The Vampire Diaries is an American fantasy-drama television series picked up by The CW for their fall 2009 schedule.[1] It is adapted from L. J. Smith's novel series of the same name by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. The show's first season featured a regular cast of ten characters. Since then two of these characters have been written out, while two new characters have been added to the main cast.
The focal points of the show are the love triangle formed by series' protagonist Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and vampire-brothers Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) and the town's supernatural history, involving Elena's friends and relatives.
The following is a list of series regulars. Some are currently starring or have left the series over the course of the three seasons.
Nina Dobrev portrays the main character Elena Gilbert and vampire Katherine Pierce.
Born on 22 June 1993, Elena Gilbert, portrayed by Nina Dobrev since the pilot, is the series' female protagonist. Elena lives with her younger brother, Jeremy Gilbert, and her aunt, Jenna Sommers, who became her legal guardian after her parents died in a car crash. Her best friend is Bonnie Bennett, who later discovers she is a witch, and friends with Caroline Forbes. Before the beginning of the series she was in a relationship with Matt Donovan, who still carries a torch for her in the beginning of the series. She later begins a relationship with Stefan Salvatore, whom she discovers is a vampire. Stefan's brother Damon also falls in love with Elena. At the end of season one, Elena discovers that her parents aren't actually her biological parents, but that she is actually the daughter of John Gilbert, who she thought was her uncle, and Isobel Flemming, who was turned into a vampire by Damon Salvatore, is Elena's mom. In season two she learns that she is a Petrova doppelgänger, just like Katherine Pierce, which means that she has to be sacrificed to release Klaus' werewolf side. The sacrifice later happens, but Elena is saved, because John sacrificed himself for her after being put under a spell by Bonnie. However, her aunt Jenna is turned into a vampire and, as part of the sacrifice, is killed by Klaus, leaving Elena without a guardian. In the season two finale, while Damon is dying due to a werewolf bite, she forgives him for forcing her to drink his blood and kisses him with the thought that it might be Damon's last day, however Damon gets cured by drinking Klaus' blood. In season three, Elena does everything in her power to make Stefan get his humanity back, which was turned off by Klaus. Meanwhile, she grows closer to Damon while working together on saving Stefan and trying to defeat Klaus, eventually even sharing a kiss. She later admits to Stefan that she has feelings for Damon as well. While in Denver together, Elena kisses Damon, later telling him that she doesn't know how she feels. However, she eventually chooses Stefan in the season finale.During season three finale it’s relieved she met Damon first, they met when Elena was waiting for her parents to pick her up, after a fight with her then boyfriend Matt, he tells her “You want a love that consumes you. You want passion and adventure, and even a little danger... I want you to get everything you're looking for. But for right now, I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing I'm in town yet. Goodnight, Elena.” (Note Elena earlier said that Damon consumes her) At the end of season three, Elena drowns while having vampire blood in her system. She awakes at the end of the series as a vampire; something she never wanted.
Paul Wesley portrays vampire Stefan Salvatore.
Born on 5 November 1847, Stefan Salvatore, portrayed by Paul Wesley since the pilot, is the series' male protagonist. Stefan was born in Mystic Falls. Both he and his brother, Damon, fell in love with the same girl, Katherine Pierce, a vampire. In 1864, Stefan was turned into a vampire after being shot by his father with Katherine's blood in his system, before unwillingly killing his father. Damon, who was turned into a vampire as well, promised Stefan an eternity of misery as he was,,, angry that Katherine had also turned Stefan. Stefan was unable to resist human blood and became addicted, killing many people until he was taught to control it by a vampire named Lexi Branson, who later became his best friend. After decades of absence, Stefan returned to Mystic Falls after he saved Elena Gilbert from a car crash and noticed that she looked exactly like Katherine. Stefan and Elena begin a relationship and he reveals to her that he is a vampire. However, Damon returns to Mystic Falls, too, and he also falls in love with Elena. Further on in the series, Damon and Stefan start to bond as brothers again and it becomes apparent that they do love each other. Because of his addiction to human blood, Stefan only drank animal blood in the beginning of the series, which made him weaker than other vampires. In season two Stefan starts to take small amounts of Elena's blood each day to mitigate its effect on him and to increase his strength. When Katherine returns it is discovered that she has always been in love with Stefan and not with Damon; however, Stefan is in love with Elena and not interested in Katherine. Stefan starts to build a friendship with Caroline Forbes after she is turned into a vampire. After Klaus gives Stefan his blood to save Damon from his werewolf bite, he turns Stefan into a ripper again and Stefan starts working for him as he agreed to do, in hopes of protecting Elena by making sure Klaus never returns to Mystic Falls, as he believes her to be dead. Klaus later finds out and compels Stefan to kill her, but when he is able to resist the compulsion, Klaus makes him turn his humanity and all his emotions off. However, he is later able to get his humanity back, which is seen when he saves Klaus's life to protect Damon. He then takes it upon himself to kill Klaus. He steals Klaus's family as retaliation, and uses it as blackmail, when that fails (The witches give Klaus the coffins when he threatens to end the Bennett line) he threatens to drive Elena off Wickery Bridge with vampire blood in her system if Klaus doesn't get his hybrids out of town, Klaus agrees right as Stefan's about to drive Elena off the bridge. He and Elena get into a fight, Stefan claiming Klaus took everything from him, Elena retorts, you had me! Which Stefan replies, "I lost you the second I left town with him, you just haven't let yourself admit it yet." In the season three finale, he kisses Elena, saying "just in case there is no later" in the end, Elena chooses Stefan over Damon, but when Rebekah causes Matt's (who kidnapped Elena in an attempt to get her away from all the vampires) truck to drive off Wickery Bridge. Stefan, who barely gets there in time tries to save Elena, but Elena makes him save Matt. Thus, Elena drowning, though it is later revealed Dr. Fell gave Elena vampire blood, meaning she died with vampire blood in her system.
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Ian Somerhalder portrays vampire Damon Salvatore.
Born in 26 June 1840, Damon Salvatore, portrayed by Ian Somerhalder since the pilot, serves as the series' anti-hero. Damon was born in Mystic Falls. When Katherine Pierce came to town, both he and his younger brother, Stefan Salvatore, fell in love with her. In 1864 he is turned into a vampire after being shot by his father with Katherine's blood in his system. His transitioning was completed after Stefan, also now a vampire, convinced him to kill a woman. Damon, angry that Stefan forced him to complete his transition to a vampire, vowed to make Stefan's life miserable. More than a hundred years later, Damon returns to Mystic Falls to free Katherine, who he believes is locked in a tomb there. Damon meets Elena Gilbert and, still hating his brother, decides to bring havoc to her relationship with Stefan. When he finds out that Katherine is not in the tomb and has been alive the entire time, he finds comfort in Elena. He then starts to fall in love with her. His relationship with Stefan also improves and it is shown that Damon actually does care about his brother. In the beginning of the series, Damon kills people impulsively, but as the series progresses he starts to act more humane and stops killing people. He even starts friendships with others, such as Alaric Saltzman and Sheriff Forbes. When Katherine returns in season two and tells him that she has always loved Stefan and not him, his love for her vanishes and he starts to hate her. He becomes close to another vampire named Rose. When Rose is bitten by a werewolf, Damon is left with no other choice but to stake her and briefly falls back into his old ways, killing a young girl. Damon then starts a relationship with a reporter called Andie Star. He compels her to agree to him taking her blood and uses her to distract himself. However, she is later killed by Stefan. Despite these relationships, Damon still loves Elena deeply. When Damon is dying, due to Tyler Lockwood's werewolf bite, Elena tells him that she forgives him for everything and they share a "goodbye kiss". However, Damon is cured after drinking Klaus' blood, brought to him by Katherine after Stefan had exchanged himself for his brothers cure. In season three, while trying to find and save Stefan, Damon and Elena grow closer to each other and they later even share a kiss. When Elena tells Damon that his love for her is a problem, Damon starts a sexual relationship with Rebekah. However, while in Denver together, Elena kisses Damon, later telling him that she doesn't know how she feels.
