IANS may refer to:

• Indo-Asian News Service, Indian news agency
• International Association for New Science, defunct American organisation
• Inter Active Network Systems
• Institute for Applied Network Security, American security industry organisation
• Institute of Air Navigation Services (IANS), a division of European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation

See also[link]

• Ian

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Ian Paice
Ian Paice live in concert with Deep Purple at the Labatt Centre in London, Ontario, Canada (2005)
Background information
Birth name	Ian Anderson Paice
Born	(1948-06-29) 29 June 1948 (age 63) Nottingham, England
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal, blues-rock, progressive rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Drums, percussion
Years active	1965–present
Associated acts	Deep Purple, Green Bullfrog, Paice, Ashton & Lord, Whitesnake, Gary Moore, Paul McCartney, The Velvet Underground

Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has released.

The early years[link]

Ian Paice got his first drum kit at 15. He began his professional career in the late 50s playing drums in his father's dance band. The first band he was in was called Georgie & the Rave-Ons, which after being renamed for The Shindigs released their first single featuring 17-year old Ian Paice and George Adams.

Deep Purple, Ian Paice 1970

In 1966 Paice joined The MI5, which soon changed its name to The Maze and produced a number of singles, recorded mainly in Italy and France. The band featured Rod Evans, who alongside Paice was to form the original line-up of Deep Purple in February 1968.

During this time Ian Paice was also heavily involved in doing sessions for various artists from the stable of the famous 60s producer Derek Lawrence.

Whitesnake[link]

After Deep Purple split, Ian Paice went on to form a new supergroup, Paice, Ashton & Lord in 1976. The band, comprising also singer/pianist Tony Ashton, organist Jon Lord, guitarist/vocalist Bernie Marsden and bassist Paul Martinez recorded one album, Malice in Wonderland and they played only five live shows. It was put on hold in 1977, halfway through recording the group's second album. They subsequently broke up, allegedly because Tony Ashton only felt at home playing live shows in little clubs.^{[citation needed]}

In 1979, Ian Paice was asked by David Coverdale to join Whitesnake on the Japanese Tour for the Lovehunter album in 1979. He stayed with the band for the next three years. He appeared on the Whitesnake albums Ready an' Willing (1980), Live...in the Heart of the City (1980), Come an' Get It (1981) and Saints & Sinners (1982).

This incarnation of Whitesnake also featured Jon Lord which meant three members of the Mark III lineup of Deep Purple were in Whitesnake during this period. Following musical differences with David Coverdale, Ian Paice left Whitesnake in 1982.^{[citation needed]}

Gary Moore Band[link]

In November 1982 Ian Paice joined Gary Moore for an album date ("Corridors of Power"). It turned out so nicely that Moore's manager came up with the idea of Moore and Paice putting a band together under Moore's name, so that his management would take the business side of the project with Paice having a sizable interest in the band.

The collaboration turned out to be a successful one and produced a couple of albums and extensive tours. Ian Paice left Moore's band in April 1984 to rejoin Deep Purple, and he remains in Deep Purple to the present day.

Notable collaborations[link]

In 1974 Ian Paice was among English rock musicians invited by Eddie Harris, an American jazz player, to take part in the saxophonist's London sessions at Morgan Studios. Paice played on two songs: "He's Island Man" and "I've Tried Everything" along Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood and Rick Grech. The album called E.H. in the U.K. - The Eddie Harris London Sessions, produced by Geoffrey Haslam, was released later that year thru Atlantic Records.

In July 1989 Ian Paice took part in George Harrison's recording session at Friar Park, which resulted in three songs "Cheer Down", "Cockamamie Business" and "Poor Little Girl", which also featured Jeff Lynne, Jim Horn and Richard Tandy among others. The songs were recorded for the compilation album Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989, released in October the same year. The purpose of this album was to close Harrison's contractual obligations to Warner Brothers. "Cheer Down" was also released on the Lethal Weapon II (1989) soundtrack album.

