33 Interesting Facts About The Vampire Diaries TV Series That We Didn't Know Until Today
We are gathered here today to celebrate the anniversary of one of the most romantic, eventful, and suspenseful television series' to grace the air. We are celebrating The Vampire Diaries' 10-year anniversary since airing on CW.
If you've seen this show then you know the roller coaster of emotions that this series put us all through and clearly we are in need of more torture because we are here to look t some fun behind-the-scenes moments from the show. We'll be looking into the relationships of the actors, who were almost cast for the roles, and even more juicy secrets.
This is the perfect article for any Vampire Diaries lover who just needs a bit more to read about the series because clearly 8 seasons just weren't enough for us. If you've never seen the series we definitely recommend you watching because it is incredible.
You probably have never even heard of some of these facts about the series. I mean, for the most part, we all just watch the show and fall in love with it, but we don't look into the casting roles and any other facts that could make the show a bit more interesting.
Let's dive into these 33 facts that nobody knew about The Vampire Diaries.
It's been 10 years since the premiere of The Vampire Diaries.
Toby Canham / Getty Images1. The pilot episode made The CW history.
At the time, this show generated the biggest audience since CW opened in 2006.
MTV2. The Salvatore brothers almost had a different last name.
In the original script, their names were actually listed at Whitmore, but they decided to change it to Salvatore to match the book series.
Larry Marano / WireImage3. Co-creator and executive producer, Kevin Williamson, initially turned down The Vampire Diaries pitch.
Originally he turned down the series comparing it to another Twilight and that wasn't in his interest, but he eventually accepted it when CW came to him with the idea.
John Sciulli / Getty Images for The CW4. Nina Dobrev bombed her audition.
"The first impression of Nina is that she didn’t make an impression," TVD co-creator and executive producer, Julie Plec, told Entertainment Weekly. "None of us remembered seeing her for the first time."
Dobrev admitted that she was sick during her audition and she later sent in another video for her audition in order to make up for it.
The CW5. Casting Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert caused backlash from fans.
In the book series, Elena is actually blonde with blue eyes and clearly, Nina doesn't fit that description.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images6. Ashlee Simpson and Ashley Tisdale were considered for the role of Elena Gilbert.
Ashlee Simpson was the first choice for Elena Gilbert, but after watching Nina's audition that went right out the window. Ashley Tisdale was also another consideration for the part.
Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images, Michael Buckner / Getty Images7. Several cast members auditioned for Damon Salvatore.
Paul Wesley, who got the role of Stefan actually auditioned to be Damon Salvatore at first.
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images, Chris Mckay / Getty Images, Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
8. David Gallagher was considered for the role of Damon Salvatore.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
9. Ian Somerhalder bombed his audition.
"Whether it was too much coffee, that B12 shot I gave myself, who knows? I bombed it," Somerhalder said during a panel.
"I had to go back and re-test. I went in and did it and oddly enough, ended up getting the call. But it was after 10 days of virtual hell."
The CW
10. Ian actually auditioned for a different vampire show.
"I always wanted to play one," Somerhalder told Newsweek. "I auditioned for True Blood (Ryan Kwanten's role: Jason Stackhouse).
I just couldn't convince Alan Ball that was my role. And then I didn't get it, and I was very bummed.
I couldn't watch True Blood until now."
HBO
11. Tyler Lockwood wasn't supposed to be a major character.
"He was strictly in a supporting role," Plec told THR. "He is somebody who we could have done without, perhaps, in the beginning of the show.
We knew [his werewolf/hybrid storyline] was going to be really important, so we wanted to include him in the series regular group."
The CW
12. The Vampire Diaries' co-creators thought the show was going to tank.
"Kevin and I were convinced that the launch would be the most embarrassing thing that ever hit network television and we would be dead in the water," Plec told THR. "We were convinced this would be the thing that spawned 1,000 articles about how vampires are over."
Amanda Edwards / Getty Images
13. But Nina Dobrev had a feeling the show was going to be a hit.
"It felt right. Everyone made fun of me because I was the only one who bought a property [in Atlanta] when we first started shooting the series," Dobrev told THR. "Cut to five years later and I'm the only one who didn't have to pay five years of rent."
The CW
14. There were A LOT of romantic relationships happening on and off the set.
Candice King dated Zach Roerig (Matt Donovan) and Steven R. McQueen (Jeremy Gilbert). She's now married to The Fray's Joe King.
