The Vampire Diaries: 25 Facts The CW Tried To Keep Secret
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What could be darker than a group of vampires? These 25 Dark Secrets from the set of the popular CW hit show, Vampire Diaries!
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One of the most popular classic mythological creatures in the last couple of decades is no doubt the vampire. From the first time fans saw Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson make eye contact in Twilight to the steamy romance heating up the southern United States in HBO’s True Blood, the world of entertainment has long been obsessed with the ageless and beautiful creatures with a lust for consuming blood. However, younger audiences around the world can attest that one show captured their hearts more than others, and that is The Vampire Diaries. The story of the Salvatore Brothers and the love triangle between them and modern day human Elena Gilbert captured the hearts of teens and young adults everywhere. From the brother’s centuries-old feud to battling ancient creatures long thought gone, the show became a staple of the CW network, and yet, the show was not without its fair share of controversies and secrets behind the scenes.
Actors faced jail time after some shocking crimes. Others had run-ins with the law over misunderstandings. Some behind the scenes romances led to some very awkward and uncomfortable break-ups, and some led to some strange shake-ups amongst the cast members leaving the show. The biggest secret on the set may shock you, however, when you learn of one actor’s struggle with parenthood and what they had to go through while filming the show. So grab a bunch of vervain and your daylight rings, because we are going to Mystic Falls and exploring the twenty-five darkest secrets you never knew about on the show.
25 Second Chances
While shows have had characters change actors before, changing a series star like Elena Gilbert on The Vampire Diaries just doesn’t make sense. Star Nina Dobrev has become the iconic star of the show, and no one can imagine anyone but her playing the human protagonist Elena Gilbert.
However, it may shock viewers to know that her first audition for the show did not go very well.
In fact, if it wasn’t for her perseverance, she would never have gotten the part. Show star Nina Dobrev almost didn’t make it into the show. The first audition tape she made was apparently so bad series creator Julie Plec said they never gave her a second glance. It was because Nina was sick during the making of the audition tape, and so she made a second audition tape that was so good that it landed her the role. Can you imagine the show without her?
24 Political Strife
Actors and others working in the entertainment industry getting into trouble with the law is not shocking. It kind of comes with the territory of working in Hollywood, and nowadays we are seeing a lot of crimes finally coming to light. However some crimes are so intense that it brings unknown actors to the forefront.
One actress with an incredibly minor role on the show went on to have a dark future.
Actress Shannon Guess or Shannon Richardson as she’s also known was arrested in 2013 after it was discovered she had sent letters covered in ricin to then President Barack Obama and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. She at first tried to tie the crime to her husband, saying she had discovered the poison and had thought he was trying to destroy her and her unborn child at the time. However, she later confessed to the crime and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
23 Photo Shoot Disaster
Getting a starring role on a major network show like The Vampire Diaries must have been such a huge moment for the stars of the show. Most of them had only had small roles up till that point, and this show would become a big platform that would launch their careers. However, four of the stars could have had their career cut short before the show premiered thanks to a huge misunderstanding. Before the show’s premiere, several of the actresses from the show did a special photo shoot in Georgia with famed photographer Tyler Shields. However, the photoshoot ended up landing them in prison briefly, as the photo shoot was on a bridge and several motorists unaware of the shoot thought the women were dangling from the bridge and exposing themselves to oncoming traffic. The actresses and photographer were booked and forced to pay a $1,000 fine in order to get released.
22 Honeymoon Nightmare
Love is a complicated thing. I don’t think any relationship in the public eye has not faced some sort of hardship or scrutiny, and so when Hollywood relationships end, it’s not shocking that personal struggles ensue. One of the bigger controversies on the show happened when stars Ian Somerholder and Nina Dobrev ended their real-life relationship, and soon after, he married he and Nina’s longtime friend and Twilight star Nikki Reed. While on their honeymoon in Paris, several eager fans waited for the couple to emerge from their hotel, hoping to get pictures and autographs. However, Ian wasn’t having any of it, telling the crowd that he loved them but he wasn’t going to pose or sign anything, as it was their day and not the fans. This angered a lot of fans but I’m sure a lot of people out there could see where he was coming from.
21 LGBTQ Letdown
LGBTQ storylines and characters have advanced a lot over the last couple of decades. Putting forth content that elevates the LGBTQ community in a positive and worthwhile light is something that has been genuinely great to see unfold over the last few years. However, establishing solid characters and stories using these elements doesn’t always pan out the way we hope, and in recent years some shows have unfortunately eliminated several of their LGBTQ characters.
The show became one of several that faced extreme backlash from fans after they made a controversial decision.
In the seventh season episode “Days of Future Past,” the show eliminated two lesbian characters, and although their demise had a big impact on the story, the fans were not thrilled. The 100 and The Walking Dead had also recently eliminated gay characters, and so the backlash was strong within the LGBTQ community.
