Vampire Diaries: What Happened To Damon Actor Ian Somerhalder After The Show?

Created at the height of Cullen-fueled "Twilight" insanity, "The Vampire Diaries" sought to be a "have your bloody cake and eat it too" sort of affair, positing impossibly good-looking vamps into a saga fronting equal amounts of swooning twee drama, and sexy, blood-soaked brutality. And as far as the hit series' impossibly good-looking bloodsuckers go, most "Vampire Diaries" fans would agree they didn't get more dashing than Damon Salvatore.

The character was, of course, portrayed by Ian Somerhalder for eight full seasons of vamped-out madness on "The Vampire Diaries." Somerhalder's Damon embodied the sinister, sexy, and sometimes silly spirit of The CW hit perhaps more than any other character in the ensemble. And Somerhalder leaned giddily into every single facet of "The Vampire Diaries," earning legions of adoring fans along the way.

Those fans were no doubt devastated when "The Vampire Diaries" ended its 171-episode run in 2017. While Somerhalder surely was, as well, that end did offer a new beginning for the actor. He probably surprised even some of his biggest fans when he followed his "Vampire Diaries" gig with another vampire-centric drama in the Netflix series, "V-Wars." Somerhalder did not, however, don pointy teeth in the series, instead portraying Dr. Luther Swann, a physician hoping to put an end to a resurfaced viral infection that turns normal humans into blood-thirsty vampires. And if you've seen "V-Wars," you know Somerhalder was pretty good in the role.

Unfortunately for Ian Somerhalder and the rest of the "V-Wars" team, the series didn't last very long, with Netflix bosses dropping the axe after its inaugural 10-episode season. That cancellation was all the more surprising given that "V-Wars" was well enough regarded by critics, and positively adored by viewers.

Nonetheless, the swift cancellation left Somerhalder without an acting gig. Surprisingly, he hasn't booked another in the years since. That doesn't mean Somerhalder hasn't been working, however. He did, after all, also serve as an executive producer on "V-Wars," and has worn that behind-the-camera hat on a pair of other projects in recent years. 

Outside of acting, Somerhalder has long been a supporter of environmental causes. And in 2020, he combined his penchant for activism with his Hollywood star power to produce the environmentally-themed documentary, "Kiss the Ground," which was narrated by Woody Harrelson, and featured appearances from several other celebrities. 

This year, Somerhalder will re-team with Harrelson, and "Kiss the Ground" directors Joshua and Rebecca Harrell Tickell for another eco-conscious doc, "Common Ground." He'll also continue to back Brother's Bond Bourbon, the distilling venture he began in 2020 with his fictional "The Vampire Diaries" brother, Paul Wesley. And if the list of awards and accolades listed on the brand's website are any indication, the spirits distilled under the Brother's Bond moniker are nothing to scoff at.