‘V Wars’ Star Ian Somerhalder on How He’s Over Playing ‘Sexy Vampires’ | Video
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“I wanted to find a character who was a superhero, but his superpowers were just being a good dad,” actor says
Ian Somerhalder wants you all to know that there are absolutely no sexy vampires in his new Netflix show, “V Wars.” None.
But he understands why people might think there would be, and why one might ask why he’s chosen to star in yet another vampire-themed series. After all, this year is the 10th anniversary of his other vampire show, “Vampire Diaries,” where he did play — in his words- a “sexy” vampire Damon Salvatore, for eight seasons.
“Yes. I could totally understand and recognize why that would be a question,” Somerhalder told TheWrap ahead of the “V Wars” premiere on Dec. 5. “I love the genre. I want to say I’ve learned a pretty good amount about the genre over the last decade.” You can watch the full interview above.
On “V Wars,” Somerhalder plays Dr. Luther Swann, who studies infectious diseases. Here is his breakdown of some of the differences between Swann and Salvatore:
“Damon was very charismatic, very fun, very sexy. He was a lunatic, and he was kind of an a-hole, but everyone liked him,” Somerhalder says. “I don’t know, I think maybe it was because he had a certain vulnerability to him. He really enjoyed what he did. Luther Swann is such a nice, normal dude. He’s not a vampire. And coming off of ‘Vampire Diaries’ and playing Damon for so long, I wanted to find a character who was a superhero, but his superpowers were just being a good dad.”
He also explained the differences between the vampires on “V Wars” and those on “Vampire Diaries.” On “V Wars,” which is based on the books by Jonathan Maberry, the creatures are called “Bloods.” They aren’t like Salvatore or “Twilight’s” Edward Cullen, who were turned centuries ago and have assimilated into society as ageless, physically perfect men ever since.
Instead, the Bloods are created when a human is exposed to a vicious disease that reenters society when an ancient prion — that’s the same type of protein that started Mad Cow disease — that was trapped in ice for centuries is melted as a result of climate change. As the disease begins to spread throughout the earth’s population, threatening a war between humans and Bloods, Dr. Swann attempts to control the outbreak, even as it spreads to those around him.
“You know, look,” he says. “Vampires are pretty. Even when they’re all vamped-out, they can still tell jokes and be sexy. The vampires on our show… If you were in a room with these people, well, first of all, you probably wouldn’t make it out. You would run for your life. They’re not sexy vampires.”
Watch the full interview above.