Last year, the CW introduced THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. Before they knew it, they had a bona fide hit on their hands. Leading the charge is Paul Wesley, better known as Stefan, the sullen 160 year old vampire who is the love interest of the show’s lead, Elena, played by Nina Dobrev. iF Magazine had a chance to talk with Wesley about his blossoming stardom, why he likes playing vampires, and a little about where he hope THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is headed this season.
iF MAGAZINE: How does it feel to don the mantle of the next hip vampire a la Kiefer Sutherland or Brad Patt?
PAUL WESLEY: Amazing. It’s great to be a part of that lineage. I’m a huge fan of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. I love films like SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE with Willem Dafoe and the old Dracula films. So being a part of that mythology is fantastic. It’s an honor.
iF: Do you try to borrow at all from any of your vampire predecessors?
WESLEY: Maybe subconsciously because I’ve watched so many of those films. But I try to create Stefan from a human place of a seventeen year kid who is put into a situation, and now he’s a 160 year old man in this body. It’s kind of unique unto itself. All the circumstances and situations and characters are unique and individual. So I try to just stick to what the script is and the dialog and the story and not mimic too much.
iF: Have you read any of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES books?
WESLEY: I hadn’t read the books before I auditioned. But after I got the part, I found out it was based on books. I had like a week before I started shooting after I got the part, so I plowed through the books as quickly as I could.
iF: So now that you’re in this high profile position as the male lead of a very successful show, how does it feel to be entering into “sex symbol” territory?
WESLEY: I’m oblivious to it, in all sincerity. Hearing it kind of makes me blush. I don’t get out much, so I’m sort of oblivious to it. I have kind of a very homely life. I sit at home and I work. The idea of having female admirers makes me blush and makes me feel good.
iF: Who do you think Stefan loves more, Elena (Nina Dobrev) or his long lost love, Katherine?
WESLEY: Elena. I answer that with no hesitation.
iF: Why do you say that?
WESLEY: Because he realizes after meeting Elena that he never loved Katherine.
iF: You think Stefan never had any feelings for Katherine?
WESLEY: Yeah. It’s kind of like being in a relationship, you think you’re completely in love, you’re infatuated, and then you meet another person and you go, “Oh my God, what was I thinking?” And it’s kind of like that but a little different because that person also gave me eternal life. His obsession with Katherine was something that was finally broken by this human. And not for a 160 years, no one could break this obsession. And that’s why he would die and breathe for Elena for the rest of his life. For the rest of her life, I should say.
iF: What do you think this season is gearing towards?
WESLEY: I think it’s gearing towards Damon and Stefan not being the Damon and Stefan that you think and switching roles and Damon suffering and Stefan victorious and vice versa. I think Damon being good and Stefan being bad. I just want to explore all the aspects. I hope they do. And the fact is, they don’t tell us much. I know only the things that I’ve shot.
iF: Are you looking forward to exploring evil Stefan?
WESLEY: Absolutely. I want to explore every part, every human… even you and I, we’re capable of anything. I mean to a certain extent. We’re not sociopaths. But if we’re pushed? I want to explore that.
iF: As far as the town council goes, how much are they going to figure out?
WESLEY: You know, I think that that’s going to be the sort of ticking time bomb. That’s kind of the thing that’s going to keep viewers watching. They’re going t o go, “Uh oh. When is this going to happen?” It kind of makes the stakes higher.
Subject: Exclusive Interview: 'VAMPIRE DIARIES' PAUL WESLEY TALKS ABOUT LIFE PLAYING THE UNDEAD 
Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:53 pm