The Vampire Diaries: 10 Things To Know About Paul Wesley & Ian Somerhalder’s Friendship

Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley’s friendship began several years ago on the set of The Vampire Diaries. Playing brothers on screen, they developed a deep and interesting friendship that oftentimes shone through the screen in their scenes together.

Their mutual love and respect are also evident in every interview they do, as well as the fact they started a company together during the Covid period. The show ended a few years ago, but Paul and Ian’s friendship seems to still be going strong.

How They Met

The two friends met at a fang fitting at the dental office and it’s already when the two remember being drastically different. While Wesley was convinced that the show was not going to be picked up, Somerhalder was already thinking he’d spend the next five years with Wesley.

They shot the pilot in Vancouver. On their way there, in an interview with US Magazine, Wesley remembers asking Somerhalder if he thinks the show’s going to be successful and getting yelled at that “Of course! It’s Twilight on TV! It’s going to crush!” Already it was obvious that while one of them was an optimist, the other one was not.

They Got An Apartment Close Together

Their bond was immediate according to Somerhalder. After getting their roles on The Vampire Diaries, Wesley and Somerhalder got apartments in the same apartment building before starting season 1, so they could run lines whenever they wanted.

“We spent a lot of beautiful, perfect summer Georgia evenings. You know, just sort of, like, sitting there together just running lines. I remember we moved in next to each other in season one. We had apartments next to each other,” he told Today.

The Are Polar Opposites

As they like to say, they worked together for 8 years and their characters complemented each other on-screen. Despite that, Wesley mentions in People, they are like opposites and they also bring the opposite to the table.

According to Wesley, “Ian’s like the eternal optimist, eternally happy”, while he often worries about stuff that might go wrong. So one is glass always half-full, while the other is glass half-empty. He added that you can’t have one without the other, so in a way, they complement each other like rain and sunshine.

They Hug And Cuddle

Unlike the brother rivalry on the show, Wesley, and Somerhalder are, according to themselves, very nice and touchy with each other. Paul has mentioned in interviews that Ian likes to hug him or give him cheek kisses, and in another interview, Paul even said they had cuddled before on the set.

This might have been a joke, but considering how they act with each other on-screen, it doesn’t seem too hard to believe that they aren’t afraid to show their love more physically. It’s amazing to see male friendships with non-toxic masculinity exhibited in that way.

They’re Very Comfortable With Each Other

Tying into the previous fact, not only do they touch and cuddle a lot, but they seem to be extremely comfortable being in each other’s personal spaces. During interviews, they touch a lot, Paul teases Ian with his hand on Ian’s leg, or they joke around and hit each other playfully.

Brothers on the show might have shared a love interest among other things, and Paul and Ian are no strangers to sharing – their beverages that is. They have no trouble stealing each other’s coffee or taking a sip of each other’s water.

The Prank Each Other

While their brotherhood nearly began with a prank, Ian remembers backing out of the one he had planned for Paul, according to Cosmo. He went into Paul’s trailer and put plastic wrap over his toilet. But he remembers thinking that he’ll have to spend years working with him, so he changed his mind.

Paul was not as gentle with Ian – in one of the cons, Ian shared that Paul taught him a word in a foreign language and convinced him it meant “scumbag”. The word meant “sexy man” and every time Ian was trying to insult Paul, he was calling him sexy. Everyone would want to be friends with these guys, just like with their on-screen counterparts.

They Fought Over Who Would Die

Out of the two brothers, Ian’s character is the one that makes it out alive in the end, while Stefan sadly permanently dies. In an interview with AccessHollywood, they admitted they both wanted to die at the end of the show because they wanted the brothers to go out with a bang.

“Ultimately these guys came into town, they destroyed everything, you know, they met Elena who was a 17-year-old kid, turned into a killer, she burned down her house. I just felt it was more poetic for these two brothers to go away, and then to let these humans sort of re-settle back in their town,” Somerhalder said in the interview.

They Created A Bourbon Together

Many people might have missed this, but Wesley and Somerhalder became collaborators on a rather interesting project during Covid time. Given how much bourbon the brothers Salvatore drank on the show, it makes complete sense that Paul and Ian would fall in love with the beverage and create their brand.

Appropriately called Brother’s Bond Bourbon, it’s a nod to their on-screen roles and brotherhood of Stefan and Damon Salvatore. They even created a signature cocktail, called Blood Brothers, which is topped off with a bit of port wine, to give the illusion of blood.

They Both Had Their Directorial Debut On TVD

It’s not unusual for long-term actors to try themselves at directing their show, and Paul and Ian were no exceptions. Paul Wesley directed five episodes in whole, with his directorial debut being in season 5. He’s mentioned several times that directing has been a dream of his.

Somerhalder also directed three episodes of the show, the first one being ‘The Downward Spiral’ in season 6.

They Are Not Interested In Reprising Their Roles Again

While the on-screen brothers still have deep respect and love for each other, and a lot of gratitude for the opportunities they’ve been given, they both agree some chapters are better left finished. When asked about whether they’d even be interested in returning to the show as Damon and Stefan, their reply was unanimous.

Neither of them can imagine coming back, and as Wesley phrased it in the People interview: “I’m so grateful, but for me, everyone has chapters and that’s that chapter. And this is a new chapter. You don’t want to ruin what’s already been created.”