In March 1999 Ian Paice joined Paul McCartney at Abbey Road studios for the recording of Run Devil Run, released in October that year. The line-up also featured Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and The Pirates' Mick Green. Paice also joined the album's line-up at three one-off performances in September and December 1999, including a show at the famous Cavern Club. Steve Morse said of Ian Paice: "He's like a real heavy Ringo. He's just so good on the drums, but doesn't want to make a big deal about it."^[1]

In 2001 Ian Paice guested Jim Capaldi's album Living on the Outside. He plays on a 1960's style rock and roll song "Anna Julia" and guitar-driven "We're Not Alone". "Anna Julia", which was also released as a single and turned out considerable hit, also features George Harrison and Paul Weller.

Ian Paice has worked on numerous occasions with former Spencer Davis Group drummer, Pete York. In December 2001 the two played a low key club tour of Germany, playing two drums on one stage, supported by Colin Hodgkinson (bass) and Miller Anderson (guitar, vocals). Apart from the regular setlist consisting of songs from York's and Paice's back catalogue, the shows featured impromptu drumming demonstrations and Q's & A's sessions.

Ian Paice often joins on stage Italian guitarist Tolo Marton, with whom he has performed on many occasions over the last decade. Marton's live album Dal Vero (2002) features Ian Paice on Jimi Hendrix classics "Stone Free" and "Hey Joe".

The long list of Ian Paice's declared admirers includes Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Chad Smith. On 21 June 2004 Smith and Paice joined forces at the launch of the London Drum Company. The next year they also played together at the Modern Drummer Festival at New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Both performances were released on DVD.

In mid 2011 Paice took part in the all-star recording of William Shatner's Seeking Major Tom, the actor's fourth album, a collection of space-themed cover songs. Paice plays on a rendition of Deep Purple's "Space Truckin'" alongside Johnny Winter. The album also features former Deep Purple guitar player, Ritchie Blackmore.

Special performances[link]

On 19 June 1992 Ian Paice was among guest musicians performing at the Leukaemia Research charity concert in Oxford. The concert featured members of Bad Company and Procol Harum as well as Gary Moore and Tony Ashton.

Ian Paice joined Tony Ashton at two performances at the Hell Blues Festival on 10 and 11 September 1999 in Norway. The band also featured Paul Martinez on bass who had played alongside Ashton and Paice in Paice, Ashton & Lord in 1976/1977. The group was, however, billed as Tony Ashton & Legendary Friends.

Ian Paice entertained more than 1000 people at a special charity concert in Reading on 13 January 2006. This highly successful event, which raised over £7000, was organised by Chris Wright, MD of DrumWright. The show was organised in aid of Tong-Len, which supports primary education for highly deprived children in Northern India.^[2]

On 31 March – 1 April 2006 Ian Paice joined Don Airey, Thomas Blug and Thijs van Leer at impromptu performances held during the ProLight+Sound fair in Frankfurt, Germany. The show included songs from the highly acclaimed Billy Cobham album Spectrum as well as songs by Deep Purple and Focus.

Since 2006 Paice is also involved in The Sunflower Jam, a London-based charity founded by his wife Jacky Paice and also involving actor Jeremy Irons. Paice is usually featured as a member of the SunflowerJam house band. He has performed there with likes of Robert Plant, Gary Moore and Bruce Dickinson.

On 2 March 2007 Ian Paice held a drum clinic organised by the University of Glamorgan. The show was organised in partnership with ATRiuM the University’s Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries. Commenting after the show Paice said: "ATRiuM will be a great place for young musicians to learn their craft, not to mention all the other things they’ve got going on there. This drum clinic of mine will hopefully demonstrate that drummers are also musicians, despite the jokes!".^[3]

On 13 January 2008 Paice took part in the ChildLine Rocks charity concert in London, where he played with former Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes for the first time since 1976.

On 24 May 2008 Ian Paice participated in "Rock Legends Adventure" concert in Cologne, Germany. He joined an all-stars lineup featuring Pete York, Leland Sklar, Steve Lukather, Bobby Kimball and John Miles among others. Paice played on 10 of 32 songs performed that night, including The Kinks' "You Really Got Me", The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Come Together", Allman Brothers Band's "One Way Out", Steve Wonder's "Superstition" and Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water".

Ian Paice appeared at the Pearl Day (Pearl drums event) which was held on 1 June 2008 at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham, UK. Apart from Paice, guests included Jerry Brown, Mark Brzezecki, Jimmy Degrasso, Darrin Mooney, and Dan Foord.

