25 Facts About Ian Somerhalder

Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American former actor and current business owner.

Ian Somerhalder is known for playing Boone Carlyle in ABC's science fiction adventure drama television series Lost and Damon Salvatore in the CW supernatural teen drama series The Vampire Diaries.

Ian Somerhalder's mother, Edna, is a massage therapist of Choctaw and Irish descent originally from Mississippi, while his father, Robert Somerhalder Sr.

Ian Somerhalder graduated from Saint Paul's School, a private school in Covington.

Ian Somerhalder embarked on a modeling career from age 10 to 13.

Ian Somerhalder's parents divorced when he was 14, and he subsequently lived with his mother.

At age 17, Ian Somerhalder decided to refocus on acting and began studying with acting teacher William Esper.

Ian Somerhalder played Hamilton Fleming, the son of the dean of a prestigious boarding school.

In 2002, Ian 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, Ian Somerhalder scored his breakthrough role when he played Boone Carlyle in Lost.

In 2009, Ian Somerhalder appeared in the movie The Tournament where he played the role of an assassin participating in a lethal competition with other assassins.

Ian Somerhalder appears in the coffee table book About Face by celebrity photographer John Russo.

Also in 2009, Ian Somerhalder began playing the role of Vampire Damon Salvatore as a series regular in The CW television drama series The Vampire Diaries.

Ian Somerhalder began directing The Vampire Diaries in its third season and produced the series at the start of season 8.

Ian Somerhalder received several Teen Choice Award's and a People's Choice Award for his participation on the series.

Ian Somerhalder 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, Ian Somerhalder shot footage for and served as an executive producer on the film Kiss the Ground, a documentary centered on regenerative agriculture.

Ian Somerhalder returned as an executive producer on its follow-up documentary, Common Ground, in 2023.

Ian Somerhalder was involved in the cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling disaster on April 22,2010.

Ian Somerhalder's efforts included cleaning of oiled wildlife and taping public service announcements to let the public know how they could help.

Ian Somerhalder opposes GMO foods and factory farming, and supports ecologist Allan Savory in his crusade to let cows graze in sync with nature to enrich soil, enhance biodiversity, and reverse climate change.

In 2011, Ian Somerhalder visited Savory in Africa and announced he was making a documentary about him with the goal of winning him a Nobel Prize.

Ian Somerhalder is a celebrity campaigner for RYOT, a Los Angeles-based media company known for RYOT.

Ian Somerhalder dated his Vampire Diaries co-star Nina Dobrev from 2010 to 2013.

Ian Somerhalder has remained close friends with his former Vampire Diaries co-star Paul Wesley, and in 2020, they announced the launch of a straight bourbon whiskey named Brother's Bond Bourbon.