20 Delena For Life
Fans of the show, for the most part, shipped the relationship between Elena and Damon. The romance between the series bad boy and the human girl swept into the life or demise circumstances of the supernatural world enraptured audiences for years and made the show the longest running vampire show in television history. However, not everyone on the show loved the romance between the two, and things nearly ended up differently. Before the show’s end, creator Julie Plec had hoped to find a way to bring Stefan and Elena back together. Although she loved writing the character of Caroline Forbes, who ended up with Stefan, she had hoped to bring the original couple back together in the end. However, when Nina Dobrev departed the show before it’s end, story-wise it made no sense to break up Elena and Damon and force her into a relationship with Stefan. Thus Delena lives on forever!
19 Star Shake-Up
While the show enjoyed a long run on the CW, the last two seasons of the show shockingly had the show’s protagonist suddenly disappear. That’s because the show’s star left the show very suddenly and left a huge hole in our hearts.
One of the biggest shocks of the show had to be when star Nina Dobrev left the show in its sixth season.
The show ended in season 8, so fans were left wondering why they went through two seasons without the show’s main character. While some fans theorized it was because of her breakup with Ian Somerholder, who played her character’s love interest, Damon Salvatore. However, as she explains it, Dobrev left because she was exhausted and needed time to relax and explore new opportunities. Whether you believe her or not, the void she left behind with her departure was certainly felt, even with her guest appearance in the series finale.
18 Wrong Choice
While the show cast Nina Dobrev as the show’s main character, she was one of several young and popular actresses who auditioned for the role, and one star, in particular, came very close to snagging the role for themselves, which nearly changed the whole dynamic of the show. The Vampire Diaries nearly had a very different Elena Gilbert. Originally the part was going to go to megastar Ashley Tisdale, who had garnered fame from her roles in High School Musical and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
However, she failed to get the part after she declined the audition.
She also turned down a role on the popular franchise Pretty Little Liars, opting instead to dive into a new show called Hellcats on the CW about competitive cheerleading. The show only had one season before it was canceled, so it might not have been Tisdale’s finest acting choice in her career.
17 Working Relationship
As we’ve talked about before, romances that bloom up behind the scenes of the show can create a lot of positive buzz about the show, but when that romance ends it can create a lot of drama. The show had a huge shakeup behind the scenes after stars Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerholder ended their romantic relationship. Rumors swirled as to the cause, with some speculating it was a romance bloomed from their work and wasn’t sustainable, while others speculated one of the stars was ready to settle down while the other wasn’t. Rumors flew when Ian, soon after the breakup, married their longtime friend and Twilight star Nikki Reed, and Nina cryptically tweeted, “Ask for forgiveness, not permission.” In recent years Nina and Nikki have put rumors to rest that they hate each other and have moved on, but the rumors continue to swirl that he cheated on Nina with Nikki. Oh Hollywood…
16 Awkward Scenes
Filming scenes that are a bit more grown-up than normal requires a lot of work and planning. It can get a bit awkward to film these scenes, so sometimes actors take it upon themselves to liven up and diffuse the awkwardness between themselves and their scene partner. In the season 3 premiere, there is a scene with Elena walking in on Damon, who is walking around sans clothes. Well, something that may shock fans is that when filming the scene, Ian Somerholder decided to play a joke on Nina Dobrev while filming. When filming scenes without clothes, actors usually have to wear some protective material for their private areas. When Ian put this material on, he taped elephant ears made by the prop department onto his thighs, making it look like an elephant was greeting Nina. The shocked reaction we see on the show is genuine shock from the actress as she looks at his private area.
15 What’s In A Name?
Shows like The Vampire Diaries usually make certain aspects of their show iconic in pop culture. What would Cheers be without series regular Norm? What would True Blood be without the iconic line, “Sookie is mine!”? These characters and lines become ingrained into the DNA of our pop culture, and yet it may shock viewers to know that sometimes these shows make these iconic names on a spur of the moment decision, and we nearly end up with a totally different name and icon. The name Salvatore is as iconic as the show itself, and yet the show nearly had changed the brother’s name before the show aired. Originally the writers had changed their name to Whitmore in the script, but I think it’s safe to say they had a near miss failure with that choice. Thankfully they changed it to Salvatore, but man can you guys imagine?
14 Vampire Heaven?
One of the pitfalls of young Hollywood stars is when they take on iconic roles at such a young age, they usually end up getting typecast or not cast at all in projects because all directors and writers can see is that one role they became known for, and it ends up stifling the creative process. One actor who originally tried out for the roles of Stefan and Damon Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries was actor David Gallagher, who played Simon Camden in the hit show 7th Heaven. However producers and creator Julie Plec worried that Gallagher wouldn’t be able to shed the typecast Christian role he had been playing on his previous show, and so ruled him out. However, after watching him in the film Super 8, Plec realized he was capable of reading for some dark roles and had him audition for the role of a werewolf named Ray Sutton.
13 Changes
In the course of the show, fans got to see werewolves, vampires, witches, and Originals, take center stage in the small town of Mystic Falls. However, it might shock you to know that the author of the books the show is based on was never consulted about the series. While author L.J. Smith loved the show, she told MTV that her input was never asked by the show-runners, and it shows in the lack of other supernatural creatures from the books like angels and fox creatures. Also several of the characters went in different directions, from Elena and Katherine’s personality switch from the books to the screen and characters like Tyler Lockwood becoming more prominent. It’s strange to think about. If the show-runners had followed the books more closely, we would have seen a lot of weird storylines take shape, and some of our favorite characters would never have made it past the second season.