Steven R. McQueen portrays Jeremy Gilbert.
Jeremy Gilbert, portrayed by Steven R. McQueen since the pilot, is Elena Gilbert's younger brother, later revealed to be her cousin.He is now her cousin because his uncle John Gilbert was Elena's biological father. In the beginning of the series he is emotionally damaged by the death of his parents and uses drugs. He is in love with Vicki Donovan, who uses drugs as well, but she is dating Tyler Lockwood, which causes a rivalry between the two boys. Vicki later breaks up with Tyler and starts a relationship with Jeremy. However Jeremy later witnesses how Stefan Salvatore kills Vicki after Damon Salvatore had turned her into a vampire. Elena, afraid that Jeremy couldn't handle this, asks Damon to make Jeremy forget this and take away his pain. This causes Jeremy to become more stable and to stop taking drugs. Jeremy then starts a relationship with a vampire named Anna, but John Gilbert, Jeremy’s uncle, kills Anna at the end of season one. Jeremy, not wanting to deal with this pain, tries to become a vampire by overdosing while having Anna's blood in his system, but he fails. He is later given John's ring, which protects him from a death caused by anything supernatural. In season two, Jeremy falls in love with Bonnie Bennett and they start a relationship. Jeremy later loses both his aunt and uncle on the day of the sacrifice, leaving him and Elena without a guardian. In the season two finale, Jeremy is accidentally shot to death by Sheriff Forbes, but Bonnie is able to bring him back. However, bringing Jeremy back from the dead was said to have consequences and since then Jeremy has been able to see and communicate with the ghosts of his dead ex-girlfriends Anna and Vicki, whenever he thinks about them. When the doorway to "the other side" is opened, Jeremy is even able to physically interact with Anna. Elena later catches them kissing and Bonnie also finds out, resulting in their break-up. When Bonnie closes the doorway to "the other side", Jeremy and Anna decide to let each other go. After Jeremy kills a hybrid by chopping off his head and is almost killed by Klaus, Elena asks Damon to compel Jeremy into leaving Mystic Falls in order for him to live a normal life. However, after Klaus and the other Originals find out where Jeremy is, Elena takes Jeremy back home.
Sara Canning portrayed Elena and Jeremy's aunt Jenna Sommers.
Jenna Sommers, portrayed by Sara Canning in seasons one and two, was Elena and Jeremy Gilbert's aunt. She was the sister of their mother, Miranda Sommers Gilbert. After her sister and her sister's husband were killed in a car crash, she took Elena and Jeremy in and became their legal guardian. In the beginning Jenna has trouble coping with her new role as an authority figure, for she used to be a partying college student, but as the series progresses she becomes better at it. She begins dating news reporter Logan Fell, who had cheated on her in the past. However, Logan is turned into a vampire by Anna and then killed by history teacher Alaric Saltzman and Jenna is told that he has left town, which hurts but doesn't surprise her. She later begins a relationship with Alaric. In season two, John Gilbert begins to cause trouble between Jenna and Alaric, and Jenna begins to suspect that Alaric isn't completely honest with her. When Isobel Flemming, Alaric's supposed dead wife, shows up at Jenna's door, Jenna becomes angry with Elena and Alaric, who then tell her everything about vampires. Jenna is later turned into a vampire by Klaus to be used in the sacrifice that will release his werewolf side. She attempts to kill Greta Martin, Klaus' witch, to stop the sacrifice and save Elena, at which point Klaus stakes her to death. Jenna is buried near Miranda, Grayson and John Gilbert.
Kat Graham portrays witch Bonnie Bennett.
Bonnie Bennett, portrayed by Kat Graham since the pilot, is Elena Gilbert's best friend. She is also good friends with Caroline Forbes. In the beginning of the series, Bonnie discovers that she is born from a line of witches and that she is also a witch. Her grandmother, a witch too, helps her learn to use her powers, which causes them to create a strong bond. When her grandmother dies, Bonnie is devastated, but she keeps training and as the series develops she becomes more and more powerful. In the midst of season two, she starts a relationship with Jeremy Gilbert, Elena's younger brother. She later discovers from warlock Luca Martin that the only way to kill Klaus, the original vampire who wants to kill Elena, is for her to get the power of one-hundred dead witches, which she later gets. She then pretends to be dead, a scheme of Damon's, in order to trick Klaus. But when she brings Klaus to the brink of death, Elijah does not kill him, as planned, and carries him away before she could react. In the season two finale Bonnie is able to save Jeremy from dying after she tells her dead ancestor Emily Bennett that she loves him. However bringing Jeremy back from the dead had consequences, for Jeremy is now able to see his dead ex-girlfriends Anna and Vicki Donovan whenever he thinks of them. Bonnie later finds out that Jeremy kissed Anna when the doorway to "the other side" was temporarily opened and she breaks up with him. Later on, Bonnie reconnects with her mother, Abby, who had abandoned her as a child, who helps her to kill the original vampires. However, Abby is turned into a vampire by Damon and abandons Bonnie again.
Candice Accola portrays vampire Caroline Forbes.
Caroline Forbes is a friend of Elena Gilbert's. She is portrayed by Candice Accola. Caroline is the daughter of the sheriff of Mystic Falls, Liz Forbes, with whom she has a troubled relationship. Her father left her and her mother after coming out as gay. In the beginning of the series, she is shown as shallow, self-absorbed and envious of Elena. However, Caroline's character becomes multi-layered over the seasons and she matures. During season 1, she starts a relationship with Matt Donovan. In season two, Caroline is injured and is fed Damon's blood so that she can heal; however, after Katherine Pierce kills her and she later feeds on human blood by killing a man, she gets turned into a vampire. Stefan Salvatore helps Caroline take control of her blood lust, and they start to build a friendship. After turning, Caroline also becomes closer to Elena. She discovers that she is not able to control her blood lust when she is around Matt, and thus tricks him into breaking up with her in order to protect him. When Tyler Lockwood starts his werewolf transformations, Caroline helps him deal and he starts to develop romantic feelings for her. However, Caroline is still in love with Matt and they get back together as soon as Tyler leaves town. Matt later finds out that Caroline is a vampire; feeling alienated and betrayed, he tells her mother. At first they don't accept her, but when they realize that Caroline has retained her humanity, they soften. However, Matt still breaks up with her, due to his aversion of the supernatural since the vampire death of his sister, Vicki. When Tyler returns to Mystic Falls, he and Caroline become closer and in the season three premiere, they sleep together.However, Carol Lockwood finds out Caroline is a vampire and contacts her father, Bill Forbes. He thinks Caroline is a monster and tries to "fix" her through torture, but she is saved by her mother and Tyler. Bill and Caroline eventually make amends, and she is devastated when he is killed during season three. Caroline and Tyler become a couple, but they break up due to Tyler's affection for his sire to Klaus. She has a brush with death when she suffers from a werewolf bite, only to have Klaus save her. Klaus later develops an unrequited romantic interest in Caroline, and invites her to his family's ball. At the ball, they dance and talk together and she soon discovers a soft side to Klaus. When she returns home that night, she finds a hand-drawn picture of her and a horse, from Klaus. In the meantime, Tyler has traveled to the Appalachian mountains in hope to break his sire-bond and get to continue a relationship with Caroline. Although she is unsure about any feelings she might have for Klaus, it is certain that she misses Tyler immensely. When he returns home, Caroline is thrilled and they spend the night together. They go to the 20's decade dance together, and dance the whole night. In the season finale, Liz Forbes and Ms.Lockwood both tell Tyler and Caroline that they need to leave town in result of Alaric telling the counsel that they are supernatural. They are not excited to be leaving their friends behind, but they both are anxious to start a life with each other. When Klaus is staked and killed, Caroline is devastating knowing that Tyler is now going to die because of he is part of this originals bloodline. After she says her heartbreaking goodbyes, Bonnie puts Klaus's spirit in Tyler's body. Caroline doesn't know this, yet.
