Nina Dobrev Recalls "Wild" Experience Growing Up in the Public Eye Amid Vampire Diaries Fame

Nina Dobrev is reminiscing about her time in Mystic Falls.

In fact, the Vampire Diaries actress recently recalled what it was like being catapulted to stardom on the wildly popular CW series. And as she put it, her years on Degrassi: The Next Generation couldn't have prepared her for what happened once the vampire drama started airing.

"I mean, it was it was pretty wild," Dobrev said on the July 11 episode of Jess Cagle Show on Sirius XM. "I think I did have a little bit of a transition. I was lucky in that way because I was on a TV show in Canada from when I was 15 until 19 and it had some success, but not the level of success that Vampire Diaries did. So I sort of gradually built up to that, I guess."

"Nothing can prepare you for the thousands of people at Comic-Con that are still passionate and excited," the 34-year-old added. "It was a really cool experience."

But while she and her costars—including Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, who played her love interests—were the center of attention at major fan events, the show's filming location often kept them out of the spotlight.

"Being on that show taught me so much. I was learning about myself," The Out-Laws actress explained. "I was growing up sort of in the public eye but also in Atlanta, which is really cool. Once we at Comic-Con people were screaming our names, but once we got back to Atlanta, where we lived and shot the show, nobody cared so it was great to be able to live a somewhat normal-ish life when we weren't working."

The Vampire Diaries eventually expanded its universe with The Originals and Legacies, with many characters from the flagship series appearing on the spinoffs. But as to whether Dobrev would ever consider returning to Mystic Falls again for a reboot?

"Oh my goodness," the actress admitted. "I think it's way too soon to be talking about a reboot because the show didn't even end that long ago."

"I think it always depends on the role and the director," she continued. "I don't want to say never because if Steven Spielberg is directing or if Martin Scorsese has a vampire flick coming up and there's a great role that will challenge me in some way, maybe, so I guess, yeah. Steven, call me. Martin, let me know."

However, not all her former costars feel the same way. In fact, Wesley, who said a "hard pass" to a Vampire Diaries reboot, would rather steer clear of the genre altogether.

"I would never do another vampire anything, period," he told InStyle earlier this month, "let alone Vampire Diaries."

Find out what the cast of The Vampire Diaries has been up to in recent years:

The actress left The Vampire Diaries after season six, which aired in 2015. She went on to star in the 2017 sequel film xXx: Return of Xander Cage alongside Vin Diesel and the 2017 remake of the movie Flatliners. In January 2019, she made her debut as the lead actress on the new CBS sitcom Fam.

Dobrev has dated a few celebs over the years. She and Vampire Diaries co-star Ian Somerhalder were together for about two years until 2013. Later that year, she dated Dancing With the Stars' Derek Hough—her pal Julianne Hough's brother—for about six weeks. In 2015, she started dating Dolphin Tale actor Austin Stowell. They split after about seven months. She's now in a relationship with Shaun White.

In 2018, a year after The Vampire Diaries ended its run, Wesley began starring in Kevin Williamson's new CBS All Access thriller series Tell Me a Story.

Wesley was married to actress Torrey DeVitto, his co-star in the 2007 film Killer Movie, between 2011 and 2013. That summer, he began dating recurring The Vampire Diaries actress Phoebe Tonkin. They broke up in 2017. In summer 2018, the actor stepped out with new girlfriend Ines de Ramon. E! News learned the following February that the two had gotten married.

The actor plays the lead in the upcoming 2019 Netflix zombie series V-Wars.

In 2014, a year after his breakup from The Vampire Diaries co-star Nina Dobrev, the actor started dating Twilight star Nikki Reed. They got married in 2015 and welcomed daughter Bodhi Soleil Reed Somerhalder in 2017 and a son in 2023. Ian and Nikki are also philanthropists and active in their charity, the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which "works to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures."

The actress appeared in several small films after The Vampire Diaries ended its run, including the comedy Where's the Money with Logan Paul and the action-adventure movie How It Ends with Divergent star Theo James. She also portrays April O'Neil on Nickelodeon's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot series.

Graham has also concentrated on a music career in recent years, releasing a couple of albums and several singles, such as the 2017 dance track "Sometimes."

In 2018, the actor starred on an episode of the CW series and Vampire Diaries spinoff Legacies and Netflix's military anthology series Medal of Honor.

That year, he revealed that he had got engaged to girlfriend Allie Silva after more than a year of dating. They later called off their engagement.

King reprised her Vampire Diaries role on spinoff The Originals in 2018. In January 2019, she appeared on an episode of Seth MacFarlane's sci-fi sitcom The Orville.

King started dating The Fray musician Joe King in 2012. The two wed in 2014 and welcomed a daughter, Florence May, in 2016, and another baby girl, Josephine June, in December 2020. Joe also has two daughters from a previous marriage.

The actor reprised his Vampire Diaries role on spinoff The Originals.

The actor has been married to wife and Vampire Diaries recurring actress Persia White since 2014. He is a stepfather to her daughter from a previous relationship.

In 2018, the actor appeared on the Crackle series The Oath and in January 2019, he began starring on the History Channel series Project Blue Book with Aidan Gillen from Game of Thrones.

The actor and wife Nadine Lewington, who he married in 2009, are parents to son Marlon, who was born in 2014.

The actor stars on the new CW series Roswell, New Mexico.

The actress served as a producer and also penned scripts for episodes of the Vampire Diaries spinoffs The Originals and Legacies, which premiered in 2018.

 The actress has been married to Cary Lalonde, an assistant cameraman and cinematographer, since 2007.

The actor, also known for his role of Warner Huntington III in Legally Blonde, reprised his Vampire Diaries role on spinoff shows The Originals and Legacies.

In recent years, the actor and father (he has a daughter from a past relationship) appeared in films such as The Year of Spectacular Men—directed by Lea Thompson, and the Fox series The Gifted and the CW series and Vampire Diaries spinoff Legacies.