Each week, fans of The Vampire Diaries despair along with the brooding Stefan Salvatore, played by Paul Wesley and drool over the bad boy with a heart, Damon Salvatore, played by Ian Somerhalder. These same fans try to keep up with the antics of Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce as Nina Dobrev keeps their heads on swivels as she whips from one situation to another one and another one. Then, there's the enigmatic, and downright hot, history teacher/vampire slayer, Alaric Saltzman portrayed perfectly by Matt Davis.
Everyone is so accustomed to these actors in the roles of these characters because they've been watching the show for the last three years. It's difficult to think of anyone else as Stefan, Damon, Elena and Alaric. However, as everyone knows, the creation of a television show takes a lot of work. Possibly the most important step of getting a series off the ground is selecting the best actors and actresses for each role. That means there will be auditions for the various characters that will be appearing in the show. So it should come as no surprise that there was every chance that other actors and actresses could have landed the roles that fans are so devoted to now. Some may surprise you, others will make you giggle, and still others may horrify you.
To begin with, fans love Paul Wesley in the role of Stefan Salvatore. However, Paul initially wanted to play the part of Damon Salvatore. He auditioned for Damon but the Powers that Be thought he would be better cast as Stefan. Truthfully, they weren't totally sure if he was the right one to play Stefan, either. That certainty didn't come until the pilot episode of The Vampire Diaries was filmed and they saw that he totally nailed it. Now. no one can ever imagine another face on Stefan except that of Paul Wesley's.
Speaking of Damon Salvatore, it seems that his character is the one that everyone wanted to play. There's little wonder, though, when you think of the type of character that Damon is. Besides Paul Wesley, there were three other actors that coveted the part of Damon. Zach Roerig auditioned to play Damon before landing the lesser role of Matt Donovan. It doesn't seem that he would have fit the part of Damon so a good decision was made there. Then, there was Michael Trevino. He wanted to be Damon before he was given the role of Tyler Lockwood. Let's face it; Michael makes an awesome werewolf, but he really isn't Damon material.
Ian Somerhalder, of course, also auditioned and landed this much sought after role. In the eyes of the majority of The Vampire Diaries fans, Ian is perfection when it comes to playing Damon. When you think about it, True Blood's loss is definitely The Vampire Diaries gain. During the first couple of seasons, Damon relished being the bad boy. He showed no guilt for anything that he did. On the other hand, even when Stefan had returned to his Ripper side, he still didn't seem to enjoy it. Damon has never shown the tortured side of his soul that Stefan constantly shows. This part was made for Ian and it seems that the fans love him in it. After all, getting to look into those amazing eyes of his every week is more than enough reason for him to be Damon!
The part of Alaric Saltzman has been skillfully portrayed by Matt Davis for the three seasons. Even though his character is now deceased, he'll still be turning up every once in a while because Jeremy Gilbert can see and talk to dead people. Everyone agrees that Matt was the perfect choice to play Alaric. Now, it may surprise you that James Van Der Beek of Dawson's Creek fame was strongly considered for the part of Alaric. When you look at James' grown up appearance these days, it might not have been a bad fit. But everyone would have sure missed seeing Matt's handsome face every week.
Before Nina Dobrev was awarded the role of Elena Gilbert, there were a couple more actresses that were considered for the role. One of these was Alexandra Chando. She wanted the role so badly that she auditioned four different times for it. It seems that the show's Powers that Be had a "type" in mind because Alexandra looks a great deal like Nina. As it turned out, though, Alexandra went on to play the dual lead of twins sisters in The Lying Game.
Now, this next one is really difficult to digest, but it seems that the network executives wanted Ashlee Simpson for the dual part of Elena/Katherine. Take a second to let that sink in. Deal with the horror that you're most likely feeling at this moment. Then, remember that Nina was chosen to play Elena. Now, you can take a deep cleansing breath and relax. Ashlee went on to co-star in the disastrous remake of Melrose Place, and you all know what happened with that. Everyone can only be thankful that she wasn't allowed to ruin The Vampire Diaries. Seriously, what were those execs thinking?