Zach Roerig portrays Matt Donovan.
Matthew "Matt" Donovan, portrayed by Zach Roerig since the pilot, is Elena Gilbert's ex-boyfriend. Vicki Donovan is Matt's older sister, who he has to take care of all by himself, for their troubled mother has left them. When Vicki dies, Matt is devastated. He is best friends with Tyler Lockwood and the quarterback of the Mystic Falls High School football team. He is also employed at the Mystic Grill as a busboy. Elena had broken up with Matt after her parents had died and in the beginning of the series Matt still has feelings for her and wants to get back together with her. However he later starts a relationship with Caroline Forbes. When Caroline is turned into a vampire in season two, she tricks Matt into breaking up with her, for she can't control her lust for blood around him. However, they later get back together. When Matt later finds out that Caroline is a vampire, he gets upset for he thinks she had something to do with Vicki's death. He asks her to make him forget, but he secretly has vervain in his system and only pretends to forget, a plan Sheriff Forbes came up with after he had told her about Caroline. However, he finds out that Caroline is still the same person and tells her about the plan. He then breaks up with her due to the fact that he has too much to handle with work and school and doesn't want to deal with the fact that Caroline is a vampire. In season three, Matt finds out that Jeremy is able to see Vicki and after he drowns himself on purpose and Bonnie saves him with CPR, he is able to see and speak to her as well. She tells him that with his help, the original witch can make her come back whenever she wants without needing Matt to think about her, but after he helps her, he finds out that the original wants her to kill Elena in return and with the help of Bonnie, he makes her return to "the other side" and shuts her out of his thoughts.
Vicki Donovan, portrayed by Kayla Ewell as a series regular in the first seven episodes of the first season and as a guest star in the season two finale and season three, is Matt Donovan's older sister. Vicki is a troubled girl and is addicted to drugs. She is being taken care of by Matt, for their mother has left them. In the beginning of the series she is dating Tyler Lockwood, however Jeremy Gilbert also has feelings for her. Vicki, acknowledging that she has feelings for Jeremy too, later breaks up with Tyler and starts a relationship with Jeremy. She is later turned into a vampire by Damon Salvatore. As a vampire she isn't able to control her lust for blood and when she starts attacking Jeremy, Stefan Salvatore kills her with a stake through her heart. Stefan and Damon make it seem as if Vicki has left town. Later in season one, her body is found by Caroline Forbes, devastating Matt and Jeremy. After Jeremy gets shot and Bonnie Bennett brings him back to life, he is able to see and communicate with Vicki, who asks for his help. When Jeremy tells Matt about seeing Vicki, he drowns himself only to be saved by Bonnie with CPR. Since then, Matt is also able to see Vicki. She tells him that with his help, the original witch can make sure she can come back whenever she wants without needing Matt to think about her. However, Matt later finds out that the original witch ordered Vicki to kill Elena in return, so with the help of Bonnie, he makes her return to "the other side" and shuts her out of his thoughts.
Michael Trevino portrays hybrid Tyler Lockwood.
Tyler Lockwood, portrayed by Michael Trevino since the pilot, is the son of Mayor Richard Lockwood and Carol Lockwood. He plays for the Mystic Falls High School football team and is best friends with Matt Donovan. Tyler doesn't have a good relationship with his father, who sometimes acts violently towards Tyler. However when his father dies, Tyler is shown to be genuinely upset. In the beginning of the series Tyler is arrogant, selfish and a bully. He is dating Vicki Donovan, but she later breaks up with him due to her feelings for Jeremy Gilbert, which causes a rivalry between the two boys. Tyler is also shown to have a short temper and in season two Tyler learns from his uncle, Mason Lockwood, that he acts this way due to his family carrying the werewolf gene. After Tyler accidentally kills Sarah, a classmate who was compelled by Katherine Pierce to provoke Tyler, his fears come true as he has triggered the curse. Caroline Forbes, a young vampire who wasn't his friend, offers her support to him, helping him through his first transformation and preparation for his new life. Tyler eventually falls in love with Caroline, but when Jules, another werewolf, comes to town and tells Tyler that Caroline and two other vampires, Stefan and Damon Salvatore, are responsible for his uncle's death, Tyler feels betrayed. After Caroline is taken captive by a group of werewolves and Tyler hesitates to come to her rescue, Caroline breaks off their friendship. Hurt by Caroline's decision and to protect his friends Tyler later decides to leave town with Jules. However, he returns when his mother is in the hospital and makes amends with Caroline, he decides to stay in Mystic Falls. His and Caroline's friendship deepens over the summer and in the season three premiere, they end up sleeping together. After his mother learns that Caroline is a vampire and kidnaps her as she is trying to sneak out, Tyler reveals that he is a werewolf by transforming in front of her. After he helps Sheriff Forbes rescue Caroline from her father, they begin an official relationship. Tyler is later turned into a hybrid by Klaus. Due to his transformation to a hybrid, he is sired to Klaus, which means that he feels great loyalty to Klaus and would do anything to protect his master. When Tyler tells Caroline that he is okay being sired to Klaus, she breaks up with him. Tyler eventually realizes that is sire bond to Klaus is bad and breaks it by turning into a werewolf many times. He and Caroline get back together, but in the season three finale, he fakes his death to Caroline and lets Klaus possess his body in order to save his vampire bloodline, which includes Katherine, Stefan, Damon, Caroline and himself.
Matthew Davis portrays Alaric Saltzman.
Alaric Saltzman, also known as "Ric," is portrayed by Matt Davis in seasons one, two and three. He was a recurring character from episodes nine until thirteen and as a main character from episodes fourteen until sixty-six, is the history teacher at Mystic Falls High. Alaric originally comes to town to kill Damon Salvatore, because he believes that Damon killed his wife. However it is later found out that his wife, Isobel Flemming, isn't dead, but that on her own request she was turned into a vampire by Damon. He then starts to become friends with Damon. Alaric owns a Gilbert Ring, which he got from Isobel, which prevents him from getting killed by anything supernatural, however John Gilbert later claims the ring. Alaric starts a relationship with Jenna Sommers. In the second season John starts causing trouble between Jenna and Alaric and when Jenna meets Isobel, she knows that Alaric is keeping things from her and she leaves him. His body is later possessed by Klaus and he uses this ruse to gain the group's trust. Eventually Klaus releases Alaric and he gets back together with Jenna, but soon afterwards Klaus has her turned into a vampire and killed for his sacrifice ritual, leaving him heartbroken. In season three, he moves in with Elena and Jeremy Gilbert to take care of them. He also joins the Founder's Council as the representative of the Gilbert family. He later starts dating Meredith Fell, a local doctor and member of the Founder's Council. It is later found out that he is unknowingly killing people, because of the Gilbert ring he is wearing which gives him a dark vampire-hating alter ego that is referred to as "The Darkness" or "Dark-Alaric" in the show. He is later turned into an Original vampire by Esther in order to kill Klaus with an indestructible White Oak stake. In the season three finale, he dies when Elena drowns, for their lives have been linked by Esther. He appears to Jeremy as a ghost to say goodbye, stating that he will always be there for them.
