It’s hard to believe it, but The Vampire Diaries is officially a decade old.
While that may seem like a short amount of time for some of the vampires who have been alive on the show for centuries, it’s a significant amount of time for us humans who still obsess over the show.
In honor of the 10th anniversary of the premiere, The Hollywood Gossip is here to talk all about the series, and the things that went down behind the scenes.
Oh yes, we’re totally going there. There’s a wealth of secrets to unpack, so we hope you have time.
Scroll down for all the juicy details.
Kevin Williamson Almost Wasn’t Involved
Kevin Williamson, who is well known for writing I Know What You Did Last Summer and some of the Scream movies, and for creating Dawson’s Creek almost wasn’t part of the series.
The Reason?
“In the beginning when I read it, I didn’t want to be involved with it because I felt it was a sort of Twilight rip-off, no matter which came first,” He admitted to The Independent. “The premise was exactly the same: girl falls in love with vampire, and I felt that it had been done and that nobody was going to do another vampire story. But then Julie kept telling me to keep reading the books and then I began to realise that it was a story about a small town, about that town’s underbelly and about what lurks under the surface.”
The Elena That Almost Wasn’t
Fans of the book series were livid when they learned that Nina Dobrev landed the role of Elena Gilbert. But the truth is that Dobrev didn’t impress the showrunners with her audition. “The funniest story about the first impression of Nina is that she didn’t make an impression,” Julie explained to EW. “None of us remembered seeing her for the first time. And then she, through her agents and the casting directors, said, ‘Hey, listen—I was sick that day, I didn’t do my best work, I really really want this part.” [She] put herself on tape, which then got sent to us and it was so magical and so perfect that she basically had the job from that minute forward.”
Ashlee Simpson Almost Played Elena
The network wanted to be in business with Ashlee Simpson. Said co-executive producer and director Marcos Siega at a SAG event shortly after the series’ debut : “We couldn’t find the girl we wanted. The network wanted us to hire Ashlee Simpson. …But Nina sent this DVD back and we all were home looking, searching, and we came in the next day saying, ‘We should look at Nina again.’ We showed it to Peter Roth, and Peter only saw her on that tape and he said, ‘That’s her’.”
Ashley Tisdale Was Reportedly in Talks for the Role
Ashley was riding a wave thanks to the success of High School Musical, and there have been many rumors that she was offered the role. However, she is said to have declined to star in the one-and-done Hellcats. Yup, it seems the producers have a thing for the Ashleys.
Many People Wanted the Role of Elena Gilbert
“Half of Hollywood I think went out for the role, for all our roles,” Nina told E! News of the difficulty in getting the role. “I guess I did something right, here I am. We had to discover and find our characters. Every episode we learned something more and something more, and eventually we created and molded these amazing, awesome characters.”
Jeremy Gilbert Didn’t Exist in the Source Material
When the series was announced, there was even more controversy when Elena’s four-year-old sister Margaret was replaced by an angsty teenager in Jeremy Gilbert for the TV adaptation.
Aunt … Judith?!?
Aunt Jenna is named Judith in the book series, so that was changed for some bizarre reason from page to screen.
From Enemies to Friends
Another big change in the series is that Caroline was a friend for Elena as opposed to an enemy.
Matt Honeycutt?
Matt’s surname in the book series is Honeycutt as opposed to Donovan in the series. On top of that, he has no relation to Vicki in the book series.
Zach Roerig Almost Played a Salvatore
Matty Blue Eyes was almost more interesting.
Michael Trevino Almost Played a Salvatore
He went on to play Tyler Lockwood, of course.
Nathaniel Buzolic Almost Played a Salvatore
He went on to play one of the Originals, so we think it worked out super well.
Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder Joined the Casting Process Late
“Paul and Ian kind of came in late in the process. Paul auditioned like 15 times, and Ian kind of appeared out of the blue,” Julie Plec told EW.
How Did Wesley Get the Role?
Wesley first read for the role of Damon, but what made him stand out? Allow Dobrev to throw in her two cents: “The only one who wasn’t trying too hard, that didn’t speak to me at any point unless we were filming, was Paul Wesley—so it’s funny to think that he did the right thing,” she admitted to EW.
Ian Somerhalder Almost Starred on True Blood
Somerhalder revealed in a Q&A that he originally auditioned for the role of Jason Stackhouse on True Blood.
Who Had a Brush With the Law?
In a truly shocking development, Dobrev, Sara Canning, Candice Accola, Kayla Ewell, and Tyler Shields were apprehended by authorities on disorderly conduct charges. The reason? It was alleged that they were distracting motorists by carrying out a photoshoot on a freeway. It all worked out in the end, with them paying a fine and being released.
Which Cast Members Got Together?
Wesley was married to Torrey DeVito, who played Meredith Fell on the show’s third season.
Paul Wesley and Phoebe Tonkin
After splitting from DeVito, Wesley moved on with Phoebe Tonkin, who played Hayley on the show’s fourth season.
Candice Accola Dated Zach Roerig
These two were in a two-year relationship while filming the series.
Joseph Morgan and Persia White Are Married!
Morgan played Klaus, while White played Bonnie’s mom. They got married in 2014.
Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder Dated for Three Years
They’ve both moved on now, but these two dated while the series was in production. All of those sex scenes after must have been super awkward.
Paul and Nina Did Not Get Along
It’s hard to believe it given the chemistry, but Paul and Nina did not get along, at least initially. Dobrev admitted as much on the Directionally Challenged Podcast. “I respected Paul Wesley; I didn’t like Paul Wesley,” she said. “I remember everyone would walk up to me after the show aired and they’d be like, ‘are you and Paul dating in real life?’ because everyone thought that we had such good chemistry. I realize now that there’s a fine line between love and hate and we despised each other so much that it read as love.”
Joshua Jackson as Klaus?
According to E! News, producers wanted Joshua Jackson, with whom Kevin Williamson worked with on Dawson’s Creek, to play Klaus Mikaelson.
The OG Vampire Slayer Almost Played Rose
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who shot to fame for her role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was initially eyed to play Rose — a role which later went to Lauren Cohan. “She was very appreciative but just said no. She was the only stunt casting we’d have ever agreed to,” Williamson told the New York Post.
The Original Ending Was Very Different
“Both brothers should die in the name of saving their girl and then be watching her like ghosts—because we had introduced the Other Side—as she went off into the sunset to live her life,” Julie revealed to EW, “and maybe marry Matt Donovan or maybe become a doctor, but that those brothers would be side-by-side watching her live.” Okay then.
There Were Lots of Variables
“There were two pitches on the table: one that gave perfect closure to the season and then another that gave closure to the whole series,” Plec revealed to EW, adding they had “just as many discussions over killing Damon as we did over killing Stefan, and let me tell you, for a very long time the pendulum swung the other way.”
The Final Scene Was Almost Different
“Hello brother” was Damon’s first line in the series and also his last, but it was initially a very different conclusion for the brothers. “The original version was, ‘Oh, I see they have hero hair in heaven,” Kevin revealed to EW. “Then they hugged.”