Just for fun, when you're watching episodes from The Vampire Diaries, try to picture some of these other actors in place of the ones that won the roles. You might find that you'll get a little kick out of mentally placing their faces over the ones appearing on your television screen. Then, smile and breathe that sigh of relief that things turned out the way they did!
Everyone is so accustomed to these actors in the roles of these characters because they've been watching the show for the last three years. It's difficult to think of anyone else as Stefan, Damon, Elena and Alaric. However, as everyone knows, the creation of a television show takes a lot of work. Possibly the most important step of getting a series off the ground is selecting the best actors and actresses for each role. That means there will be auditions for the various characters that will be appearing in the show. So it should come as no surprise that there was every chance that other actors and actresses could have landed the roles that fans are so devoted to now. Some may surprise you, others will make you giggle, and still others may horrify you.
To begin with, fans love Paul Wesley in the role of Stefan Salvatore. However, Paul initially wanted to play the part of Damon Salvatore. He auditioned for Damon but the Powers that Be thought he would be better cast as Stefan. Truthfully, they weren't totally sure if he was the right one to play Stefan, either. That certainty didn't come until the pilot episode of The Vampire Diaries was filmed and they saw that he totally nailed it. Now. no one can ever imagine another face on Stefan except that of Paul Wesley's.
Speaking of Damon Salvatore, it seems that his character is the one that everyone wanted to play. There's little wonder, though, when you think of the type of character that Damon is. Besides Paul Wesley, there were three other actors that coveted the part of Damon. Zach Roerig auditioned to play Damon before landing the lesser role of Matt Donovan. It doesn't seem that he would have fit the part of Damon so a good decision was made there. Then, there was Michael Trevino. He wanted to be Damon before he was given the role of Tyler Lockwood. Let's face it; Michael makes an awesome werewolf, but he really isn't Damon material.
Ian Somerhalder, of course, also auditioned and landed this much sought after role. In the eyes of the majority of The Vampire Diaries fans, Ian is perfection when it comes to playing Damon. When you think about it, True Blood's loss is definitely The Vampire Diaries gain. During the first couple of seasons, Damon relished being the bad boy. He showed no guilt for anything that he did. On the other hand, even when Stefan had returned to his Ripper side, he still didn't seem to enjoy it. Damon has never shown the tortured side of his soul that Stefan constantly shows. This part was made for Ian and it seems that the fans love him in it. After all, getting to look into those amazing eyes of his every week is more than enough reason for him to be Damon!
The part of Alaric Saltzman has been skillfully portrayed by Matt Davis for the three seasons. Even though his character is now deceased, he'll still be turning up every once in a while because Jeremy Gilbert can see and talk to dead people. Everyone agrees that Matt was the perfect choice to play Alaric. Now, it may surprise you that James Van Der Beek of Dawson's Creek fame was strongly considered for the part of Alaric. When you look at James' grown up appearance these days, it might not have been a bad fit. But everyone would have sure missed seeing Matt's handsome face every week.
Before Nina Dobrev was awarded the role of Elena Gilbert, there were a couple more actresses that were considered for the role. One of these was Alexandra Chando. She wanted the role so badly that she auditioned four different times for it. It seems that the show's Powers that Be had a "type" in mind because Alexandra looks a great deal like Nina. As it turned out, though, Alexandra went on to play the dual lead of twins sisters in The Lying Game.
Now, this next one is really difficult to digest, but it seems that the network executives wanted Ashlee Simpson for the dual part of Elena/Katherine. Take a second to let that sink in. Deal with the horror that you're most likely feeling at this moment. Then, remember that Nina was chosen to play Elena. Now, you can take a deep cleansing breath and relax. Ashlee went on to co-star in the disastrous remake of Melrose Place, and you all know what happened with that. Everyone can only be thankful that she wasn't allowed to ruin The Vampire Diaries. Seriously, what were those execs thinking?
Just for fun, when you're watching episodes from The Vampire Diaries, try to picture some of these other actors in place of the ones that won the roles. You might find that you'll get a little kick out of mentally placing their faces over the ones appearing on your television screen. Then, smile and breathe that sigh of relief that things turned out the way they did!
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