Katherine Pierce, portrayed by Nina Dobrev since season one, is one of the main antagonists of the series. Originally known as Katerina Petrova, she was born in Bulgaria in the late 15th century and later banished to England after having an illegitimate child. Upon meeting Klaus and Elijah, two of the original vampires, she found out that she is a Petrova Doppelganger, which means that she has to be sacrificed to release Klaus' werewolf side. She used a vampire named Trevor, who'd fallen in love with her, to escape and tricked vampire Rose into turning her,making her useless to break the curse.Katherine's escape infuriated Klaus who vowed to find her and kill her for her disobedience. She then spent 500 years running and hiding to escape his wrath. Hundreds of years later, Katherine arrived in Mystic Falls, where both Stefan Salvatore and Damon Salvatore fell in love with her. When all the vampires in Mystic Falls were discovered and brought together to be burned to death, she escaped. During her stay in Mystic Falls she had given Damon and Stefan her blood which turned them into vampires after they were shot. Damon, believing Katherine was locked up in a tomb, spent 145 years loving her and trying to find a way to free her. When he is finally able to open it, he finds out that she is not in the tomb and was alive the entire time. In the last episode of season one, Katherine returns to Mystic Falls. In the first episode of Season 2,she tells Damon that she has always been in love with Stefan and tries to break up the relationship between Stefan and Elena Gilbert, Katherine's descendant and the current Petrova Doppelganger. It is later revealed that her real reason for returning is to get the moonstone and offer it and Elena to Klaus, in order to be free from him. upon learning of her plan, she is locked up in the same tomb by Stefan and Damon, which has a spell that keeps all vampires locked inside. When the spell is finally broken later on, she is compelled by Elijah to stay. Elijah dies and Katherine is freed, but chooses to start helping Stefan and Damon. When Klaus comes to Mystic Falls, he kidnaps her and keeps her in Alaric's apartment, where he tortures her. He eventually releases her, but she keeps track of Klaus and Stefan's whereabouts. When she finds out that a vampire hunter named Mikael is the key to killing Klaus, she finds him and wakes him up, but when Mikael's plan to kill Klaus fails, she goes back into hiding. She has not been seen since her depart from Mystic Falls.
Joseph Morgan portrays hybrid and original vampire Klaus.
Main article: Original Vampires
Played by Joseph Morgan as a recurring character in season two and as a series regular in season three, Niklaus Mikaelson, more commonly known as Klaus, is an original vampire, later the first hybrid and one of the main antagonists of the series. He and his father, brothers and sister became the very first vampires after their mother, a witch, had cast a spell on them in order to protect them from werewolves. It was later found out that his mother had committed adultery and Klaus' biological father was a werewolf, which makes Klaus the only vampire/werewolf hybrid. However his werewolf powers were bound to the moonstone by a band of witches, which includes his mother. To release his werewolf powers a ritual, in which a werewolf, a vampire and a Petrova dopplegänger have to be sacrificed, has to take place. The first Petrova dopplegänger Klaus found was Katerina Petrova, but she escaped Klaus with the moonstone and hung herself in order to become a vampire, so that she would be useless for the ritual. Klaus then wanted revenge on Katerina, causing her to spend centuries running from him. Hundreds of years later, Klaus finds Katerina and Elena Gilbert, the next Petrova dopplegänger, through Isobel Saltzman. He kidnaps Katerina and makes her torture herself. After collecting the moonstone, a werewolf, Jules, the Petrova dopplegänger, Elena, and turning Jenna Sommers into a vampire, he begins the ritual and his werewolf side is released. He later blackmails Stefan into helping him create more hybrids, which he wants to create because he feels lonely, and turns him into a killer again. It is later revealed that he brought Stefan with him, because they were once friends. After he finds out that he needs Elena's blood to create more hybrids, he compels Stefan to stay in Mystic Falls to protect her, but also turns off his humanity. He also turns Tyler Lockwood into his first hybrid. It is later found out that Klaus killed his own mother, because she cast the spell on him that locked away his werewolf side and that therefore his stepfather, Mikael, has been hunting him for centuries. After Damon un-daggers Elijah, who un-daggers Klaus' other siblings, and Bonnie Bennett and her mother are able to open up the tomb that holds Klaus' mother, Klaus gets reunited with his entire family again. After saving Caroline Forbes' life by giving her his blood to heal her from Tyler's bite, he becomes interested in Caroline and invites her to the Originals' ball, where they share a dance together. Bonnie later performs a desiccation spell to neutralize him, but he is later staked to death by Alaric. However it is revealed that Bonnie cast a spell allowing him to inhabit Tyler's body.
The following is a list of characters that are, or at one time were, a recurring guest on the series. They are listed in the order that they first appeared on the show. Some characters have had storylines that have spanned multiple seasons, while others are restricted to arcs that occurred during a single season of the show.
Portrayed by Marguerite MacIntyre since season one, Elizabeth "Liz" Forbes is the sheriff of Mystic Falls and the mother of Caroline Forbes. Her husband has left her for a man. She is first introduced at a Founders Day party at Mayor Lockwood's house. There, she is shown to have a strained relationship with her daughter. However she does care a lot for her well-being, which is shown when she arrests a bartender after Caroline gets drunk. She is revealed to be a member of the Founders Council, a secret organization dedicated to protecting Mystic Falls from vampires. After Damon Salvatore saves her from vampire Lexi Branson, Liz becomes friends with Damon and is seen letting him know about the Council's plans. In the season one finale she is smacked across the head and locked up to a desk with her own handcuffs by John Gilbert, because she doesn't agree with his plan to use the town as bait in order to capture the tomb vampires. She is later saved by Carol Lockwood, but they are unable to save Mayor Lockwood, who is burned with the vampires. Liz then finds out that her daughter has been in a car crash and goes to the hospital, where she is comforted by Damon.
In season two, Carol accuses Liz of getting Mayor Lockwood killed, but Damon reminds the ladies that they are on the same side. Liz is later informed by Mason Lockwood that Damon and Stefan Salvatore are vampires. She is very skeptical at first and refuses to believe that Damon, who she considers a friend, is a vampire. She tests him by slipping vervain into his drink and he reacts negatively to it. When Damon and Stefan assume Mason did it and attempt to take care of him in the woods, Liz appears and shoots both Stefan and Damon and has her deputes inject them with vervain. Liz tortures Damon in an attempt to learn how he and Stefan can walk in the sun, but is interrupted when Elena Gilbert appears, followed by Caroline, who kills the deputies. Liz is locked up in the cellar at the Salvatore House so that the vervain can get out of her system and she can be compelled to forget everything. Now knowing that her daughter is a vampire, she asks Damon to keep Caroline away from her and says that her daughter is gone. Caroline has a heart to heart with her mom, who eventually accepts Caroline being a vampire, but Caroline still decides to compel her and Liz loses her memory of the whole ordeal. After Matt Donovan has discovered the truth about vampires from Caroline, he tells Liz, who comes up with a plan to make Matt pretend to be compelled to forget, while he actually has vervain in his system. Liz then uses Matt to spy on Caroline, who she thinks is a monster now. Liz tries to capture and kill Damon, but accidentally shoots Jeremy Gilbert instead. Believing she has killed Jeremy, she is shocked to discover that Bonnie Bennett is able to resurrect him. She also finds out that Matt came clean to Caroline. After confessing that neither wanted to secretly live in fear of one another, Liz accepts her daughter for what she is and hugs her. After Caroline is locked up in a cellar by her father, who has found out that she is a vampire, Liz and Tyler Lockwood come to her rescue.
