Paul Wesley shut the door hard on reviving Stefan Salvatore after The Vampire Diaries series finale. So Legacies fans shouldn't expect to see Stefan somehow return to Mystic Falls in the spinoff. However, Wesley has been including more directing jobs on his resume, and he recently returned to the Georgia sets he knows so well to direct an episode of Legacies. Sounds like it was a very warm homecoming:
I had a great time. I directed it just recently. I think directing is a completely different ballgame. It's something that I truly love. I certainly won't be stepping in front of the camera as anything vampire-related but behind the camera, I had such a great time directing those kids and Matt Davis and being in my old stomping ground Atlanta. Every time I direct, it's an opportunity for me to brush up on my technical skills and learn how to talk to different actors and adapt to different tones. It's always a welcome opportunity for me.
Paul Wesley played Stefan Salvatore across all eight seasons of The Vampire Diaries, and it's clear he is 100 percent done on that front as an actor. Matt Davis also appeared in all eight seasons of TVD, as Alaric Saltzman. Davis is one of the main stars of Legacies, which is set in the Mystic Falls of TVD. Davis was also on The Originals, making him the only star so far to be in all three Vampire Diaries Universe shows.
Paul Wesley talked to TV Guide about his directing gigs while also promoting his very different role as drug dealer Eddie on CBS All Access' Tell Me A Story. That series was created by Kevin Williamson, a co-creator of The Vampire Diaries. Wesley said it meant a lot to him to reteam with Williamson, for several reasons.
It's a role that Kevin's never seen me do and he was just like, 'Oh yeah, I know you can do this. I'm not worried about it at all.' And that was quite flattering. I thought it really said a lot about how he felt about me and I really appreciated that because I do think people tend to stereotype someone who's been on a show for eight years. It was nice to not be looked at that way. And it's just nice to do a more adult version of a supernatural show. It's not a supernatural show but in a way, it follows the archetype of these fairytales. It feels like more of an age-appropriate thing for me because I'm not a spring chicken. It's nice to play a character that is my age for once.
Paul Wesley is now 36, playing Stefan into his mid-30s. Stefan was a vampire, so he was actually a lot older than mid-30s, but since he was turned young he was a perpetual youth. That's not easy to maintain as an aging actor.
But now aging as a supernatural character is someone else's problem -- like the characters on Legacies. Twins Josie and Lizzie Saltzman just turned 16, and we know bad things will be ahead for them if/when they turn 22. I recently talked to Legacies actress Kaylee Bryant (Josie Saltzman) about the emotional return of The Vampire Diaries' Jo, and what's ahead in 2019. As a Vampire Diaries superfan, she said she tried and failed to play it cool around the various TVD alumni on set, including Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan, and Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert.
It's not clear which Legacies episode Paul Wesley directed yet, but it will have to air in the new year. Episode 7 airs December 13 and it's the big midseason finale, directed by Angela Gomes. The show has 16 episodes planned for Season 1, continuing in 2019.
Paul Wesley has also directed episodes of The Vampire Diaries, and one for Shadowhunters, and he has another coming up on the new show Roswell. He said it's something he likes to do on a case-by-case basis, and it keeps his creative juices flowing.
The Legacies midseason finale airs Thursday, Dec 13 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. Tell Me A Story streams on CBS All Access. Here's what TV fans can look forward to watching in midseason 2019.
