Highlights
- Ian Somerhalder says Netflix’s internal chaos killed his 2019 series “V Wars.”
- He claims execs canceled the show, then wouldn’t reverse the decision.
- Somerhalder walked away from acting for farming, conservation and bourbon business.
Ian Somerhalder is breaking his silence on why he vanished from Hollywood — and he’s putting the blame squarely on Netflix.
The Vampire Diaries heartthrob, now 47, hasn’t appeared on screen since his sci-fi drama V Wars wrapped its lone season on the streamer back in 2019. On the Haley on the Go podcast, he finally revealed what pushed him out the door.
Somerhalder said V Wars mattered to him because it let him play a scientist instead of another brooding vampire, and he uprooted his entire family to Northern Ontario to make it happen.
The shoot nearly broke him. He and producing partner James Gibb reportedly raised more than $6 million out of pocket to fix a first cut he considered unreleasable, cramming brutal shooting days into less than a week to save it.
That grind, he said, landed him “in the hospital” from pushing his body too hard.
Then came the gut punch. Just as the reworked series hit Netflix on December 5, 2019, internal fighting among executives led someone to quietly pull the plug on the show, according to Somerhalder.
He claimed Netflix brass framed the cancellation as an unfortunate but irreversible call, insisting reversing it “would set a precedent that would be terrible.”
That explanation didn’t sit well with the actor. He said he looked in the mirror and told his wife, Nikki Reed, he refused to let his livelihood be steered by an executive he suggested was settling old scores.
Somerhalder didn’t hold back, describing his frustration with Netflix’s leadership. “These executives are b**ching at each other, and I’m like, are you kidding me? Done. I’m out,” he recalled telling himself before walking away for good.
He called the decision “so I pulled the plug. That was it. I walked away,” ending a run that included years playing Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries and an earlier stint on “Lost.”
Somerhalder hasn’t looked back. Since exiting Hollywood, he’s poured his energy into sustainable farming, conservation work and business ventures, including The Absorption Company and Brother’s Bond Bourbon, which he launched with former Vampire Diaries co-star Paul Wesley.
Reps for Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