Richard Lockwood, portrayed by Robert Pralgo in season one, is Tyler Lockwood's father, the mayor of Mystic Falls and the head of the Founder's Council. He has a strained relationship with his son and acts very authoritative towards him. It seems that he thinks of Tyler as a disappointment and when Tyler gets into a fist-fight with Matt Donovan at a party, he tells him to never embarrass his family again. He also is shown to be violent and a bully, for when Tyler gets into a fight with Jeremy Gilbert, he takes them outside and tells them to fight rather than talk to solve their problems. This probably is the reason why Tyler is violent and a bully as well. He has an unhappy marriage with Carol Lockwood and they constantly fight with each other. He also flirts with Pearl. Although he seems kind and amicable to the outside world, he is actually quite selfish, for when Mr. Tanner dies, he is shown to be more concerned with how his death would affect the football team and finding a replacement. In the season one finale, during Founders Day, he helps John Gilbert execute his plan to kill the tomb vampires, however it backfires when he is also affected by the device that neutralizes the vampires, because he carries the werewolf gene with him, and the deputies think he is a vampire too and lock him up in the basement, where he is killed by one of the tomb vampires.
Portrayed by Susan Walters since season one, Carol Lockwood is the wife of the late Richard Lockwood and the mother of Tyler Lockwood. She is a member of The Founder's Council and knows of the existence of vampires, but not of the existence of werewolves. Throughout season one, Carol is locked in a hostile relationship with her husband, Richard Lockwood. She acts as a bad influence on her son Tyler, with much of his negative behavior emerging as a direct result of her snobbish behavior and emotional outbursts. In the season finale she shows, for the first time, that she cares for Richard, when he is knocked out by the device. After releasing Sheriff Forbes, they vainly try to save him from the burning basement. Carol is shaken and upset by her husband's death and blames it on Sheriff Forbes' deputies, but Damon Salvatore reminds her and the sheriff that they are on the same side and that they have to stick together. At the end of the day, Carol finds Tyler in his father's study thrashing the room in an angry tantrum. His hostile behavior frightens her and she is further shaken after Mason Lockwood steps in to calm Tyler down. Carol later informs Damon that she is replacing Richard as the mayor until the next election and asks him to lead the council, which he accepts. At the end of Crying Wolf, after Tyler has turned into a werewolf, she finds a note from Tyler, telling her that he has ran away. It is later revealed that Elijah convinced her to stop taking vervain, so that he would be able to compel her. When Elena frees him, he takes her to the Lockwood Mansion where he compels Carol to let him take refuge in the home while she goes away. In The Last Day she is compelled to make a phone call to Tyler, saying that she is in the hospital and she wants him to come and visit. When she walks up the stairs, Maddox is there and she asks him why she had to make the phone call and he says that she had a bad fall and uses his powers to push her off the stairs and onto the ground. Later she is in the hospital and Tyler visits her. In season three, Carol finds out that Caroline Forbes is a vampire and when Caroline tries to leave the Lockwood Mansion after she slept with Tyler, Carol shoots her in the back with vervain darts. She then calls Caroline's father, Bill Forbes, and tells him about her. The next day, she slips vervain in Tyler's coffee to see if he is a vampire too, relieved to see he isn't. However, Tyler finds out that his mother slipped him vervain and asks her where Caroline is, upon which she replies that Caroline is a monster. Tyler then shows her that he is a werewolf and upon finding out that her son is a monster too, she promises him that she will make sure Caroline doesn't get hurt. However, when she later calls Bill, she is unable to persuade him to let her go. When the doorway to "the other side" is opened, the ghosts of the tomb vampires decide to revenge on the founding families and attack Carol, however Caroline comes to her rescue and is able to hold them until the doorway gets closed again and they disappear.
Bianca Lawson portrayed Emily Bennett, Katherine Pierce's handmaid and Bonnie's ancestor.
Played by Bianca Lawson in seasons one and two, Emily Bennett was the handmaiden of Katherine Pierce in 1864 as well as a powerful witch. She is a direct descendant of one of the women accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials, which took place in the Salem area of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692. Emily is also the 4th great-grandmother of Bonnie Bennett through Sheila Bennett. She was the one who gave Katherine, Pearl, Anna, Harper, Damon and Stefan Salvatore the jewellery which enabled them to walk in the sun. Although she helped these vampires, she also secretly fought against them, for she spelled Jonathan Gilbert's inventions, including the device, which could hurt vampires. When the vampires were rounded up by the Founding Families she and Damon Salvatore made a bargain. Damon would protect Emily's descendants and Emily would use her grimoire to protect Katherine by entombing her with 26 other vampires under the old Fell's Church. She was later burned at the stake by the Founding Families and her possessions, including her grimoire, were taken and buried in Giuseppe Salvatore's grave. Damon rescued Emily's children when the townspeople came for her. In season one Emily possesses Bonnie in order to stop Damon from freeing Katherine from the tomb. In season two, Bonnie takes on the power of a hundred dead witches, which includes Emily, by performing a spell on the place where the witches were burned. Bonnie and Stefan later go there again to ask the witches if they know a cure for a werewolf bite, in order to help Damon. Emily possesses Bonnie and tells Stefan there isn't a cure, but when Bonnie is herself again, she tells Stefan that Emily mentioned Klaus, whose blood later turns out to be the cure for a werewolf bite. When Jeremy dies, Bonnie is able to save him with help of Emily after she tells her that she loves him.
Played by Malese Jow in seasons one to three, Annabelle, or Anna, is a vampire who comes to Mystic Falls in order to free her mother from the tomb. Anna first appears at a local library, where she befriends Jeremy Gilbert. She helps him with his paper for history class. Anna later turns out to be a vampire who was in Mystic Falls in 1864 with her mother Pearl. She wants to open the tomb where the 26 vampires, including her mother, are trapped. It is revealed that she has turned Noah and Ben McKittrick into vampires in order to make them help her save her mother. She has also turned Logan Fell in order to get his ancestor Honoria Fell's diaries. It is also revealed that she befriended Jeremy Gilbert in order to obtain his ancestor's journal. Anna later kidnaps Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett in order to make Bonnie open the tomb, but they are saved by Stefan Salvatore, who kills Ben in the process. After Bonnie opens the tomb for Damon Salvatore to get Katherine Pierce out, Anna succeeds in sneaking in and getting her mother out. She later reveals to Damon that she knew Katherine wasn't in the tomb, but needed him to believe it in order for her to get her mother out. Anna has started to develop romantic feelings for Jeremy. After seeing Anna's vampire veins appear, Jeremy begins to suspect that she is not human and later tests his theory by "accidentally" cutting his hand and forcing her to drink his blood. Later that night, she confronts him in his room, claiming that she could have killed him and should have, but when he asks her why she didn't, she replies, "I don't know. Maybe I'm just a sucker for guys like you... lost." He then repeatedly requests to be turned, but will not state his reason, and Anna refuses. Anna initially attempts to hide her involvement with him from her mother, as he is a Gilbert, but Pearl finds out when she notices their communication at the Mystic Grill. Anna and her mother end up in a short, heated argument, which ends when Pearl, still hurt from Johnathan Gilbert's betrayal, slaps her daughter. Angry, Anna agrees to change Jeremy, only to discover that his motive for wanting it is to get over his first love, Vicki Donovan, who he suspects might have been a vampire and is now revealed to be long dead. After a short period of distance, they make up, both admitting to having used each other to begin with, but have fallen in love along the way. She enrolls in high school in order to spend time with him, and they begin a romantic relationship. Tragically, Pearl is killed by Jeremy's uncle John Gilbert, devastating Anna, but she does not seek revenge. After her mother's death, she shows up in Jeremy's room in tears, telling him about what happened to her mother. He sympathizes with her, as he's lost his own parents and consoles her. On Founder's Day, Anna goes to Jeremy with a vial of her blood, telling him that if he drinks it and dies, he will become a vampire. He is unsure, but she leaves the vial for him, just in case he changes his mind. She is with Jeremy when John Gilbert sets off the device. Anna is immediately incapacitated, because she is within a five-block radius of the device. A policeman finds her with Jeremy and she is injected with vervain and dragged to the Gilbert building to be burned alive, a replica of the original plan to eradicate the vampires in 1864. When John Gilbert sees Anna lying in the building with the other vampires, he stakes her, possibly out of mercy for her to receive a less painful death or out of anger that she is dating his nephew. Damon sees what happens to her and after he tells Jeremy she has died, he admits he actually felt sorry for her and wanted to help, but couldn't. Anna's body is burned in the fire with the other vampires who were caught. Jeremy questions whether it would be better to be a vampire and Damon admits to him it would be easier to turn the emotions off. Later, Jeremy drinks Anna's blood and takes several sleeping pills, in order to become a vampire and be able to forget all about the misery in his life.
