Saturday, March 28, 2009

Casting for Vampire Diaries TV Series

If you haven't heard, L.J. Smith's Vampire Diaries series is being made into a TV series for the CW network. Some of the cast has been announced, and filming of the series begins March 23rd in Vancouver.
Degrassi star Nina Dobrev will play the heroine, Elena, a human teen who gets caught in the middle of the sibling rivalry between vampire brothers Stefan and Damon. Stefan Salvatore will be played by Paul Wesley, and the devilish Damon will be played by none other than Lost's Ian Somerhalder. Elena's human ex-boyfriend will be played by Zach Roerig, from Friday Night Lights. A new character, Jeremy, Elena's outcast younger brother will be played by Steven R. McQueen (grandson of late actor Steve McQueen) from Everwood.


Supporting cast members include Candice Accola, Katerina Graham, Michael Trevino and Sarah Carey. Candice Accola, who was seen as a backup singer in Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, will be the queen bee Caroline. Elena's BFF, the psychic Bonnie, will be played by Katerina Graham, who you may reckognize from guest roles on Hannah Montana, and from the upcoming Zac Efron film, 17 Again. The school bully Tyler will be played by Michael Trevino, and in a surprise twist, the characters of Meredith and Aunt Judith have been eliminated to be replaced by a new character, Jenna, portrayed by Sarah Carey.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

This dissappoints me. I don't agree with any of the chosen cast, and HOW CAN THEY THROW OUT MERIDITH?! She was one of my favorite characters. idk, so far it doesn't look promising to me. i guess i'll have to wait and see.

Debnog said...

I KNOW!

How can Bonnie not be a short little redhead with curly hair? I will miss Meredith--I thought that the juxtaposition of Meredith's assertiveness and Bonnie's helplessness was good, especially later in the storyline, when they are trying to help Elena.

Also, some surprises: Matt will have a younger sister in the series, and Elena has a younger brother (Jeremy), also a teen! I've heard rumors that his storyline is that he has a drug and alcohol problem. My question is, how is this "Jenna" character going to work? Is she going to be Elena and Jeremy's legal guardian like Aunt Judith? If so, how does she also replace Meredith? ERG!

I do have higher hopes for it... the pilot is being directed by Marcos Siega, and Siega’s many directing credits include Dexter, True Blood and Veronica Mars!
The CW has also brought in Kevin Williamson (I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream) and Julie Plec (Kyle XY, Scream) to executive produce and write.

At least the writing, directing and producing team looks like a winner!

Lil Miss Alice said...

I'm surprised by all the changes, too, but i'll get used to it, I suppose! I just can't wait!!!!!!!!!
I'll watch the show no matter what!

TheHost said...

Oh wow. I didnt know who they had directing and producing. True Blood is one of my favorite shows. The show might not be so bad after all...at least i hope not lol

Debnog said...

Ian Somerhalder is EXACTLY how I pictured Damon to look like! I can't believe it! Someone actually matched a character in my head!

TheHost: I know...I love True Blood, too.

Anonymous said...

I think the cast is pretty good except Nina Dobrev isnt blonde with blue eyes like Elena!
and Meredith and Aunt Judith have to be in it!i unsure if i will like a younger brother for Elena instead of Maragret, also.

besides that it sounds good though
and i will watch it to see even with the changes..

Anonymous said...

OMG.......... What is with this. They have and awful cast for this tv series!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They dont fit the characters in the book at all.!!!!! And where did meridth go she is like one of the main characters they cant take her out. Also why are they taking out aunt judith literally whats wrong in there heads. Taking out those characters takes out alot of parts and praticlly half the book. now imagin those parts taking out is half the book plus all those other parts they say they are going to take out because they dont like them whats will be left of the book? And anyway who cares if they dont like them it doesnt matter they cant change the book the way they want it. It's L.J. Smith's books not theres. And isnt Elena suppose to have blonde hair and blue eyes NOT brown hair and dark brown eyes. come on do they really expect us to watch this. it will ruin the book all together and be totally confusing with all the extra stuff there putting in and all the stuff there taking out. Like doesn't have Elena have a younger sister Margaret not brother. And the boy playing her brother is a teen and a teen in the movie. Elena has a younger sister, adorably cute, and is like 4 or 6 years old. Come on i mean if ur gonna make this a movie or tv show whatever,... call it sumthing different and dont say its based on the books because from the way it looks its nothing like the books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

I got some real probs with this cast too, the girl playing elena should seriously dye her hair be nice if she wore blue contacts too. I don't really mind who they cast for Damon, except that his eyes are all piercing blue instead of dark. and losing Meredith is Soooo depressing. But like a lot of other fans, I'm still pretty excited and will probably at least give it a chance.

Melissa O. said...

