Actress Nina Dobrev, who plays Elena on the CW’s “Vampire Diairies,” says that she was initially so drawn to the role that she wouldn’t let anything stop her from landing the part.
“She’s not a one-dimensional high-school girl who’s just about boys, popularity and clothes,” she tells TV Guide. “Elena’s strong and courageous and looks out for her loved ones.”
“Nina was one of the first girls to come in,” recalls executive producer Julie Plec. “She was sick, and we didn’t really look at her twice. So she went home to Toronto, put herself on tape and sent it in. It was so perfect our jaws fell on the floor.” Says Dobrev, “I loved the role so much that I had to keep fighting for it until I won it.”
And with the show wrapping its first season and looking toward the second, Dobrev says there’s a lot of great stuff to come.
“The finale will exceed all expectations,” she says. “There’ll be a lot of vampires in town. There will be a battle. There will be fatalities.” Caught in the middle are Elena, her boyfriend Stefan (Wesley) and his brother, her new dangerous ally Damon (Somerhalder.) “The finale might make a lot of people angry,” Dobrev predicts. “You’ll be shocked and exhilarated.”
And things won’t get any easier next season. “The events that happen in the finale are going to affect Elena in many ways,” reveals Dobrev. “She’s starting to understand the reason for everything Damon does, and that troubles Stefan. Her relationship with Stefan is going to get a lot more complicated.”
The star-crossed lovers’ torments are just fine with Dobrev, who admits to being “a sucker” for weepy romantic sagas. “I do have hope that true love exists somewhere out there,” says the single actress. But right now, she’s focused on her career. “I want to get into producing and writing, and I want to get into films,” she says. Plec has no doubt Dobrev will succeed. “Nina’s very, very smart about what she wants from her career. We’re all going to work for her one day.”
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