In the season two finale, Anna, together with Vicki, appears to Jeremy, after he was brought back to life by a spell of Bonnie's, which was said to have consequences. In season three, Anna and Vicki appear more often to Jeremy, and after Vicki asks Jeremy to help her come back to life, Anna warns him not to trust her. Later, Jeremy is even able to talk to Anna, and she tells him that she is "on the other side", where she is all alone, and Jeremy is now able to see and communicate with her whenever he thinks of her. She also tells him that she feels a darkness, which she thinks is Vicki. When Jeremy tells Bonnie, she asks him to shut Anna out. Katherine and Damon later kidnap Jeremy in order to make Anna tell him the location of the vampire hunter Mikael. At first Anna doesn't want to, but when Damon hurts Jeremy, she obliges. Jeremy isn't able to stop thinking about Anna, and when the doorway to "the other side" is opened, they are even able to touch each other. They later share a kiss, but Elena catches them. Bonnie, after finding out about the kiss, closes the doorway again, and Anna and Jeremy decide to stop thinking about each other and let each other go. Before disappearing, Anna finally locates her mother and they find peace as "the other side" closes.
Mia Kirshner portrayed Elena's biological mother Isobel Flemming.
Played by Mia Kirshner in seasons one and two, Isobel Flemming is Elena Gilbert's birth mother and a descendant of Katherine Pierce. When Isobel was a teenager she had a relationship with John Gilbert, by whom she later had a baby, Elena. When Isobel was pregnant, John brought her to his brother, Grayson Gilbert, who helped her through labor. After Elena's birth, a heartbroken Isobel gave her daughter to Grayson and his wife Miranda Gilbert. It is known that Isobel was a cheerleader in high school and was best friends with Trudie Peterson, whom she later ordered to be killed. Isobel also attended Duke University where she studied supernatural beings. Later in life she met and married Alaric Saltzman. However, Isobel became obsessed with vampires and after being romantically involved with him, she asked Damon Salvatore to turn her. She was assumed dead by the police and Alaric thought that she was killed by Damon after seeing them together. In season one Alaric comes to Mystic Falls to seek revenge on Damon, who admits that he killed her, but also turned her into a vampire on her own request. After Elena finds out that Isobel is her biological mother, she calls her, but after hearing Elena's voice, Isobel hangs up. However she later shows up at the Mystic Grill and greets Alaric. She tells him that she wants to meet her daughter and threatens to kill everyone in town if she doesn't get her way. She is later seen being visited by John in a loaned house, where she has two human minions Cherie and Frank. It is revealed that Isobel, just like John, wants Johnathan's Gilberts device, because Katherine, whom she seemingly befriended, wants all the tomb vampires death. In season two it is revealed that Isobel also wants them dead in order to protect Elena from Klaus. She meets with Elena and asks her to make Damon give her the device. She shows Elena that she can hurt her friends and family by using Frank and Cherie to hurt Matt Donovan and kidnap Jeremy Gilbert. Elena convinces Damon to give her the device by saying that Bonnie Bennett can despell it. However it is later revealed that Bonnie only pretended to despell it. Elena gives Isobel the device and asks her how she knew Damon would give it to her. She tells Elena that Damon loves her. In a phone call with John it is revealed that she does care about Elena and they plot to kill all the tomb vampires and the Salvatore Brothers with the device in order to protect her. Before leaving town, Isobel compels Alaric to get over her and tells him that she realizes it was a mistake to become a vampire.
In season two, Isobel returns and introduces herself to Jenna Sommers as Elena's mother, but Elena refuses to invite her in and slams the door in her face. However, John trusts Isobel and invites her in the next day. Isobel asks Elena if she wants to come with her to a place where it's safe from Klaus, but Elena refuses. She later meets with Katherine and tells Katherine that she met with Klaus and made a deal with him for Katherine's freedom, which says that she has to give Klaus the moonstone and the Petrova doppelganger, Elena. Isobel tells Katherine to retrieve the moonstone from the Salvatore brothers. It is also revealed that she has asked John to break up Jenna and Alaric because she is jealous. Isobel then kidnaps Alaric and takes Elena to a graveyard where her parents placed a tombstone for her. There it is revealed that when Isobel found Klaus in order to secure Elena's safety in some way she was compelled by him to devise a plan to capture Katherine and retrieve the moonstone, which is why she returned. At the graveyard Isobel tells Elena that as a human she had dreamed of meeting her daughter, but instead Elena has only met the part of her that would betray her own flesh and blood. She then receives a message from Maddox to set Elena free and kill herself by taking off her necklace and exposing herself to sunlight.
David Anders portrayed Elena's biological father John Gilbert.
David Anders portrays Johnathan "John" Gilbert in seasons one and two, Grayson Gilbert's younger brother. In their youth, his brother taught him about the vampires through the journals of their ancestor, Johnathan Gilbert. They also inherited a ring each that prevented them from being killed. John had a crush on Isobel Saltzman and he was the one who sent her to Damon Salvatore when she wanted to become a vampire. After her transformation, Isobel found John and they formed a partenship to get their hands on a mysterious invention created by Jonathan Gilbert. John arrived in Mystic Falls for the Founder's Day and was shown as a member of the Founders' Council. However, he knew Damon was a vampire, there had been a tomb under the Fell's Church and he knew about Katherine. He tried to intimidate Damon into helping him find the invention but Damon threatened to kill him and everyone on the Council. Along with Alaric Saltzman, Damon discovered John was keeping an eye on the vampires who had been in the tomb. Soon, he confronts Pearl about her possession of the invention but Pearl has already given it to Damon. When Isobel returns to town, John finally gets the invention at which time it is revealed Isobel and John are working for Katherine and they are planning to kill the tomb's vampires. Unofficially, their goal is to kill the Salvatore brothers and save Elena from suffering in a life filled with vampires. He was in addition responsible for staking his nephew Jeremy's girlfriend Anna's mother Pearl, who was a vampire. It is also revealed John is Elena's biological father. He gets his fingers (one of them with his ring on it) cut off and is stabbed by Katherine, who poses as Elena in order to gain access to the Gilbert house in the season one finale.
