• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Vampire Diaries’ Ian Somerhalder says he doesn’t regret ditching Hollywood and quitting acting to live on a farm

Home> Film & TV> News

Published 17:25 18 Jan 2024 GMT

Vampire Diaries’ Ian Somerhalder says he doesn’t regret ditching Hollywood and quitting acting to live on a farm

The actor has explained why he swapped the rolling hills of Hollywood for the rolling hills of a farm.

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

Former Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder has opened up about his decision to leave his acting career behind for a farm.

The 45-year-old is best known for playing Damon Salvatore in The CW's supernatural teen drama The Vampire Diaries, however he also starred in TV drama Lost and played Dr. Luther Swann in V Wars - a sci-fi horror series by Netflix.

So, how come he decided to give up his successful acting career and trade the rolling hills of Hollywood for the rolling hills of a farm?

Advert

Catch the trailer for a documentary he recently executive produced here:

Somerhalder first stepped into the TV and film industry in 2000 when he starred in a spin-off version of Dawson's Creek called Young Americans.

However, it was when he went on to get cast in Lost in 2004 when his career really took off.

Advert

The role led him to star in several movies and of course, take on one of the main roles in iconic series The Vampire Diaries which he received several Teen Choice and People's Choice Awards for.

But Somerhalder ultimately decided that despite his success as an actor, it wasn't what he wanted out of life, revealing to E! News in an interview on 11 January at the screening of documentary movie Common Ground exactly why.

Somerhalder was a series regular in The Vampire Diaries.
The CW

Somerhalder explained he did 'love' acting 'for a really long time' but ultimately he 'just did it for so long'.

Advert

He notes he had 'an amazing run' and still looks back on the people he worked with on Vampire Diaries as a type of 'family' with a strong sense of 'community,' but living on a farm is his '2.0 version'.

"And about to be 3.0 version," he added.

However, just because Somerhalder has moved to a farm and left his acting career behind, doesn't mean he's turned his back on TV and film completely.

Somerhalder and Nikki Reed now live on a farm.
Instagram/ @iansomerhalder

Advert

As well as entering the world of agriculture and being more at one with nature in living surrounded by it, Somerhalder and his partner - fellow actor Nikki Reed, best known for her role as Rosalie Hale in The Twilight Saga - are executive producers on Common Ground.

The 2023 release is a documentary about 'regenerative agriculture'.

Reed said: "When you see the way that nature operates, you find compassion. It's a beautiful thing to see what's happening with children, to watch them participate in the growing of their food and the understanding of what food is and where it comes from."

She resolves her and Somerhalder's decision to uproot from Hollywood and move to a farm is 'a way of living so much simpler'.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/ @iansomerhalder

Topics: Film and TV, US News, Celebrity, Entertainment, Life

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
6 hours ago
13 hours ago
17 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Netflix show boasting 98% RT reviews is leaving after fans binged for 28,100,000 hours

    It's another blow for fans of the popular comedy drama

    Film & TV
  • 6 hours ago

    Top five horror movies of this century have officially been decided and includes classic that gave people ‘night terrors’

    One of the movies on the list gave the lead actor PTSD

    Film & TV
  • 13 hours ago

    Netflix viewers outraged as cult classic series is leaving the platform after just one year

    Bad news if you've just started watching...

    Film & TV
  • 17 hours ago

    Netflix viewers say hilarious mini-series is a 'new binge' that should 'come with a warning'

    The creator of the show has worked on some of the greatest sets in modern Hollywood, including with Quentin Tarantino and Ryan Murphy

    Film & TV
  • Michael Douglas shares heartbreaking reason he's quit acting for good
  • Eva Mendes says she may never return to acting for one specific reason
  • Renée Zellweger explains why she decided to quit acting for 6 years
  • Jim Carrey admits he’s come out of acting retirement because he ‘needs the money’