Dont' guess I can add much beyond what's been said. Those books were such favorites of mine, and I don't think this cast does the characters justice.

It won't keep me from watching the premier, but it doesn't get me pumped for it. :-(

Anonymous said...

WTF?!?!?!?! first of all elena is supposed to have blonde hair! and the guy playing stefan is NOT hot. the casting for this looks horrible. it looks like they were just trying to find people who they thought were hot (and they obviously don't have that great of taste). the one thing i can say i agree with is Ian Somerhalder playing damen. he is gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

ummm is this a good series to read?

Debnog said...

Yes, they are excellent. When I first picked one up to read, I kept thinking, human girl falls in love with vampire boy? This sounds familiar...is this a Twilight knockoff?

But truthfully, it is NOT a Twilight wannabe! It was actually written in the early 1990's, WAY before Twilight.

Is it good? Yes. It's a great series, and there are four books. The series was re-released in 2008 as two volumes (two titles in each book).
They are:
1. Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle
2. Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion

Most recently, the author L.J. Smith has published another book that continues the storyline, and begins another series with the same characters. It is called:
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall. We are expecting two more books in this series.

If you like teen vampire fiction, or if you like the Twilight series, you will probably LOVE this series.

camille said...

Ian Somerhalder is really very DAMON. and the girl playing ELENA should only change her hair color. i think she's how i imagined Elena to be.

MEREDITH and AUNT JUDITH shouldn't be replaced at all.

Anonymous said...

Well, the cast is pretty bad. (Elena as a brunette?!!?)

But Damon is absolutely PERFECT.
I remember Ian Somerhalder from the first season of LOST, and he definitely has the acting chops to pull off Damon. :)

Unknown said...

I agree with most of what everyone else said :)

Elena seems...definitely not what I imagined Elena as. It's obvious she'll have to change her hair color, but she should wear blue contacts too. There's a picture of Elena on the front of the books, they should have at least come close to what she looked like.

Stefan....I like the person that's playing him. Not quite what I had imagined him as, but somewhat close.

Bonnie is completely wrong. She's supposed to be a short girl with red hair and a heart shaped face. What the heck? I don't approve of this.

HOW CAN THEY TAKE OUT MEREDITH AND AUNT JUDITH? That's ridiculous. The movie will definitely not be the same without them. Meredith keeps both Elena and Bonnie in line, what will they do without her? Either way, I'm definitely anxious to see what they do with this.

Matt seems pretty on-the-dot. But does this guy honestly have the sincerity to play the darling Matt?

Damon is definitely on-the-dot also. He seems to portray Damon very well - just from his photograph. He seems to have this devilish look about him, I'm definitely excited to see how his character is done.

I'm pretty much indifferent to the rest of the characters. I approve of a few members of the cast, but there are definitely a few that they could have replaced. Then again, no one can make everyone happy. Either way, I'm very excited for the TV Series to show, and - being a dedicated fan, I will definitely watch :) And to anyone that is looking for a good book to read, you should DEFINITELY pick up the Vampire Diaries!!!

But overall, very excited! :D

Anonymous said...

i really hope it doesnt suck because the cast so far doesnt even match up. the only person i kind of like is damon but elena doesnt look right and bonnie is suppose to be a short little curly red head girl. ugh this makes me soooo mad. and i cant believe they took meredith out.
LAME
it just better not suck...when is it gunna air?

Brianna said...

i'm very shocked and dissapointed in the cast for starters elena is suppose to be a blonde and for bonnie she is short and cute and a red head not sexy but this girl is tall and not right right for bonnie.and merideth omg how coulld she get casted out she is like one of my favorite characters and all these new people matt's sister and Elena's brother. So far this show is not looking to good i'm very dissapointed. it is one of my favorite books and i'm on the newes one i just can't see a show without Meridith.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

it's gonna suck. First of all they should have used Katerina Graham as Meredith (if there was a Meredith) and secondly they should
used a blue eyed cool blonde with
an ice queen face as Elena and thirdly they just threw the characters around randomly and switched theier names up. its just not right!! Also they gave them screwed up storylines behind each character. they should have cast different guys as Damon and Stefan, guys that actually looked like sexy dangerous vampires and not something straight out of a
magazine.they glamourize everything up and thats not cool!!the books were horror. im not watching it cause the cw's gonna mess the books up for me. Thanxs alot CW:(

Anonymous said...

This really makes me mad... how can they take out meradith and aunt judith!? and hello!!!! Elena's blonde!!!!! and margert? how can u replace her????? and bonnie has red hair and she isn't black!!! Morons!!!! I can tell u one thing. Fans of vampire diaries are going to be pissed.. cuz i know I am! this show wont last long with these characters...

Love.to.Read. said...

