Ian Somerhalder

Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American retired actor and producer. He is widely recognized for his television roles as Boone Carlyle in the ABC science fiction adventure drama series Lost and Damon Salvatore in The CW supernatural teen drama series The Vampire Diaries.

Somerhalder was born on December 8, 1978, in Covington, Louisiana, to Edna, a massage therapist, and Robert Somerhalder Sr., an independent building contractor. He grew up as the middle of three children and attended Saint Paul's School in Covington. Between the ages of 10 and 13, he pursued a modeling career. After his parents divorced when he was 14, he lived with his mother, and at age 17, he began studying under acting teacher William Esper.

In the summer of 2000, Somerhalder landed his first major television role as Hamilton Fleming in the WB series Young Americans. He later appeared in the 2002 film adaptation of The Rules of Attraction as Paul Denton. His major breakthrough came in 2004 when he was cast as Boone Carlyle in Lost. Although his character was the first major figure to die, he returned for multiple episodes throughout the show's run.

Somerhalder joined the cast of The Vampire Diaries in 2009 as a series regular playing Damon Salvatore. The show became the highest-rated series on its network, and Somerhalder eventually took on behind-the-scenes duties, directing during its third season and serving as a producer at the start of season eight. His performance earned him several Teen Choice Awards and a People's Choice Award. During this period, he also appeared in the film The Tournament (2009) and the short subject Time Framed (2013).

Following The Vampire Diaries, Somerhalder starred as Dr. Luther Swann in the Netflix science fiction horror series V Wars from 2019 to 2020. He also expanded into documentary filmmaking, serving as an executive producer and shooting footage for Kiss the Ground (2020), as well as executive producing its 2023 follow-up documentary, Common Ground. Outside of entertainment, he launched a straight bourbon whiskey brand, Brother's Bond Bourbon, in 2020 alongside his former co-star Paul Wesley.

Throughout his career, Somerhalder has been active in environmental and philanthropic causes. In 2010, he launched the Ian Somerhalder Foundation to support animal welfare and environmental protection. He has participated in oil spill cleanup efforts, supported animal shelters, campaigned for youth suicide prevention through the It Gets Better Project, and advocated for regenerative agriculture. Somerhalder eventually relocated to a farm outside of Los Angeles and announced his retirement from acting in 2024 to focus on producing and environmental activism.