Ian Somerhalder

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“	I’m starting to see my life surface in the art and I’m starting to see the art surfacing in my life. It’s a very interesting dichotomy actors live but they’re supposed to be intertwined. Art should imitate life and life should imitate art.	”
	— Ian Somerhalder on ETOnline

Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American actor, fashion model, and producer who plays Damon Salvatore on Template:The Vampire Diaries.

Biography

Ian Somerhalder was born in Covington, Louisiana on December 8, 1978. His father, Robert Somerhalder, was a building contractor of French and English descent, and his mother, Edna, who is of Irish and Choctaw descent, was a massage therapist. He has a brother, Robert, a wood worker, and a sister, Robyn, a broadcast journalist. Boating, swimming, fishing and training horses filled much of his recreational time growing up, as did the school drama club and performing with the local theater group.

With his mother's encouragement, at age 10 he began a modeling career that took him to New York each summer. By the time he was in junior high, he opted to put modeling on the back burner and focus more on sports and school. A few years later, when the opportunity to model in Europe arose, Somerhalder grabbed it, embarking on an enriching path of work, travel and study that took him to cities including Paris, Milan and London.

At 17, he began studying acting in New York, and by 19 had committed himself to the craft, working with preeminent acting coach William Esper. His fate was sealed while working as an extra in a club scene in the feature film Black & White(1999). A talent manager visiting a client on the set spotted Somerhalder in a crowd scene of 400 and immediately signed him for representation. Happy to be anchored in New York, Somerhalder spends much of his time studying acting, writinng and practicing yoga. His recreational interests include water and snow skiing and horseback riding. Recently, he has helped raise funds for 'Disaster in the Gulf', to help the people affected by an oil spill on the coast.

Early Life

Somerhalder was born and raised up in Covington, Louisiana, the son of Edna, a massage therapist, and Robert Somerhalder, an independent building contractor. He was raised as a Catholic, he attended St. Paul's, a private Catholic school in Covington. He embarked on a modelling career from the age of 10. By the age of 17, he began to give acting a try.

Personal Life

While Ian was working on Vampire Diaries, he started dating his co-star Nina Dobrev. He enjoys reading, music, yoga and traveling. He has 3 cats with Nina Dobrev; Jama-Lynx, Dennis and Moke. He likes the colors red, black, blue and white. He and Nina have now split up.

Career

In the summer of 2000 Somerhalder starred in the short-lived WB series, Young Americans, a spin-off of Dawson's Creek. He played Hamilton Fleming, the son of the dean of a prestigious boarding school, who falls in love with a fellow student. The series was filmed in Havre de Grace, Maryland.In 2002, Somerhalder played Paul Denton in Roger Avary's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel, The Rules of Attraction, alongside James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, and Jessica Biel. In May 2006, Somerhalder was named one of DNA Models' Top 10 Male Models. He played the role of Boone Carlyle on the hit TV-series Lost. Somerhalder guest starred as Nick in HBO's Tell Me You Love Me, appearing fully nude in a sex scene with actress Michelle Borth. In September 2009, Somerhalder appeared in the movie The Tournament where he played the role of an assassin participating in a lethal competition with other assassins. On 10 October 2009, it was announced that he will star in the Gothic movie Cradlewood, which is to be directed by Harry Weinmann. The movie doesn't have a schedule yet. Somerhalder also appears in the limited-edition coffee table book About Face by celebrity photographer John Russo and Pixie Press Worldwide publishers. Somerhalder currently stars as the vampire Damon Salvatore in the CW TVteen drama series The Vampire Diaries. For his 32nd birthday he established a foundation.

Acting Career

Television

Year	TV show	Role
1997	The Big Easy
1999	Now and Again
2000	Young Americans
2001	Anatomy of a Hate Crime
2002	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2003	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
	CSI: Miami
2004	Fearless
	Smallville	Adam Knight
2007	Marco Polo
	Tell Me You Love Me
2008	Lost City Raiders
2009	Fireball
2010/4	Lost	Boone Carlyle
2009-present	The Vampire Diaries	Damon Salvatore

Films

Year	Movie	Role	Notes
2008	Celebrity	Unconfirmed	Uncredited
2001	Life as a House	Josh
2002	Changing Hearts	Jason Kelly
2002	The Rules of Attraction	Paul Denton
2004	In Enemy Hands	U.S.S. Swordfish Danny Miller
2004	The Old Man and the Studio	Matt	Short Film
2006	National Lampoon's TV: The Movie	Unconfirmed	Uncredited
2006	Pulse	Dexter
2006	The Sensation of Sight	Drifter
2008	The Lost Samaritan	William Archer
2009	Wake	Tyler
2009	The Tournament	Miles Shade
2010	How to Make Love to a Woman	Daniel Meltzer
2013	Caught On Tape	Officer Lewis
2013	Time Framed	Agent Black	Short Film