In the season two premiere, John is rushed to hospital and is confronted by Stefan and Elena about Katherine's attack on him. Stefan then tells John that Elena does not want him there (this is due to his attitude toward Stefan and all vampires) and he threatens to turn him into a vampire if he does not leave. He packs his bags but it has not been made clear whether he has actually left Mystic Falls or not. However, we do know he gave his ring (which makes the wearer invulnerable to harm from supernatural forces) to Jeremy, as it once belonged to his brother and Jeremy's father, Grayson Gilbert. John later returns to Mystic Falls and tells Jenna that he is Elena's biological father. It is also revealed that he and Isobel are working together to free Katherine. Elena has trouble believing and trusting John, especially after Isobel returns and he invites her into their house. Elena coldly rejects both and then leaves. Isobel then kills John at a party at the Lockwood Mansion, but he is seen wearing his ring and is effectively brought back to life hours later. Upon learning that Isobel has committed suicide, John comes to the conclusion he's no longer wanted anywhere in Mystic Falls and prepares to leave. Elena stops him however, telling him he is the only parent she has left, and she'd like him to stay. Later he goes through with a spell to save Elena from turning into a vampire, in return dying himself. He leaves Elena his ring and a letter saying he would've loved her human or even what he hated most, a vampire.
Played by Taylor Kinney in seasons two and three, Mason Lockwood is Richard Lockwood's younger brother and Tyler Lockwood's uncle. Mason returns to Mystic Falls for his brother's funeral, after being away for seven years. Mason later catches Tyler and Jeremy Gilbert drinking beer and hints for Jeremy to leave. He then starts drinking with his nephew himself. When Tyler later gets upset and starts to get aggressive to his mother, Mason steps in and knocks him to the floor. Tyler is confused as to why he got mad so easily, and Mason tells him it is the Lockwood curse. Stefan and Damon Salvatore start to suspect that something's up with Mason, especially after he is able to defeat Stefan in an arm wrestling match. Damon uses mind control to provoke a carnival worker into fighting Tyler in the hopes Mason would intervene and reveal what he truly is. Mason does intervene and reveals inhuman like agility in the presence of both Stefan and Tyler. Mason is later seen turning into a werewolf during the night of a full moon. He attempts to lock himself in his vehicle, but upon seeing Stefan moving around the outside of it, he breaks out and runs off into the woods, where he attacks Caroline Forbes. Stefan intervenes and stops him from possibly killing Caroline. In the next episode he is seen talking with Damon, who now knows his secret. Mason attempts to make friends with Damon, but Damon is not willing and even tries to kill Mason with silver, which doesn't work for werewolves aren't weakened by silver. Mason tells Damon that he now has made a new enemy. Stefan makes an attempt to end the conflict between Mason and Damon by trying to make peace with Mason. Mason shakes hands with him, but decides to tell Sheriff Forbes that Stefan and Damon are vampires. After handing them both over he later leaves and finds Caroline in the woods with Elena Gilbert. He realizes that Caroline is a vampire and threatens to tell her mother. Caroline attempts to attack him, but he threatens to kill Elena. Caroline frees Elena and easily beats Mason. Mason is later seen with Katherine Pierce who is asking him about the moon stone. When he tells her he has it, they start kissing. It is revealed in flashbacks that Katherine is responsible for Mason becoming a werewolf by making him kill a man. She then befriended and seduced him to use him for getting the moonstone to her, which was the actual reason he returned to Mystic Falls. Mason is later captured by Bonnie Bennett and Damon in order to find the moonstone before Katherine could get it. After being tortured by Damon, Mason tells that Katherine told him she would be able to lift the curse of the moon if she had the moonstone, but Damon laughs and tells him that Katherine has used him and that she would rip his heart out in the end, but says he will now do it himself. Damon then literally rips Mason's heart out, killing him. In season three, when the doorway to "the other side" is temporarily opened, he appears as a ghost to Damon in order to hurt him, but also help him find a way to defeat Klaus, in order to help his nephew, who Klaus turned into a hybrid. After Mason makes Damon suffer by binding him to a chair, staking him and burn him in the sun, he tells him that he can help defeat Klaus if Damon apologizes to him. When Damon finally does so, Mason takes him to the Lockwood cellar and guides him through a tunnel which ends in a cave that has old paintings on its wall. Bonnie Bennett later closes the doorway to "the other side" again and Mason disappears.
Main article: Original Vampires
Played by Daniel Gillies in seasons two and three, Elijah Mikaelson is the eldest of the original vampire siblings. Elijah first appears in episode eight of season two, entitled "Rose". Elijah is brought into the Vampire Diaries circle by two vampires named Rose and Trevor. They make a deal to be allowed immunity from Elijah and the Originals, if they hand over Elena Gilbert, the new Petrova doppleganger. It is later revealed that Rose and Trevor were the vampires who failed to keep Katerina Petrova (Katherine Pierce) alive for Klaus to sacrifice in the ritual required to release his werewolf abilities. They were subsequently hunted by Klaus and Elijah for centuries. Elijah had feelings for Katerina in 1492 (perhaps due to her resemblance to Tatia the Doppleganger that preceded her) and tried to save her from Klaus; however, she did not trust Elijah and chose to flee. Later, he would punish her for her betrayal by compelling her to stay in a tomb until he said otherwise. Elena is rescued by the Salvatore brothers not long after Elijah kills Trevor, who had betrayed Elijah in the past by helping Katerina escape. The Salvatores attack Elijah and succeed in staking him; however, he comes back to life at the end of the episode because he is an Original vampire who can not be killed by any wooden stake. Elijah then works with a witch to locate Elena. The witch is able to locate her, so he goes to Mystic Falls to confront her, where he ends up saving her from a group of vampires who also wanted to take Elena. It is revealed that those vampires wanted to hand her over to Klaus. When Elijah discovers this, he makes peace with Elena and her friends, because he wants to use Elena as bait to draw out Klaus and kill him. He thus makes a deal with Elena that if she helps him kill Klaus, he will leave her and her friends alone. However, he intends for Elena to be successful sacrificed as once klaus breaks the curse and starts transforming, he will be left vulnerable enough to be killed. During a series of events, Elijah is temporarily "killed" when Elena stabs him with the dagger that can kill an original. When Klaus comes to town, Elena un-daggers Elijah because she needs his help, and he then reveals to her his family's history and the fact that Klaus killed the rest of his siblings. Elijah thus at first tries to help Elena and her friends kill Klaus, but ends up saving him instead in the Season 2 finale episode, because Klaus promises to take Elijah to their family (which Elijah had assumed Klaus had hid their "dead" bodies deep in the ocean) if Elijah spares him. In season three, however, it is revealed that Klaus double-crossed Elijah once again, and daggered him to keep him close to him, like the rest of his daggered siblings. Damon undaggers Elijah later to help him find a way to kill Klaus. When Elijah awakes, he undaggers the rest of his siblings who were located in coffins like his in the same room. They begin to plot their revenge against Klaus, however, before they can make their move, their thought to be dead mother Esther reappears and convinces the siblings to be a family again [which later turns out to be a front for her true motives]. After Elijah foils his mother's plans to kill him and his siblings, he leaves Mystic Falls a tortured soul, ashamed of his own barbaric actions and those of his family's. He is shown to be one of the most sophisticated and peaceful of the Original siblings, alongside Finn. He is the most compromising regarding Elena and her friends. Elijah and Elena develop a sort of understanding during the series, and Elena comes to be fond of Elijah's company. She thus feels especially betrayed when earlier Elijah threatened to allow Rebekah to kill Elena if the Salvatore brothers are not able to stop Esther Mikaelson from killing the Original Family. However, in the 18th episode of season 3, Elena professes that she hopes that her vampire friends are descended from Elijah's bloodline, so that he can be spared. Elijah returns to town in the season three finale episode, "The Departed", in order to make a deal with Elena and her friends. Elijah proposes that he be allowed to take Klaus's desiccated (by witch Bonnie and help from the Salvatores and Tyler) body with him and his siblings and leave town, and in exchange, he would make sure that Klaus would not be resurrected within Elena's lifetime or even that of her children, stating: "perhaps that will teach him some manners". However, Klaus is staked, and Elijah and Rebekah believe him to be dead, even though Klaus actually switched bodies with Tyler Lockwood and lives on.
