PW: Last week we watched Caroline get turned — what was your reaction to that plot twist?
Ian: We lost Vicki last year and losing Kayla [Ewell] was brutal. Anyone who turns into a vampire ends up dying – quickly. So it gave us pause because Candice [Accola] is such a phenomenally talented actress and Caroline is such a great, witty, smart character that losing her was the last thing we wanted. But now she’s a hot, witty strong vampire. Plus, I’ve been playing this vampire for 18 months, Damon’s been one for over 100 years, so I forget that there are subtleties to playing a vampire that I’ve known for a while. It’s cool to watch someone start to figure it out.
PW: Does Damon come around on his desire to kill her?
Ian: He wants her dead. That’s what makes sense to him – but Caroline starts to prove herself to Damon. The reality is, there are some major problems with a couple of the elements coming to town and Damon & Stefan are going to need all the help they can get. They’ll be forced to put some of their differences aside to protect what they love.
PW: Which is?
Ian: Which is Mystic Falls and Elena. The reality is, they’ve had every opportunity kill one another 100 times over. And now that Katherine’s back, she could take either one of them out with one arm tied behind her back and one eye closed. And they know that. And that’s a big problem. Then you’ve got Mason Lockwood coming into play – the brothers are facing some big problems. They’re Bear Stearns a couple years ago.
“The dynamics in which this guy lives by are so skewed,” Somerhalder told MTV News recently. “But at the end of the day, and it sounds so cliché, but at the end of the day, he does everything — like all of us do — for love. In some fashion or another, that is why he does what he does. He may go about it in very unconventional, unorthodox, unethical ways, but he does them nonetheless, and he believes in what he’s doing and he has a blast at what he’s doing.”
Somerhalder said one thing that has tripped him up a bit this season is playing out the changes in Damon’s sensitivity. “There’s been this turn, and it’s tough,” Somerhalder said. “It’s not easy to play. This softer side of Damon is really difficult for me to find. It’s very counterintuitive.”
Damon has grown from being such a sweet person, as we see in flashbacks, to someone so full of anger.
I think what’s sad about Damon is that he’s such a tortured character. In life, we use humor as a band aid; it’s a medicine for pain, which is why comedians are the most miserable people you’ve ever met. These two brothers have dealt with a pretty substantial amount of pain in their lives, like anybody, except it’s drawn out over a century and a half. I think now, Damon feels, if anything, just stupid. You know when you do something you know is your fault and you’ve suffered from it? You just want to slap yourself.
There are petitions online that want you to be nominated for an Emmy.
Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. Damon being [Entertainment Weekly's] Sexiest Beast and me being nominated for an Emmy are two very different things. If I had that mind compulsion thing that Damon had I could probably go to the Academy and just brainwash them all.
If Stefan and Elena’s relationship is so great, why do you think there are so many Delena fans out there?
I don’t know. I think the only difference is, Stefan’s a much more sound individual. I just think the only reason is, Stefan’s got so much to deal with… with his brother, protecting his girlfriend, all of this ****, that Damon just has a lot more fun, and I think Stefan is just so concerned with protecting or making everything right, that Elena ends up having more fun with Damon.