, the actor pulled the plug on acting, a decision that sent shockwaves across the television community and the fandoms.
Currently, the actor is focusing on other areas of business with his wife, Nikki Reed, after shifting to their farm in California with their two kids. In a July 9 episode of the Haley on the Go podcast, Somerhalder revealed the “really honest, kind of controversial” reason that made him walk away from Hollywood.
“I wanted to do V Wars because it was me, not as a vampire; it was me as a scientist,” he said of the 2019 Netflix series. “[We] shot the show, moved my whole family to Northern Ontario. Worked really hard on this thing for almost a year, and the show that got turned in wasn’t even watchable.”
“I said to the studio, ‘I don’t want to put my name on this. I’ll give you the money back—I’ll give you millions of dollars.’ And they were like, ‘What? What are you talking about?’” Sommerhalder claimed he told Netflix that he and his producing partner, James Gibb, need “creative control of the show” to fix it. Did it work out?
Somerhalder Walked Away From Hollywood’s Power Plays
Somerhalder revealed that the streaming giant refused to invest more money. It prompted him and Gibb to raise over $6 million to implement the changes. The duo shot 10 to 12 hours of footage over six days, a hectic schedule that landed the actor in the hospital due to exhaustion.
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When ‘V Wars’ came out in December 2019, the show was a “hit,” according to Somerhalder, but Netflix still canceled it. The actor claimed that while the show’s executive were having their own differences, someone from upper management shelved the project.
Bigwigs at Netflix did express remorse. But they didn’t bring the show back, fearing it would set a “terrible” precedent, according to the ‘Lost’ star. “I looked at myself in the mirror, and I said to my wife, I was like, ‘Man, I’m 40 years old,'” Somerhalder said.
“‘I don’t want to spend two years of my life doing something, working this hard—one year fully unpaid—for this executive who had issues in high school, so they want to exert power now, [to cancel it],’” he added.
The actor ultimately decided not to let people with “mommy or daddy issues” dictate his career choices. “So I pulled the plug. That was it. I walked away…These executives are bitching at each other, and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me? Done. I’m out.’”
Somerhalder can always make his Hollywood comeback, but the possibility remains slim. In 2024, he told PEOPLE that his acting career was “in the rearview mirror.” While he informed fans that he had regained the rights to ‘V Wars,’ he sounded doubtful about making another season.
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