‘The Vampire Diaries’ Alum Ian Somerhalder Has Left Hollywood Behind After Quitting Acting

Ian Somerhalder has no regrets after officially leaving Hollywood and his acting career behind.

"I love what I did for a really long time. I love making films, I just did it for so long. We had an amazing run," Somerhalder, 45, told E! News on Friday, January 12, during a joint interview with wife Nikki Reed. "But this is our 2.0 version — about to be 3.0 version."

The update on Somerhalder's professional life might come as a surprise to some fans. He previously hinted at his decision to quit acting while discussing his and Reed's move to a farm outside of Los Angeles. The couple, who share two kids, gushed about creating a new home with 18 pets — both farm-related and domestic — after selling their previous property.

"[I love] walking through the farm with kids and dogs and family," Somerhalder discussed with E! in November 2023. "Every stop, you're pulling off of trees or off of bushes, pulling up out of the ground and feeding everyone as you're moving through the farm."

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At the time, the actor said he loved his new normal, adding, "We're farm people, we produce most of our own food, I live in my cowboy boots."

Somerhalder rose to fame playing Boone on Lost, but it was his role as Damon Salvatore in The CW's hit series The Vampire Diaries that made him a Hollywood heartthrob. After nearly a decade on the supernatural drama, Somerhalder took on another vampire project with Netflix's V Wars.

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Since exchanging vows with Reed, 35, in 2015, Somerhalder has transitioned into producing documentaries about climate change, such as 2020’s Kiss the Ground. He also teamed up with his former TVD costar Paul Wesley in 2020 to launch Brother's Bond Bourbon, which takes inspiration from their fictional characters.

"I stepped away from acting a little over four years ago to raise my kids, build my companies and get these films launched," Somerhalder explained to E! in November 2023.

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Despite moving away from acting, Somerhalder clarified why he has continued to return to the spotlight.

"I was asked why I care about this," he added. "It is because I'm building my entire life and world to do that exact thing. I will be a rancher and building legacy brands, whether it's my bourbon or my health and wellness company, and the regenerative agriculture and healthy soil management practices that I live by and our family lives by. That's where my life was going. So when people say 'Why do you care?' That's why I care. Because that's who I am, that's what I'm going to become."