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Ian Somerhalder

Name

Ian Joseph Somerhalder

Birthplace

Covington, Louisiana

Birth date

December 8, 1978 (age 34)

Occupation

Actor/Model/Producer

Played

Damon Salvatore

Season(s)

1 ▪ 2 ▪ 3 ▪ 4 • 5

“	To explore different parts of yourself and different emotional lives....not to hide from who you are but to actually explore who you are.	”
	— Ian Somerhalder on his reasons for becoming an actor

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

BiographyEdit

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 LifeEdit

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 LifeEdit

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.

CareerEdit

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 CareerEdit

Television Edit

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

FilmsEdit

Year	Movie	Role
2008	Celebrity
2001	Life as a House
2002	Changing Hearts
	The Rules of Attraction
2004	In Enemy Hands
	The Old Man and the Studio
2006	National Lampoon's TV: The Movie
	Pulse
	The Sensation of Sight
2008	The Lost Samaritan
2009	Wake
	The Tournament
2010	How to Make Love to a Woman

AwardsEdit

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 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

2011 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

TriviaEdit

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 Matt 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. Music video
He is dating his co-star, Nina Dobrev since 2010.
Ian is close friends with his co-stars.
Ian plays the piano well.
He is the newest model for Penshoppe All-Stars.
His celebrity crush is Morgan Schnick
Ian is 5'9.
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.