Ok so Damon and Stefan are actually how i pictured them to be, but elena.. NO! what the heck?! the girl playing her has brown hair and brown eyes isnt elena suppose to have blonde hair and blue eyes!? that just annoys me. i cannot believe they left out meredith! it just wont be the same without her especially when bonnie and elena hang out. oh and isnt caroline also suppose to have blonde hair too? and bonnie so does not look like the bonie L.J. Smith described! well this makes me sad about the show. :(

Unknown said...

I loved the books. I am reading them for a second time,

however i think the cast is a bit bizzare.

Although the character for Ellena is beautiful. In the books she is blonde, this isnt too bad. But i think they should stick to the characters in the book.

This gives a good effect, as in the twilight books the characters matched the describtion.

Anonymous said...

why is everyone so obsessed with hair colour? that doesn't affect the storyline and its not something to complain about. also, try watching it before you say it sucks.

OMG!!! said...

DUDE Elena needs 2 be blond she has 2 or else everything is going 2 go down hill!!!! i am really mad they took out meredith i cant beleive it. well i hope its good.

Anonymous said...

The only cast that seemed right was the person acting as Damon. Also for the people that are like " WTF" about Bonnie being black. It's probably because they need to show some minorities in the show or they would look really racist. Just like how Laurent in Twilight was black in the movie. In books you may not notice that there is no diversity within the main characters, but it's painfully obvious onscreen. Overall, I hope the actors do a convincing job at least than half- a**ing it. I already know the storyline is going to be butchered.

Anonymous said...

this is all off!!!!! i agree with everyone else elena should have blone hair and blue eyes thats what kathiran looked like and that is hoe elena is reconized when she turned into a vampire they even noticed it wasnt its true golden look that is just elena iam very dosapointed with this so far i will watch the 1st show and see how it goes but i think the details are what is important. its not like amovie where you have to shove all the details in a cuple of hours no this is a tv series which means u have weeks months and all then time u need im not saying put all the details in but at leaste theimportant ones like the main characters like elena best friend the one that always keeps her cool the one that elena thinks what would she do the one they turn to for help like when elena was a vampire and turned to her and she was the one who left the code come on u cant take this out its just not right!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

So there really is nothing else I can say that hasn't been said except that I really honestly believe that Taylor Momsen would be an AWESOME Elena. I can't believe they aren't going to try and change her hair color... and that IS IMPORTANT. I don't care what anyone says, regardless if it doesn't impact the story line - when someone reads a book they create picture in their head for each character and when they take the book and put it on film they need to understand that they are bringing our imaginations to life. I understand that there will be story line changes and things will be taken out and scenes so over-edited that it doesnt even compare to the book but they LEAST they can do is keep the characters correct. They already know they are changing so much for us readers and they should let us at least keep our mental pictures SOME WHAT intact. UGH. I think Nina is GORGEOUS, don't get me wrong- but they really should have tried harder to match the blonde hair, blue eye description - like TAYLOR MOMSEN as I said earlier. I will give it a chance- only because I'm a HUGE FAN of True Blood and because I truly love the books - I just hope it doesn't continue to disappoint. Plus Ian Somerhalder is absolutely dreamy :)

Anonymous said...

Isn't Elena suppose to have gold blond hair NOT brown? I am reading the third book right now and it says "Her hair, true gold, fell like silk down to the bed and pooled there. Her
body, in the light of the one small lamp in the room, seemed to be outlined in gold. She truly seemed to
float and move and sleep in a golden haze. It was terrifying. For a vampire, it was as if he'd brought a
living sun into his bed." I think that would defenatly mean she had gold blond hair and I also thought she was suppose to be pale almost as light as Stefan.
They are completly runing the books!! I don't like this!!=[

dreamer2000 said...

How can they do this???? They have completly messed up the characters!!! Elena is suppose to have gold blond hair and eyes the color of lapz lupz. Stefan and Damon are suppose to both be dark and misterius. And Bonnie is just ALL WRONG!!!!!!! And how can the get rid of Characters that are all over the books like Meridith??? That is just plain WRONG!!!!!!!! They need to read the books befor doing a movie, then they might get a little closer to the actual character!!!! I mean they have completly destroyed the books!! The movie is going ing to be nothing like the books!! How can they do this??? It just makes me so mad!!! READ THE BOOKS BEFOR CASTING AND WRITING THE SKRIPTS!!!!>=|

Anonymous said...

Pffft! What morons.

ELENA is supposed to be a fair, ethereal, pale blond girl with sapphire eyes.
BONNIE is supposed to be a psychic little redhead with a heart-shaped face.

I suppose someone thought they should make the cast more ethnic. Fine. But they should NOT have messed with Bonnie's character; they should have just added another character.

MEREDITH should not have been axed; her character was solid and balanced the group of friends.

Read the books, they are great.