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Tag: the vampire diaries

  • ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Almost Cast Marvel’s Sebastian Stan, New Book Reveals

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    The Vampire Diaries helped define the CW’s genre days, and for many fans, it’s also the moment they discovered Star Trek: Strange New Worlds actor Paul Wesley. He was cast alongside costar Ian Somerhalder to play the vampire brothers Damon and Stefan Salvatore, but things could have been very different: Marvel’s Sebastian Stan almost got the call to play the character.

    In an upcoming oral history titled I Was Feeling Epic by Samantha Highfill excerpted in EW, she reveals that Stan took a meeting to potentially play either one of the Salvatores. At the time, the show’s co-creator and co-showrunner Julie Plec considered Stan because he was in “that movie with all the hot boys,” aka 2006’s The Covenant (aka “The Craft for boys”). The Covenant also starred Steven Strait, who was apparently also considered to play Stefan Salvatore.

    It never worked out: Strait passed on the project, while Stan had to drop out after being cast in NBC’s Kings. Stan, of course, went on to join Marvel as Bucky Barnes.

    With their “dream cast” slipping away, casting directors Greg Orson and Lesli Gelles-Raymond pivoted to bring Wesley in to play Stefan, apparently feeling “very passionate” about the choice. Show co-creators Plec and Kevin Williamson didn’t think Wesley was heartthrob material, but Plec admitted to being “dead wrong.”

    But if finding the right man for Stefan was tough, settling on an actor for Damon Salvatore was harder: Orson and Gelles-Raymond auditioned some 400 people for the role. Meanwhile, Ian Somerhalder had just left Lost and wanted “edgier” material.

    Initially, Somerhalder wrote Vampire Diaries off as a kind of “Twilight on TV,” but changed his mind after reading the script. The casting directors and creators knew he would be their Damon, despite his admittedly rough first network test. It was apparently so bad, Williamson and Somerhalder remember going into the hallway so the actor could calm down and get out of his own head; Williamson later threatened to leave the show if the CW went with another actor for Damon. Plec and then-Warner Bros. TV president Peter Roth also stood by him, and the rest is history.

    You can read the full casting excerpt here, which reveals other actors considered for the Salvatore brothers—and if you’re a Vampire Diaries fan, Highfill’s book I Was Feeling Epic releases September 9.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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    Justin Carter

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  • Unfortunately, I Watched My Life With The Walter Boys

    Unfortunately, I Watched My Life With The Walter Boys

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    Let me just start by saying that I actually hate romance, and I don’t discriminate. I hate romance film, books, and television shows: the tacky plot, the cringe writing, the insufferable characters. But, to be transparent, I watch every single teeny-bopper love triangle show on the market.

    I loved to hate The Summer I Turned Pretty, the adaptation of Jenny Han’s novel starring Lola Tung, Gavin Casalegno, and Christopher Briney in which Belly (Tung) falls in love with not one, but two brothers. It took over the world, having 30 year old women debating the question: Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah?

    The “stuck between two brothers” trope is ever-popular and goes hand-in-hand with the classic Love Triangle. Think The Vampire Diaries, where Elena can’t decide who’s really right for her: Stefan or Damon. Or Twilight’s ever-present battle of Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. So when I hear that Netflix has released their dupe of The Summer I Turned Pretty, I figured it would be the same, deliciously terrible media that we all love to consume…

    Except it’s inherently terrible. Originally a Wattpad novel by Ali Novak, My Life With The Walter Boysfollows recent orphan Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez) as she’s forced to move from Manhattan to Silver Falls, Colorado to live with her mom’s best friend (and her plethora of 10 sons) on a ranch.

    Immediately, she’s torn between two boys: Cole, ex-football player who had a full ride to Alabama before he was injured (more on this later), and book nerd Alex, who is shy, soft-spoken, and making a play at Jackie’s heart. It has all the makings of the worst Hallmark film you’ve seen: overworked Manhattan socialite gets lost in small town with lumberjack that teaches her the meaning of Christmas. Except the men of the show are laughable at best.

    Starting with Cole (Noah LaLonde), who absolutely cannot let anyone enjoy a football game without having a tantrum that he can’t play. Seriously, the guy had a breakdown when he learned someone else was wearing his number. So obviously, the clear lack of therapy and emotional comprehension is already a red flag…and to make matters worse he’s still in high school, so he just doesn’t want to play football if you ask me.

    Jackie and Cole

    Netflix

    And then there’s Alex (Ashby Gentry). Hopeless, hopeless Alex. The Jeremiah of the brotherly duo. Poor Alex likes to read in his free time and is clearly the safer option for recently traumatized Jackie Howard. I have minimal problems with Alex in the same way I hate every character in this show, but his behavior offends me the least.

    The show begs the question: what would happen if you combine The Vampire Diaries, The Fosters, The Summer I Turned Pretty…and gave it no plot with bad writing? And don’t you dare blame it on the Wattpad of it all…how could you when it gave us cinematic masterpieces like After?!

    What is normally tolerable about these shows is that they are so simple, and the dialogue is so outrageous, that you physically can’t stop watching these characters ruin their lives. However, all I could think about while watching My Life With The Walter Boysis that every single character needs the heaviest of in-patient therapy.

    Nevertheless, like all incessant annoyances in my life, My Life With The Walter Boys has been renewed for second season. And I guess I’ll have to watch.

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    Jai Phillips

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