Ian Somerhalder

Age: 31
Height: 5' 9 1/2"

Birth Place: Covington, Louisiana, USA
Born: Dec. 8th, 1978

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Ian Somerhalder's Main TV Roles

Show	Character(s)
Lost	Boone Carlyle
Smallville	Adam Knight
The Vampire Diaries	Damon Salva…
Tell Me You Love Me	Nick
Young Americans	Hamilton Fl…

NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at IMDB

BIOGRAPHY:

The son of a massage therapist and a building contractor, Somerhalder was born and raised in the small southern town of Covington, LA. Boating, swimming, fishing and training horses filled much of his recreational time growing up, as did the school drama club and performing with the local theater group. With his mother's encouragement, at age 10 he began a modeling career that took him to New York each summer. By junior high, he opted to put modeling on the back burner and focus more on sports and school. A few years later, when the opportunity to model in Europe arose, Somerhalder grabbed it, embarking on an enriching path of work, travel and study that took him to cities including Paris, Milan and London. At 17, he began studying acting in New York, and by 19 had committed himself to the craft, working with preeminent acting coach William Esper. His fate was sealed while working as an extra in a club scene in the feature film _Black & White(1999)_. A talent manager visiting a client on the set spotted Somerhalder in a crowd scene of 400 and immediately signed him for representation. Happy to be anchored in New York, Somerhalder spends much of his time studying acting, writing and practicing yoga. His recreational interests include water and snow skiing and horseback riding.

TRIVIA:

In 2005, he bulked up, adding about 20 to 30 pounds of muscle to his slim frame, so he would be considered for more leading-man-type roles.
Grew up with his mother, whom he has described as being "very spiritual".
Was the face of Guess? for two consecutive Fall seasons.
The surname "Somerhalder" originates from his adoptive great-grandfather. His biological great-grandfather, a wealthy English landowner, got one of his mistresses pregnant and paid an immigrant worker of his to marry this woman and give the baby a name, which was Somerhalder. The biological great-grandfather's name was Hull.
Attended Catholic school.
Played varsity soccer and baseball.
Ironically, the first actor to be cast as one of the survivors in _"Lost" (2004)_ (qv).
His father, Robert Somerhalder, was a building contractor of French and English descent, and his mother, Edna, who is of Irish and Choctaw descent, grew up on a pig farm in Mississippi.