Paul Wesley took an interesting approach to his chemistry read with Nina Dobrev for The Vampire Diaries — which included him ignoring his potential costar before the audition.
“I had a real specific approach. Nina — who was already cast as the lead — was there and everybody in that audition room during that process was kissing her ass because she was in the hallways. Everyone was going up to her and saying hi. And I was like, ‘F—k that. I’m not going to look her in the eye and I’m also not going to introduce myself. I’m just gonna sit in the corner,’” Wesley, 41, recalled during the Tuesday, August 22, episode of Michael Rosenbaum’s “Inside of You” podcast.
The actor used Stefan and Elena’s backstory in the pilot as inspiration.
“[I didn’t do that] because I was trying to be rude. But because in the scene, we were supposed to not know who one another is,” he noted. “It’s supposed to be a mystery. We were supposed to meet for the first time. We were supposed to meet at that exact moment. And I thought, ‘Well, f–k that. I want our moment to be really special. I want her to get to know me in that moment.’”
Wesley said Dobrev, now 34, didn’t have the best first impression of him because of his method acting.
“Nina remembers this and I just remember her looking over at me wanting to say hi to me and introduce herself. I just turned away. I think she thought initially, like, ‘Who the f–ck does this guy think he is?’” he continued. “But anyway, I went in there and I just remember the audition and the first time we ever met in real life was actually in that audition room. It was just a very magical moment. And I felt it. She felt [it] and I know all those studio executives felt it. And I think that’s what landed me the part.”
Wesley and Dobrev became household names after being cast in The CW’s The Vampire Diaries. The series, which aired from 2009 to 2017, focused on a love triangle between Elena (Dobrev), Stefan (Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder).
While reflecting on the show’s legacy in the past, Dobrev surprised fans when she discussed her initial tension with Wesley.
“Paul and I didn’t get along at the beginning of the show. I respected Paul Wesley, I didn’t like Paul Wesley,” she recalled on a 2019 episode of the “Directionally Challenged” podcast, which was hosted by former costars Candice King and Kayla Ewell. “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?’ 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 but … We really just didn’t get along the first five months of shooting.”
Dobrev, who dated Somerhalder, now 44, from 2010 to 2013, eventually developed a close bond with Wesley.
“We ended up getting to a good place and it was fine,” she concluded. “Of everyone, I think I probably see him the most and hang out with him the most. We’re probably the closest. We hang out a lot. We’re really good friends. … It’s so funny how time changes everything because I never thought he would be one of my best friends.”
