Ian Somerhalder

Ian Joseph Somerhalder (/ˈsʌmərhɔːldər/ SUM-ər-hawl-dər; born December 8, 1978) is an American former actor. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in ABC's science fiction adventure drama television series Lost (2004–2010) and Damon Salvatore in the CW supernatural teen drama series The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017).

Somerhalder was born on December 8, 1978, in Covington, Louisiana. His mother, Edna (née Israel), is a massage therapist of Choctaw and Irish descent originally from Mississippi, while his father, Robert Somerhalder Sr., is an independent building contractor of Cajun descent. Somerhalder is the second of three children, with an older brother and a younger sister.

Somerhalder graduated from Saint Paul's School, a private school in Covington. He embarked on a modeling career from age 10 to 13. Somerhalder's parents divorced when he was 14, and he subsequently lived with his mother. At age 17, Somerhalder decided to refocus on acting and began studying with acting teacher William Esper.

In the summer of 2000, Somerhalder starred in the short-lived WB series Young Americans, a spin-off of Dawson's Creek. He played Hamilton Fleming, the son of the dean of a prestigious boarding school. In 2002, Somerhalder 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, Somerhalder scored his breakthrough role when he played Boone Carlyle in 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. He was the first major character to die. Following his departure from the show, ABC signed him to another one-year contract. In 2005, he stated that being a part of Lost was "the greatest experience" of "the greatest year of his life".

In 2009, Somerhalder appeared in the movie The Tournament where he played the role of an assassin participating in a lethal competition with other assassins. He appears in the coffee table book About Face by celebrity photographer John Russo. Also in 2009, Somerhalder began playing 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 his performance and the show receiving a positive response from critics. He began directing The Vampire Diaries in its third season and produced the series at the start of season 8. He received several Teen Choice Award's and a People's Choice Award for his participation on the series.

Somerhalder acted in the short subject Time Framed (2013). He played Dr. Luther Swann as a series regular in the Netflix science fiction horror series V Wars, which ran from 2019 to 2020.

In 2020, Somerhalder shot footage for and served as an executive producer on the film Kiss the Ground, a documentary centered on regenerative agriculture. He returned as an executive producer on its follow-up documentary, Common Ground, in 2023.