In September of this year, it marks exactly 15 years since the premiere of “The Vampire Diaries” and 20 years since the first airing of “Lost.” The role in the latter was one of the first in the career of 45-year-old actor Ian Somerhalder. In a new interview with People, Ian reflected on his work in these iconic series and explained why he decided to step back from his acting career.
According to Ian, the death of his character in the first season of “Lost” was a “humiliating experience” for him. Although he later appeared on screen in flashbacks, Ian admitted that he had a hard time coping with the loss of that job.
“I was the first of the characters to get thrown in jail and the first to be killed, and that was kind of a bitter pill to swallow.”
However, Somerhalder added that his brief time on set in Hawaii helped him develop a passion for environmental conservation.
“I had to do a lot of work to preserve the reefs. I had to work a lot on preserving soil and water resources even there. This was 2004; I was already involved in this, but my voice wasn’t as noticeable. In 2005, I left ‘Lost,’ which was quite humiliating. Then, in early 2009, ‘The Vampire Diaries’ came out. And that was a real breakthrough. Initially, it had a very, very young audience, but it grew up with the show and became bigger and bigger.”
Furthermore, Ian noted that “streaming changed the game” for both “Lost” and “The Vampire Diaries.”
“To date, ‘The Diaries’ has been watched by nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide. So, if you just analyze those numbers and look at the fact that there are 8 billion people on Earth, you’ll see that roughly one-eighth of the entire population of the planet is familiar with the project in one way or another.”
And while Somerhalder is grateful for the fame, his main priority remains work behind the scenes.
“It’s been five years since I started working as a producer on August 19. I stepped away from acting to start my own companies, release documentaries like ‘Kiss the Ground,’ ‘Common Ground,’ and ‘Ground Swell,’ and raise my kids. I remember discussing this with my management, and I said, ‘Hey, this is the only thing I’ve ever been so sure about: I will support my family and leave acting.’ I say this with all humility and respect, but I would rather focus on my family than spend a few months in some city shooting a TV show far away from my loved ones or, worse, dragging them back and forth.”
Now, according to the actor, he has reached a certain level that he needs to maintain.
“I want to focus on my family and the future of agriculture, food, energy, and other important things. I don’t need to chase after awards and other things that feed my ego.”
