Paul Wesley on Why He Doesn’t Miss Playing Stefan on ‘The Vampire Diaries’: “Eight Years Is a Long Time”

Paul Wesley may have captured hearts on the hit teen drama The Vampire Diaries, but he admits that he doesn’t miss playing the younger Salvatore brother.

During a recent interview with InStyle, published online Thursday, the actor opened up about his role as Stefan, a sweet yet brooding vampire, and why he “would never do another vampire anything, period, let alone Vampire Diaries.”

Wesley starred opposite Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder on the series that ran from 2009 to 2017. And while the show helped launch the actor into fame, he said he doesn’t “really miss anything about playing him [Stefan].”

“I don’t mean that in a [negative way],” he explained. “Eight years is a long time, and I’m so glad to put that to rest. Eight seasons.”

The series follows Elena (Dobrev) as she navigates a love triangle with two vampire brothers (Wesley and Somerhalder). But along the way, they all find themselves facing danger and disaster at every turn in the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Wesley told the outlet that he does appreciate “how dynamic” his character was throughout the show.

“Because the show ran for such a long time, in order for it to not become monotonous, every season, he sort of had a different arc,” the actor said. “At one point he was pure evil, and he started out as the good guy and then he ended as the good guy. But I liked the challenge of trying to keep the character fresh.”

To this day, Wesley still gets recognized the most for his role in the TVD universe. But he admits that he is ready to move on from Stefan, especially since he has starred in several other projects since Vampire Diaries ended, including Tell Me a Story and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

“It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done, as far as popularity,” he said. “I’ve done a bunch of roles since The Vampire Diaries, but nothing has been nearly as popular, so I think you have to get that next thing that puts you into a conversation that involves you and not the character that you’re known for playing.”

As for what’s next for him as an actor, Wesley said he doesn’t like to “just sit back and wait for roles to come to me.”

“Sometimes they do and they’re awesome, like Star Trek, but other times I like to just create my own path,” he added. “It’s very rewarding.”