Top 10 The Vampire Diaries Stars: Where Are They Now?

Michael Malarkey was a bit of a latecomer to “The Vampire Diaries.” He wasn’t seen until season five’s The Cell, but he was an immediate fan favorite and was quickly upgraded to a series regular for seasons 6 through 8. Malarkey ultimately went on to play Enzo for 59 episodes, which made him feel like part of the vampire family. Once the show ended, he transitioned over to Crackle for his recurring role as Sam Foster in “The Oath.” He also released some music and is currently starring in the History Channel’s “Project Blue Book” alongside “Game of Thrones’” Aidan Gillen. An “X-Files”-type show with Enzo and Littlefinger? Sign us up.

Unlike Michael Malarkey, Steven R. McQueen was with “The Vampire Diaries” from the beginning. You obviously know him as Jeremy Gilbert, a member of The Five. McQueen appeared in the show’s first six seasons before Jeremy moved to Santa Fe to hunt vampires. Once McQueen left the show, he joined the cast of NBC’s “Chicago Fire,” where he played rookie firefighter Jimmy Borrelli for 25 episodes. He reprised his role as Jimmy for three episodes of “Chicago P.D.” and starred in a 2018 Hallmark movie called “Home by Spring.” He later reprised Jeremy for a special guest role in “Legacies,” proving that there’s no getting away from a vampire legacy.

Matthew Davis simply can’t escape his role as Alaric Saltzman. Alaric was a series regular for the first three seasons before he died due to his link with Elena. However, he came back to life in the season five finale and remained a guest star for the rest of the show’s run. Matthew then starred in The CW’s short-lived “Cult” before reprising his role as Alaric for a few guest spots on “The Originals.” And once that was over, he – you guessed it – reprised Alaric yet again for “Legacies,” this time in a main role. This man may be playing Ric to the end of his days. Not that we mind.

Unlike many of the other actors on the list so far, Zach Roerig was with “The Vampire Diaries” from beginning to end. He starred as Matt Donovan for all eight seasons of the show, and he appeared in 127 of the series’ 171 episodes. And, like many other actors, Zach has reprised his role for both “The Originals” and “Legacies.” He’s also branched off into movies, appearing in “Rings” as Carter and an independent film called “The Year of Spectacular Men.” In 2019, he appears in the war movie “The Last Full Measure,” where he will play a younger version of Ed Harris’ character. That’s not a bad thing to have on your resumé!

Michael Trevino starred in the show’s first six seasons as Tyler Lockwood before Tyler left Mystic Falls. He subsequently had a recurring role in season seven and was officially killed by Damon in the season eight episode, You Decided That I Was Worth Saving. Before that, like many others on this list, Michael also guest-starred on two episodes of The Originals in the show's first season. As of 2019, he’s been starring in The CW’s “Roswell, New Mexico” as Kyle Valenti, a doctor and the son of the town sheriff. The CW looks after their own.

It seems as if Candice King has always had an artist’s heart. She was born to an environmental engineer mother and a cardiothoracic surgeon father, but decided to forego all that technical stuff to follow her own more creative passions. In 2006, she released an independent album before touring with Miley Cyrus as a backup singer. It wasn’t until after this brief foray into music that she got into acting and was cast as Caroline Forbes. She then reprised her role as Caroline in the fifth season of “The Originals” and appeared in an episode of Seth MacFarlane’s sci-fi comedy “The Orville.” Do we see a future career in comedy for the young actress? Anything’s possible with talent!

This actress has an impressive resume. She appeared in the movies “The Parent Trap” and “17 Again,” along with TV shows like “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Hannah Montana” before being cast as Bonnie. However, it was her role in “The Vampire Diaries” that undoubtedly made her career. After finishing her stint on the show, Graham appeared in a few movies and secured the voice role of April O’Neil in “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” She also released an album in 2017 titled “Love Music Funk Magic,” and the single “Sometimes” reached #4 on the US Dance chart.

Everyone’s favorite bad boy turned good guy Damon Salvatore was also no stranger to TV when he landed this gig. Well, Damon was, being a fictional character and all, but Ian Somerhalder wasn’t. Most people recognized him as Boone Carlyle from “Lost,” although his stint on that show admittedly didn’t last very long. Ian really committed himself to “The Vampire Diaries” over the years, and unfortunately he hasn’t been seen much since. Thankfully, his absence is nearly at an end, as he is set to star in the Netflix series “V-Wars,” which wrapped filming in October 2018. So fear not, for Ian will return to your screens in good time! We know you’ve been jonesing.

On the other side of the coin we have Damon’s younger brother Stefan, played to great fanfare by Paul Wesley. Like his fictional brother, Paul had plenty of previous acting experience, primarily on such series as “Wolf Lake,” “American Dreams,” and “Everwood.” But he too earned his big break with “The Vampire Diaries,” and he eventually became more involved with the show by directing five episodes. As of October 2018, Wesley is starring in the CBS All Access series “Tell Me a Story” where he plays a drug-dealing thief. He also continues to direct, having overseen episodes of “Shadowhunters,” “Legacies,” and “Roswell, New Mexico.” What can we say? He’s a big shot now.

And now we’ve come to the main attraction – Nina Dobrev. Nina got her start acting in the Canadian show “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” where she played Mia Jones for 52 episodes. She was already an established name before she played Elena and Katherine, but those roles helped launch her career into the stratosphere. Since the show ended, she has appeared in a few notable movies, including “XXX: Return of Xander Cage” and “Flatliners”. As of 2019, she stars in the CBS show “Fam” and will appear in “Run This Town,” a movie about controversial Toronto mayor Rob Ford, alongside Damian Lewis. What can we say? She’s also a big shot now.