Awards

0325-ian-accepting-award ob — Accepting Genesis Award

2002 Young Hollywood Awards- Exciting New Face-Male, N/A, Won

2005 Teen Choice Awards-Choice TV Breakout Performance-Male, Lost, Nominated

2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards-Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Lost(with cast), Won

2010 Young Hollywood Awards- Cast To watch(Along with Nina Dobrev & Paul Wesley), The Vampire Diaries, Won

2010 Teen Choice Awards-Choice TV Villain, The Vampire Diaries, Won

2010 Teen Choice Awards- Choice Male Hottie, The Vampire Diaries, Nominated

2011 Teen Choice Awards-Choice TV actor Fantasy Sci/Fi, The Vampire Diaries, Won

2011 Teen Choice Awards-Choice Vampire, The Vampire Diaries, Nominated

2011 Teen Choice Awards- Choice Male Hottie Nominated

2011 People's Choice Awards- Favorite TV Actor Drama, The Vampire Diaries, Nominated

2011 J-14 Teen Icon Awards- Iconic TV Actor, The Vampire Diaries, Nominated

2012 People's Choice Awards- Favorite TV Actor Drama, The Vampire Diaries, Nominated

2012 Genesis Awards- Wyler Award, for his environment work, Won

2012 Teen Choice Awards- Choice TV Actor Fantasy Sci/Fi, The Vampire Diaries, Won

2012 Teen Choice Awards- Choice Male Hottie Won

2012 Do Something Award- Best TV Star, The Vampire Diaries, Nominated

2012 Do Something Award- Twitter, Nominated

2012 Environmental Media Awards-EMA Futures Award, Won

2012 Fright Night Awards-Favorite Male TV/ Movie Vampire The Vampire Diaries, Won

2012 International Green Awards-Most Responsible Celebrity, Won

2012 J-14 Teen Icon Awards- Iconic TV Actor, The Vampire Diaries, Nominated

2013 People's Choice Awards- Favorite TV Actor Drama, The Vampire Diaries, Nominated

2013 Teen Choice Awards- Choice TV Actor Fantasy Sci/Fi, The Vampire Diaries, Won

2014 People's Choice Awards- Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor, The Vampire Diaries, Won

2014 People's Choice Awards- Favorite On Screen Chemistry (with Nina Dobrev), The Vampire Diaries, Won

Trivia

Ian's nickname is 'Smolderholder'
Ian's full name is Ian Joseph Somerhalder.
Ian was born in Covington, Louisiana, USA.
Ian attended St Pauls.
Ian's favourite food is fish.
Ian's favourite colours are blue, yellow and red.
Ian's favourite song is 15 step by Radiohead.
Ian's favourite sport is soccer.
Ian owns a pizza parlour.
Ian owns a charity called Ian Somerhalder Foundation.
Ian was voted "Sexiest Beast" in an Entertainment Weekly poll.
Ian was the first actor to be cast in Lost.
Ian is the fourth oldest cast member of the Vampire Diaries. Casper Zafer (Finn) is the oldest then Daniel Gillies (Elijah) is second oldest and Matthew Davis (Alaric) is third oldest; he is exactly seven months older than Ian.
Ian played a recurring role in Smallville as Adam Knight, one of Lionel Luthor's genetic experiments who befriended Lana in order to find information on Clark Kent.
He is well known for his role as Boone Carlyle in Lost.
Ian is the second of the three cast members to appear on Smallville before the Vampire Diaries. The first was Paul Wesley (as Lucas Luthor), the third was Sara Canning (as Kat) and the fourth was Cassidy Freeman (as Tess Mercer).
Ian is a Sagittarius.
Ian is right-handed, as seen in videos.
Ian is of English, French, Choctaw and Irish descent.
Ian was raised a Catholic.
In 2011, he recorded a music video with Dima Bilan ^[1]
He dated his co-star, Nina Dobrev since 2010, but broke-up in May 2013.
Ian is close friends with his co-stars.
Ian plays the piano well.
He is the newest model for Penshoppe All-Stars.
Ian is 5'9 (177cm)
He is 79kg.
In December 2005, he played "Matt" in the Off-Broadway play, "Dog see God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead", at the Century Center for the Performing Arts.
His favorite sport is football. He has also played varsity soccer and baseball.
He shares 3 cats with Nina; Jama-Lynx, Moke and Dennis.
Ian, along with Kayla Ewell (Vicki) and Sara Canning (Jenna) are the only cast members among the main cast that haven't played a 2nd role.
According to Ian, it takes about 8-10 days to shoot an episode of TVD.