Full Name: Ian Joseph Somerhalder Date of Birth: 8 December 1978 (Age 35) Place of Birth: Covington, Louisiana, USA Nickname: Smolderholder Height: 5′ 9½” (1.77 m)
Biography
Ian Joseph Somerhalder was born on December 8, 1978 and is an American actor and model, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries. Ian was born and raised in Covington, Louisiana, and is the son of Edna, a massage therapist, and Robert Somerhalder, an independent building contractor. Raised as a Catholic, he attended St. Paul’s, a private Catholic school in Covington. He embarked on a modeling career from age 10 to 13, and by the age of 17 he decided to go into acting. In the summer of 2000, he starred in the short-lived WB series Young Americans, a spin-off of Dawson’s Creek. Ian played Hamilton Fleming, the son of the dean of a prestigious boarding school. In 2002, he then played bisexual character Paul Denton in Roger Avary’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, The Rules of Attraction, alongside James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, and Jessica Biel. In 2004, Ian scored his breakthrough role when he played Boone Carlyle in the hit TV show Lost. Despite his character’s death in the twentieth episode of the first season, he returned to the role of Boone for seven more episodes between 2005 and 2010, including the series finale. Ian was the first actor to be cast in a role for the series and the first character to die. In June 2009 Ian was cast in the role of Vampire Damon Salvatore as a series regular in The CW television drama series The Vampire Diaries. The series premiere attracted The CW’s highest premiere ratings of any season premiere since the network began in 2006. The series has continued to be the highest rated series on its channel with both Ian’s performance and show receiving a positive response from critics. He has even received a Teen Choice Award for his participation on the series. The shows third and most recent season premiered on September 15, 2011. While working on The Vampire Diaries, Ian began dating his co-star Nina Dobrev. Not just a pretty face, model and actor, Ian is also heavily involved in charity work and was part of the cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling disaster on April 22, 2010. His efforts included cleaning of oiled wildlife and taping public service announcements to let the public know how they could help. Ian also supports the St. Tammany Humane Society, an organization for animal shelter and welfare. On November 13, 2010, he hosted a Bash on the Bayou charity fundraiser for the Society. During the event, Ian was presented with a donation of $11,100 by The Vampire Diaries fandom for his birthday project. Together with his The Vampire Diaries co-stars Candice Accola and Michael Trevino, Ian Somerhalder supports the It Gets Better Project, which makes it a goal to prevent suicide among LGBT youthassociated with The Trevor Project. Two years ago Ian announced via Twitter and in various interviews that he was setting up The Ian Somerhalder Foundation (launched on December 8, 2010, Somerhalder’s 32nd birthday), which he hopes will educate people on the importance of protecting the environment and animals: “Instead of gifts this year, my birthday wish is that we come together and raise funds to support projects that protect our habitat and nurture our furry friends.” In September 2011, Somerhalder confirmed that he and his The Vampire Diaries co-star Nina Dobrev were in a relationship. In May 2013, it was reported that the relationship had ended. This was later confirmed by Teen Wolf and Arrow actor and close friend Colton Haynes.
Filmography The Vampire Diaries as Damon Salvatore (2009 – Present) How to Make Love to a Woman as Daniel Meltzer (2010) Lost as Boone Carlyle (2004 – 2010) The Tournament as Miles Slade (2009) Fireball as Lee Cooper (2009) Wake as Tyler (2009) Lost City Raiders as Jack Kubiak (2008) The Lost Samaritan as William Archer (2008) Tell Me You Love Me as Nick (2007) Marco Polo as Marco Polo (2007) The Sensation of Sight as Drifter (2006) Pulse as Dexter (2006) TV: The Movie as N/A (2006) Smallville as Adam Knight (2004) In Enemy Hands as Danny Miller (2004) Fearless as Jordan Gracie (2004) CSI: Miami as Ricky Murdoch (2003) Special Victims Unit as Charlie Baker (2003) The Rules of Attraction as Paul Denton (2002) CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Tony Del Nagro (2002) Changing Hearts as Jason Kelly (2002) Life as a House as Josh (2001) Anatomy of a Hate Crime as Russell Henderson (2001) Young Americans as Hamilton Fleming (2000) Now and Again as Brian (1999) The Big Easy as IQ (1997)