The series "The Vampire Diaries" has become one of the most popular projects on American television in its history. The following are some unusual facts about the creation of the series, the cast and the shooting process.
10. Twilight and The Vampire Diaries - Projects Independent of Each Other
What rumors did not go about the mutual plagiarism between Twilight and The Vampire Diaries! At first it was rumored that the series about the Salvatore brothers was released only against the backdrop of a fan wave in the famous saga about Edward Cullen. Then it turned out that the books The Vampire Diaries were published much earlier than Twilight, and now Stephanie Mayer was accused of copying the plot from the works of Lisa Jane Smith. In fact, as a result, fans of both projects and creators came to the general conclusion that The Vampire Diaries and Twilight are independent paintings, and there was no plagiarism in their creation. Is it worth mentioning that some actors of both projects are very friendly, and Ian Somerhalder, who plays Damon in The Diaries, eventually married Nikki Reed - the Twilight star.
9. Some actors in the series are not Americans
It just so happened that two of the three leading actors in The Vampire Diaries were not Americans, but Slavs! So, the surname Nina Dobrev in Bulgarian sounds like “Dobreva”. Nina was born in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, and later she and her mom and dad moved to Canada when the girl was 2 years old. Nina speaks excellent Bulgarian and can even confess her love in Russian. Paul Wesley, who plays Stephen, was actually named Paul Thomas Vasilevsky at birth. He is a Pole, but he had to change his name in 2005. His agent said that the name "Vasilevsky" is not so sonorous for American viewers.
8. The plot of the series is very different from the plot of the book
According to the book, Elena is a platinum blonde, and the vampire Vicki should have been killed by Elena's younger brother, and not Stefan. As the script was written, the scriptwriters moved further away from the original book plot in order to adapt it to the TV format. Julie Plec has repeatedly admitted that she has her own vision of the plot, which sometimes changed from series to series. Therefore, following the canon of the book was impractical. However, even ardent fans of the book version eventually concluded that the changes in the plot did not make the series worse than the original Lisa Jane Smith.
7. Actresses hit the police station
Immediately after the release of the series, when Vampire Diaries received a lot of positive criticism, the main actresses of the series, led by Nina Dobrev, decided to celebrate the success of the film with a party at the club. After that, the tipsy girls arranged a photo shoot on the road. Passing motorists immediately began to call the police and complain about the blinding drivers of camera flashes. As a result, the drunk girls were taken to the police station, where they obediently paid a large fine of $ 4 thousand and went home.
6. Relationships Beyond Screens
For a very long time, Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder actually met. A couple could be seen kissing in a cafe, on walks. They everywhere appeared together and even traveled traveling exclusively in the company of each other. Most of all, these relations pleased the fans who, in the series, were rooting for the relations between the heroes Dobrev and Somerhalder - Elena and Damon. Paul Wesley was married to Torrey De Vito, who subsequently played the physician Meredith in several episodes of the series. When they divorced, Paul began to meet with a colleague on the set of Phoebe Tonkin, who played the werewolf Haley in the series.
5. Paul Wesley originally wanted to play Damon, not Stefan
When Paul first came to audition, he claimed to be playing another brother. He was cast for the role of the sinister Damon. The scriptwriters thought about his candidacy for a long time, but in the end they called Paul with an offer to play Stefan, because the appearance of the actor was more suitable for the image of a kind little brother. Wesley later admitted that he was very happy to play Stefan and was sincerely rooting for his character to remain with Elena. And his talent for playing a villain came in handy in those episodes when Stefan lost control of himself and became a bloodthirsty killer.
4. "Starve the vampire and donate your blood!"
Against the backdrop of fanatic love for their series, screenwriters, together with charitable organizations in the United States, came up with an action for fans of the series. As a result, the idea that donor blood can be donated was a mega-successful embodiment. Billboards hung across the country with the words “Starve the vampire. Give blood! ” Fans stood in line to donate blood, participate in a charity project and in return receive exclusive promotional materials about the filming of The Vampire Diaries.
3. Initially, the role of Elena was not to be played by Nina
Initially, Nina Dobrev did not really like the scriptwriters at the casting. The girl became very ill and could not open up, playing the script. As a result, there were several main contenders, among whom were Torrey DeVito (wife of Paul Wesley), Ashley Simpson and Alexandra Chado. But the determined Nina decided to re-record the audition and send it to the scriptwriting team. They were delighted with the girl’s game and her perseverance and almost immediately called her with the news that it was she who was approved for the roles of Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce.
2. Nina Dobrev younger brother in the series
Elena is several years older than her brother Jeremy. But in fact, Nina Dobrev is half a year younger than Stephen McQueen! The guys often liked to make fun of this fact during the filming. In the series, the guys have a guardian - their aunt Jenna, who is more than 10 years older than her nephews in the series. However, in reality, playing Jenna Sarah Canning is only one year older than Stephen and Nina! Needless to say, that all the actors playing schoolchildren in The Vampire Diaries were over 20 years old at the time of filming the first season.
1. The Italian surname Salvatore was first wanted to be replaced by an American
Initially, the surname Salvatore did not want to leave the two brothers. According to the scriptwriters, the Italian surname might sound too elaborate for residents of a small American town, which is discussed in the series. Therefore, the surname “Whitmore” originally worn by their uncle Zak in the series was originally chosen for them. However, later Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson returned to the canonical Salvatore, which they did not regret later. The surname of the brothers turned out to be sonorous, and later the brothers themselves explained it, telling about their origin in the 19th century.