On 6 September 2009 Ian Paice joined Neil Murray, Doogie White, Jonathan Noyce, Clive Bunker and Phil Hilborne at a "Night with Jethro Tull and Deep Purple" concert in Turin, Italy.

On April 2, 2012 Ian Paice performed at the Buddy Rich 25th Anniversary Memorial Concert at the London Palladium. He was joined on stage by the Buddy Rich Orchestra and Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson.

Personal life[link]

Ian Paice is married and has three children: James, Emmy and Calli. His wife, Jacky, is the twin sister of Jon Lord's wife, Vicky. Paice lives with his family in the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

It had been rumored (and even mentioned by former Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme in an interview) that Paice has only one lung.^[4] In reality, he is only missing a portion of the lower lobe in his left lung, due to contracting a case of pneumonia when he was 6 years old that turned into tuberculosis.^[5]

He is almost always seen wearing blue (or occasionally green or purple)-tinted spectacle lenses.^[6][7]

Drum clinics/guest performances[link]

Ian Paice has been touring with his drum clinics extensively since the 1980s. Additionally, he very often gives performances with Deep Purple coverbands, playing many obscure Deep Purple songs, often never played by the band itself.

1990s

• 1992 – UK, Oxford – charity concert in aid of Leukemia Research
• 1997 – Poland
• September 1999 – Norway, Hell, Hell Blues Festival – concert with Paul Martinez (bs) and Tony Ashton (vpc/pno), also a drum clinic

2001

• March 2001 – drum clinics in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney Australia
• December 2001 – Tour of Germany with Pete York (dr), Colin Hodgkinson (bs) and Miller Anderson (voc/gtr)

2002

• 15 March 2002 – one-off concert with Italian guitarist Tolo Marton
• September 2002 – Poland, Opole – appearance at the Opole Drumming Festival

2004

• 24 June 2004 – UK, London – concert at the opening of London Drum Company with Chad Smith, filmed and released on DVD the next year

2005

• 2005 – concert with Chad Smith at the Modern Drummer Festival, filmed and released on DVD
• 2005 – Poland, Piekary Śląskie
• 2005 – Sweden, Stockholm, Bass n' Drum Festival
• 25 May 2005 – Austria, Vienna – concert with a band led by Austrian drummer, Bernhard Welz
• 3 August 2005 – Italy, Trieste – concert with the Italian Deep Purple cover band Rain
• 29 November 2005 – UK, London – Appearance at the Clive Burr Testimonial

2006

• 13 January – UK, Reading – charity concert
• 31 March & 1 April – Germany, Frankfurt, ProLight+Sound – two concerts with Don Airey, Thijs van Leer, and others
• September – UK, London – charity concert at The Sunflower Jam, organised by Jacky Paice

2007

• 22–25 February – Netherlands/Germany/Austria – four concerts with a German Deep Purple coverband, Demon's Eye
• 2 March – UK, Wales, Glamorgan University – guest appearance in support of the Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries initiative
• 20 September – UK, London – concert at The Sunflower Jam, organised by Jacky Paice
• 17 October – UK, Liverpool – concert with a Deep Purple coverband, Cheap Purple

2008

• 13 January – UK, England, London – performance at the Childline Rocks with Glenn Hughes
• 5 April – Italy, Padova – concert with an Italian Deep Purple coverband Terzo Capitolo
• 24 May – Germany, Cologne – Rock Legends Adventures
• 1 June – UK, England, Nottingham, East Midlands Conference Centre – Pearl Day 2008
• 29 August – Italy, Fano, Marina dei Cesari – drum clinic and concert with Machine Head, Italian Deep Purple coverband
• 25 September – UK, England, London – charity concert at The Sunflower Jam, organised by Jacky Paice
• 17–20 December – Short German tour with a Deep Purple coverband, Purpendicular