Claire Holt portrays original vampire Rebekah Mikaelson.
Main article: Original Vampires
Rebekah Mikaelson, portrayed by Claire Holt in season three, is Klaus and Elijah's younger sister and also an original vampire. Rebekah shares a deep bond with her brother Klaus, and was the only family member that remained loyal to him despite his vicious behavior. Klaus thus kept her by his side, while he kept the rest of his family staked and stored away in boxes for hundreds of years. She had a romantic interest in Stefan Salvatore during their encounters in the early 1920s. However, when Klaus and Rebekah were once again forced to go on the run after the arrival of their vengeful father Mikael, Rebekah professed an interest to stop going on the run and live a stable life with Stefan by her side. Klaus subsequently forced her to choose between him and Stefan, and she chose the former. Eventually, Klaus daggers Rebekah. He brings her back to life during the period in which the show takes place, in order to obtain her necklace (which is originally Esther's). The same necklace had been gifted to Elena by Stefan in season one. Rebekah and Klaus thus head to Mystic Falls. Rebekah develops a deep hatred and envy of Elena, and continually tries to hurt, kill, and emotionally distress her, until her brother makes her stop. Later on, Rebekah is once again daggered by Elena, to simplify the Salvatores' plans of killing Klaus. Klaus makes Elena reveal Rebekah's location, and takes her body with him. She is eventually undaggered by Elijah. During her time in Mystic Falls, Rebekah enrolls at the local high school, much to the disgust of Elena and her friends. There, she at first makes romantic advances towards Tyler Lockwood, Caroline Forbes's boyfriend. She later develops a fondness for Matt Donovan, and invites him to her family's ball. Rebekah is shown to be lonely and insecure, though she hides this by being cruel and violent. This is demonstrated quite well through her sexual rendezvouses with Damon Salvatore, an enemy of her family, and the subsequent torture she makes him endure upon being betrayed by him. Rebekah's body is temporarily taken over by her witch mother, Esther, through a spell which Esther performs. She invades Rebekah's body in order to be able to go unnoticed while scheming to kill all of her Original children. Esther later leaves Rebekah's body and stakes her. However, Klaus restores Rebekah to full vitality by removing the stake.
- Chris William Martin portrays Zach Salvatore, Damon and Stefan's nephew, in the first five episodes of the series before being killed by Damon after Zach locked him in a cellar.[2]
- Chris J. Johnson portrays news reporter Logan Fell in season one. He has a short romantic relationship with Jenna, but is later killed by Damon. He returns as a vampire, having been fed blood by Anna, but is eventually killed again by Alaric.
- Jasmine Guy portrays Bonnie's grandmother and powerful witch Sheila Bennett in season one. She acts as a guide for Bonnie and helps her control her powers. She dies after she uses too much of her powers to open the tomb under Fell's Church. She returns as a ghost for one episode in season three to help Bonnie close the doorway to "the other side" again.
- Arielle Kebbel portrays an old friend of Stefan, the 350 year old vampire Lexi Branson, in season one. She tells Elena about the value of love and helps her renew a relationship with Stefan. She is later killed by Damon. She appears in a flashback in season two and returns in season three as a ghost to help Stefan find his humanity.
- Kelly Hu portrays Pearl in season one, a vampire and the mother of Anna. She was locked up in the tomb, but Anna gets her out when Bonnie and her grandmother open it. She becomes the leader of the escaped vampires, but is soon killed by John Gilbert. She returns as a ghost for one episode in season three in which she finds her daughter when the doorway to "the other side" is temporarily opened.
- Sterling Sulieman portrays Harper in season one, a kindhearted vampire that escapes from the tomb when it gets opened, but he is killed by John Gilbert.
- Melinda Clarke plays Kelly Donovan in season one. Kelly is the mother of Matt and Vicki Donovan, who returns to Mystic Falls and finds out her daughter has died.[3]
- Lauren Cohan portrays vampire Rose in season two. She kidnaps Elena in order to hand her over to Elijah, but Elena is saved by Stefan and Damon. She then becomes an ally to them and even starts a small romantic relationship with Damon. After being bitten by werewolf Jules, she endures spasms of great pain, so Damon does her a favor by driving a wooden stake through her heart.
- Bryton James portrays warlock Luka Martin in season two. He befriends Bonnie, but it is later found out that he and his father work for Elijah. He is burned to death by Damon's flamethrower when he tries to invisibly save Elijah.
- Randy J. Goodwin portrays Luka's father Jonas Martin in season two. He is a warlock and is introduced as a friend of Elijah's who can help defeat Klaus in order to save his daughter.[4] He is later killed by Katherine, who is protecting the Salvatore brothers.[5]
- Michaela McManus joins the cast in season two for a guest role as a werewolf named Jules, who comes to town looking for answers on Mason's death.[6] She helps Tyler deal with finding out he is a werewolf, but is later killed during the sacrifice.
- Dawn Olivieri portrays Andie Star in seasons two and three, a love-interest for Damon. He first uses her mainly for feeding and sex, but later grows fond of her. She is killed by Stefan when he wants to prove to Damon that he is not worth saving.
- Gino Anthony Pesi portrays Maddox at the end of season two, a warlock that works for Klaus. He is shot by Matt in the back and soon killed by Damon.
- Jack Coleman is cast as Bill Forbes in season three, Caroline's gay father, who first believes his daughter has become a monster, but later accepts her.[7] He is later bitten by Tyler and then given vampire blood to survive. He is murdered shortly thereafter and, with the vampire blood still in his system, begins to transition. However he refuses to feed to complete the change and dies.
- Sebastian Roché appears as Mikael, the vampire who hunts vampires, in season three. He feeds on vampires and is hunting Klaus.[8] It is later revealed that he is the father of the Originals and Klaus's stepfather. When his plan to kill Klaus backfires, Mikael is killed by Klaus instead.
- Alice Evans portrays Esther in season three, the mother of the Originals and the witch who turned them into vampires. She was killed by Klaus, but when she is awakened by Bonnie and her mother, she tries to kill her children. She is again killed by Alaric after turning him into a vampire to kill the Originals.
- Torrey DeVitto portrays local doctor and member of the Founder's council Meredith Fell in season three. She uses vampire blood to cure people and starts dating Alaric. She knows that Alaric is unknowingly killing people, because of his ring and wants to help him.
- Persia White portrays Abby Bennett in season three, a powerfull witch and Bonnie's mother, who had abandoned her as a child. They reconnect when Bonnie needs her help to open up Esther's coffin. However she later gets turned into a vampire by Damon, which he did to protect Elena, and she abandons Bonnie again.
- Nathaniel Buzolic portrays Kol Mikaelson, one of the Originals and Klaus's younger brother, in season three.
- Casper Zafer portrays Finn Mikaelson in season three, another original vampire and an older brother of Klaus, who is brought back to life by Elijah. Feeling that they are abominations, he starts helping his mother to kill his siblings and himself. After reconnecting with his old lover, Sage, he is killed by Matt.
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