12 Irony
Getting rejected by a show is nothing actors and actresses haven’t faced before. However, one of the strangest and funniest secrets of Hollywood is that often these actors end up on the show they were rejected on, just as a guest star or secondary character rather than the starring role they had gone out for, to begin with. Before Nina Dobrev landed the role of Elena, the producers of the show auditioned several young actresses, including actress Alexandra Chando, who had starred in shows like Rockville CA and As The World Turns (later starred in The Lying Game). She auditioned for the role four times, each one just as good as the last. However, they didn’t see her as Elena and chose Nina instead. However, years later they would have Alexandra return to the show for one episode in season 8, aptly titled “We Have History Together” and playing a doctor.
11 The Show That Almost Wasn’t
It takes a lot of work to get a show off the ground. From finding the right writers to bring the story to life to casting the stars of the show, there’s a lot of prep that goes into these kinds of things. However, a key component of any successful show is finding the right show-runner to manage and create the show itself. Creator Kevin Williamson brought The Vampire Diaries to life at the start, but he nearly didn’t take the job. Julie Plec had him read the first book, and he nearly stopped his role in the show, saying it was just like the film series Twilight. However, at Plec’s encouragement, he continued reading and saw how different the two stories were. Despite the uphill battle with making a name for themselves with True Blood and Twilight becoming popular, he managed to make the show an icon on The CW.
10 No Delena
As previously mentioned, longtime fans of the show The Vampire Diaries have long clamored for characters and series stars Elena and Damon to end up together as a couple. While these types of forbidden romances or “will they, won’t they” drama aspects of a show play out for years, on this show, the characters ended up together after only a few seasons. While the couple’s romantic story is the stuff of legends in the Vampire Diaries universe, showrunner Julie Plec originally had a whole different idea about their relationship.
Did you know that Delena was nearly never a thing?
Apparently, not only did the show creators want to keep the couple apart for three or four seasons, but Julie Plec didn’t even want the two to end up together, at least not human Elena and vampire Damon. However, she gave into fan requests and brought the couple together much sooner.
9 Fake
So often in television fan favorite characters become iconic for a multitude of reasons. Reasons like their stories or their looks, but also for minor things like their sense of fashion or a specific hairstyle. Everyone remembers the early years of Friends when Rachel’s haircut became so iconic that it was officially dubbed “The Rachel.” However, it might shock some fans to know that a specific character’s hairstyle was not only praised by the community, but it wasn’t even their natural hairstyle. While most people expect actors to undergo makeup or hair changes, it’s shocking to learn that a character’s hairstyle is actually a wig, not a haircut. It might seem minor, but something odd you may have never known was that Nina Dobrev’s hair during her run on the show was fake. Not all of it of course, but she wore wigs in her dual roles of Elena and Katherine.
8 Persistent
Callbacks are a long-held tradition in Hollywood. Actors sometimes nail a role immediately, but other times they give good performances that don’t persuade a casting director one way or another, and so they have to come in one or two more times to work on the role until they can make a decision one way or another. However, one actor from The Vampire Diaries had to endure a much more grueling audition process. It’s quite a shock. While several of the stars had long audition processes, one actor had to go back and audition a grand total of 15 times.
That actor was Paul Wesley.
While no one can imagine the show with a Stefan played by anyone other than Paul Wesley, he had to audition for the role fifteen times before he finally got the part. Why did it take so long to nail down the role?
7 The Vampire Dating Game
We’ve talked so much on this subject, but you wouldn’t believe the sheer volume of behind the scenes romances that appeared on the set of The Vampire Diaries. Working in such close proximity with one another can drive actors to spend more personal time with their costars, and when those romances end it can have some strange consequences on the story of a television show. Looking back on it, the show appears to have been a much more close and intimate cast of people than you would expect. Apparently, the show was a hotbed for real-life relationships. Not only did Ian and Nina have a relationship during the show’s run, but the actor who plays Klaus is married in real life to the actress who plays Bonnie’s mom, and Paul Wesley dated both Torrey DeVito, who played Meredith Fell, and Phoebe Tonkin, who played Hayley the werewolf.
6 Personality Change
Sometimes an actor’s character can undergo some growing pains within the narrative of the show. Characters who have long been the moral backbone of a show can suddenly turn sour and start sabotaging the plot with their irrational choices. Other times, long-held rivals can suddenly become partners in their shared mission, while others get a whole lot closer than that. Yet, sometimes actors can become quite upset or frustrated with the direction the writers of a show take their character, especially if that actor has been playing the role for so long that it’s nearly a part of them and their minds. Apparently, actor Ian Somerholder hated one aspect of his character’s journey, and that was when Damon stopped being the bad boy. Apparently, when the show started to make Damon more sympathetic, emotional and kind, Ian was bummed as he preferred playing the role of bad Damon.
Anthony Avina is an author, a blogger and an avid gamer, and not in that particular order.
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/the-vampire-diary-facts-the-cw-tried-to-keep-secret/