Paul Wesley dated Phoebe Tonkin (Hayley Marshall). He's now married to Ines de Ramon.
Joseph Morgan (Klaus) met Persia White (Abby Bennett Wilson) during Season 3. They later married in 2014.
Christopher Polk / WireImage, Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
15. The co-creators didn't want the show to be too supernatural.
The creators were of course inspired by the book series but they had a goal to keep the supernatural theme of it out of their series.
The CW
16. The main cast earned equal pay.
Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder made $30-40K per episode.
Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
17. Nina Dobrev is younger than Steven R. McQueen IRL.
On the show, Steven R. McQueen plays Nina Dobrev's younger brother, but in reality, Nina is younger than him.
Stefanie Keenan / WireImage
18. Katherine Pierce was orginally going to be a minor character.
Katherine Pierce was originally only supposed to be in the show for Season 2, but fans were immediately drawn to her character.
The CW
19. Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce's roles were reversed.
In the books, the personalities of both girls are switched. Elena, in the book, is more so the mean girl type, but in the series, she's actually the quiet reserved one and Katherine is the mean girl type.
The CW
20. Katherine Pierce is Bulgarian for a reason.
Katherine Pierce speaks Bulgarian frequently because Nina Dobrev is actually Bulgarian.
The CW
21. Season 6 was dedicated to the '90s.
When Liv sent Elena and Damon back to the 90s the producers thought it would be fun to name each episode in Season 6 after a popular 90s song.
Netflix
22. Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder directed episodes.
Wesley directed five episodes while Somerhalder directed three videos.
Michael Buckner / Getty Images
23. There's a Fifty Shades of Grey connection in the series.
Somerhalder auditioned for the movie Fifty Shades Of Grey but didn't get the part. You can see him reading the book right here.
Jason Merritt / Getty Images
24. There's also a Dawson's Creek connection.
James Van Der Beek auditioned for the role of Alaric.
John Sciulli / Getty Images, The CW
25. Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley didn't connect off-screen in the beginning.
"Paul and I didn't get along at the beginning of the show." Dobrev told Candice King and Kayla Ewell on their podcast, Directionally Charged. "I respected Paul Wesley, I didn't like Paul Wesley."
Instagram: @nina
26. Sarah Michelle Gellar turned down The Vampire Diaries.
"She was very appreciative but just said no," Williamson told the New York Post. "She was the only stunt casting we'd have ever agreed to. [Laughs.]"
Getty Images
27. Lexi Branson was inspired by Taylor Swift.
"I'm desperate to have [Swift] come play a vampire," Williamson told E! News. "Wouldn't she make an amazing Kirsten Dunst circa Interview with the Vampire-type?
Oh my God, I cannot tell you how hard I'm trying to get her. I would kill to have her on the show!"
Larry Busacca / Getty Images
28. The Mystic Grill was a real hangout spot off-screen.
The Mystic Grill was inspired by a real bar in Vancouver, Canada, so when they filmed the rest in Georgia they built one to replicate it. This became a popular hangout spot for the cast when they weren't filming.
Getty Images
29. Season 8 paid homage to Season 1.
All of the episode titles in Season 8 are lines from Season 1.
Netflix
30. Several series endings were discussed.
"Both brothers should die in the name of saving their girl and then be watching her like ghosts—because we had introduced the Other Side—as she went off into the sunset to live her life," Plec revealed to EW, "and maybe marry Matt Donovan or maybe become a doctor, but that those brothers would be side-by-side watching her live."
The CW
31. Nina Dobrev's exit changed their series finale plans.
"There were two pitches on the table: one that gave perfect closure to the season and then another that gave closure to the whole series," Plec explained to EW, adding they had "just as many discussions over killing Damon as we did over killing Stefan, and let me tell you, for a very long time the pendulum swung the other way."
The CW
32. The final words in the series sounded a little different too.
"Hello, brother" were the first words Damon spoke in the pilot episode and they just so happened to be the final words spoken in the series, after the Salvatore brothers were reunited.
The CW
33. The Vampire Diaries is the longest running vampire show...ever!
Bob Mahoney / The CW
If you are a Vampire Diaries fan hen you may have known some of these things and if not, then I'm sure it was super fun hearing about all the behind-the-scenes secrets. Overall I definitely think hearing the untold facts about TV shows is quite entertaining.
Did you learn anything new from this article?
