Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with V Wars’ Ian Somerhalder

Ian Somerhalder is making his epic return to television with V Wars. Based on Jonathan Maberry’s best-selling book by the same name, the new series from IDW Entertainment and High Park Entertainment stars Ian as Dr. Luther Swann, whose best friend, Michael Fayne (Adrian Holmes), is turned into a vampire by a mysterious disease. It’s a project that Ian has poured his heart into for the past fifteen months, working days on end. He’s not only the lead, he’s also the show’s executive producer and directed a few episodes in Season 1. Pop Culturalist caught up with Ian to chat about everything V Wars.

How V Wars Is Tackling Relevant Topics in Today’s Climate
“I’m encouraging anyone who watched me on Vampire Diaries to watch this show. Give it a chance and dive in. We worked really hard on it, and I think people will enjoy it. We got to create these really unique, socially relevant, controversial juxtapositions. The show deals with a lot of the stuff that we’re dealing with today: borders, fear, politics, politics of fear, and how that plays into the psyche of society. These aren’t things that we’re hearing in our own echo chambers. These are things that are out there.”

Building Truth in the Characters and Story as an Actor and Producer
“This has been fifteen months of my life, the last eleven of which have been in postproduction. We knew we had something special. I did 171 episodes of Vampire Diaries. I worked hard to make sure that character and story came to life. People always say, “I’m an actor. I play make-believe all day.” I disagree. As an actor, I try to tell the truth all day. You’re in a make-believe situation, but you’re trying to find truth in what you’re saying. As a producer and lead of this show, it wasn’t just about what we got on film. It was also about what we did with it after. We’ve been in postproduction for almost a year crafting this. This is what is great about working with Netflix and IDW is that we knew we had something special. We begged, pleaded, and groveled to get more time to do this.”

Bringing Lessons from the Vampire Diaries Set to V Wars
“The skill set that I learned on Vampire Diaries I was able to bring over to V Wars. I’m so grateful for those skill sets because it allowed me to produce this show at my best. It’s a great responsibility with a lot of different stressors. As an actor on set, you just want to do the best job. But also as a producer, I’m there thinking, “We’ve got to get out of this scene in a half hour or we won’t make our day. What can I do?” Make sure you go talk to the DP and the crew, “I love you guys. Don’t kill me. We’ve got to jam. Let’s bring craft services a little closer. Everyone grab a cup of coffee. But we’ve got to go.” You’re finding five minutes here that you save. And you’re like, “Yes.” It’s not just being an actor; you’re producing this thing. It’s part of your DNA. It’s your baby.”

The Support of His Family
“This show took me away from my family for months, although I got to be with my family for a bit. My wife is so supportive. She’s building her company. While we sit here talking about V Wars, my wife’s chatting with Forbes about how fast her company is growing. We were together for part of production. She came and did me a huge favor. She was in the show with me. She did four episodes. She played an amazing role and turned in these incredible performances. She was with our baby. She played this incredible character. She gave these beautiful nuanced performances, and then she went back to running her company. She did this simultaneously. She’s a rock star.”

Watch our full interview with Ian below, and catch V Wars on Netflix today.

Photo Credit: Peter H Stranks/Netflix