Ian Somerhalder, the man, the myth, the legend… and apparently, the guy who’s traded in fangs and tropical islands for cowboy boots and farm animals. You know you’ve made it in Hollywood when your career pivot includes more cows than casting calls. Let’s dive into this juicy saga, shall we?
So, 2024 marks not one, but TWO big anniversaries for our dear Ian. First, The Vampire Diaries hits its 15-year milestone. Yes, 15 years since Ian first strutted onto our screens as Damon Salvatore, making brooding look like an Olympic sport. And as if that wasn’t enough, it’s been 20 years since Lost premiered. That’s right, 20 years since Ian’s big break where he was both the first guy cast and, oh yeah, the first guy killed. Talk about making a splash!
In a new interview, Ian took a stroll down memory lane, as one does when they’re looking around their farm and realizing their co-stars are now chickens. He fondly reminisced about Lost, describing it as a “humbling experience.” Of course, anyone would feel humbled when their character gets sent to TV heaven within one season. But hey, he got a nice little vacation in Hawaii and even found time to become a reef-saving, water-loving eco-warrior. Because, why not?
“I got to work on reef conservation,” he said, while probably doing yoga on the beach in 2004. “I was out there, saving the planet, one coral at a time. You know, just typical Ian stuff.” But let’s not forget, in 2009, the real rocket ship took off: The Vampire Diaries. And no, not a literal rocket ship, but a super young fanbase that matured into a juggernaut of viewers. Teenagers everywhere cried, swooned, and wondered if Ian was really immortal. Spoiler: he’s not. He’s just really good at moisturizing.
Now here’s where it gets wild. Ian claims a whopping 1.2 billion people have watched The Vampire Diaries. That’s like 1 in 8 people on Earth who have witnessed the Salvatore brothers’ dramatic hair flips and smoldering gazes. Can you imagine that? People in remote corners of the world, maybe never even seen electricity before, but they’ve seen The Vampire Diaries. Truly, a global phenomenon.
But let’s get real: even though Ian’s vampire days gave him worldwide fame, he’s traded in those leather jackets for… farming gear. Yep, Ian’s gone full farm boy. He’s got cows, horses, and probably a pitchfork somewhere on that ranch of his. These days, he’s way more into talking about soil health than supernatural storylines.
He’s also been busy building eco-companies and producing documentaries with titles like Kiss the Ground, Common Ground, and Ground Swell. Notice a theme here? Ian is clearly grounded. Literally. He’s out there in his cowboy boots, hanging with his cows, living his best grounded life. And honestly? He’s thriving.
But despite his green-thumb transformation, Ian still has “enormous gratitude” for the shows that catapulted him to fame. Who wouldn’t be thankful for the opportunity to play a smoldering vampire for eight years and make a global impact at the same time? He says his time on TV allowed him to talk about the stuff that really matters—like saving the planet, which, spoiler alert, is more important than winning an Emmy.
The most iconic part of this whole saga? Ian’s revelation that he hasn’t been professionally on-camera in five years. FIVE YEARS. That’s basically a century in Hollywood. Instead, he’s been feeding cows, raising his kids, and solving the world’s problems one regenerative farming project at a time. Forget chasing awards; Ian’s chasing sustainable food systems now. He’s left the Hollywood grind behind for something much bigger: saving the world and maybe getting a good night’s sleep for once.
And honestly, he’s got it figured out. Why spend months filming in some city, away from family, when you could be home, wearing cowboy boots, and making the world a greener place? As Ian so wisely said, it’s all about focusing on “family and the future of farming and food and energy.” Who needs a gold statue when you’ve got goats to feed?
Ian wraps it all up by saying the most grounding things in life are what matter. No, not the fancy Hollywood events, but the everyday, back-to-the-earth stuff. Like literally holding hands with farmers and feeding animals. The moral of the story? Being a vampire was cool, but being a farmer? Now that’s true immortality.
Ian Somerhalder: from island castaway to vampire heartthrob, now king of cows. What a ride.