2009

• 8 February – Russia, Moscow – drum clinic
• 31 July – Italy, Bordighera – concert with The Running Birds
• 3 August – Italy, San Giorgio Piacentino, Dragon Beer Fest with Italian band Matt Filippucci, and Bernie Marsden
• 6 August – Italy, Fermignano, Stadio Comunale with Italian Deep Purple coverband Machine Head
• 4 September – Italy, Rome – drum clinic and concert with an Italian Deep Purple coverband Hush
• 6 September – Italy, Turin – drum clinic and concert with Phil Hilborne, Neil Murray and Doogie White as part of "Night with Jethro Tull and Deep Purple" concert
• 20 September – Paris, La Pigalle, La Baguetterie – drum clinic alongside Billy Cobham
• 24 September – UK, England, London – concert at The Sunflower Jam, organised by Jacky Paice
• 6 Nov – Poland, Bydgoszcz, Lizard King – concert with Free Blues Band (Bydgoskie Drums Fuzje 2009)
• 7 Nov – Poland, Szczecin, Free Blues Club – concert with Free Blues Band (FBB 30th anniversary celebrations)

2010

• 24 January – UK, Lemington Spa – Judged the National Young Drummer of the Year Competition
• 28 January – Italy, Verona – with Deep Purple tribute band Forever Deep
• 29 January – Spain, Vigo – with Deep Purple coverband Hush
• 30 January – Spain, La Coruña – with Deep Purple coverband Hush
• 26 March – Hungary, Győr – Győr's 11th Drummer Festival with coverband Cry Free (Hungarian Deep Purple Cover Band)
• 8 April – Italy, Padova – with Tolo Marton Band (40th anniversary of "In Rock")
• 9 April – Italy, Calvari – with Tolo Marton Band (40th anniversary of "In Rock")
• 16 December – Italy, Verona – with Deep Purple tribute band Forever Deep (special guest Tolo Marton)
• 18 December – Italy, Castelmassa (with Deep Purple tribute band Forever Deep)
• 19 December – Italy, Caserta, Polo Regency (with Deep Purple tribute band The Stage)

2011

• 1 April – Italy, Pompei, Hotel Vittoria (with Deep Purple tribute band The Stage)
• 2 April – Italy, Cremona, Highway Star Rockclub (with Matt Filippini Band)
• 5 August – Italy, Genova, Sestri Levante, Teatro Arena Conchiglia (with Tolo Marton Band)
• 6 August – Italy, Tagliacozzo, Disco Pub Duca33 (drum clinic)
• 6 August – Italy, Tagliacozzo, Complesso Turistico "Rolling Park" (with Tolo Marton Band, Somewhere in Rome and Steel Tyrant)
• 10 September – Italy, Pavia di Udine, Sagra dei Pirus (with Italian Deep Purple tribute band RAIN)
• 18 November – Italy, Vicenza, Teatro Astra di Schio (with Italian Deep Purple tribute band Forever Deep & Tolo Marton)
• 19 November – Italy, Sassari, Vintage Cafe (drum clinic and concert with Matt Filippini Band)

2012

• 28 January – Italy, Verona, San Giovanni Lupatoto, Teatro Astra (with Italian Deep Purple tribute band Forever Deep & Tolo Marton)
• 13 February – Canada, Toronto, Just Drums (drum clinic)
• 18 February – Canada, Calgary, Axe Music (celebrity guest)
• 21 March – Switzerland, Patteln (with Deep Purple tribute band - Purpendicular)
• 23 March – Germany, Aschaffenburg (with Deep Purple tribute band - Purpendicular)
• 2 April – England, London, Palladium - Buddy Rich Memorial Concert
• 5 August – Italy, Genova, Teatro Arena Conchigilia (with Tolo Marton Band)
• 6 August – Italy, Tagliacozzo, DISCO PUB "DUCA33" (drum clinic)
• 6 August – Italy, Tagliacozzo, Complesso Turistico "Rolling Park" (with Deep Purple tribute band - Perfect Strangers)

Equipment[link]

Today Ian uses Pearl drumkits as his main performing drums, incorporating Paiste cymbals and Pro-Mark sticks. He used Ludwig kits during the seventies and early eighties in remarkable large sizes: 26" Bassdrum, 16" Tom, an 18 & 20" Floortom and a 14 x 6,5" Supraphonic snare which was a blueprint for his signature snare from Pearl. In 1982 he switched companies, because Ludwig's development stalled, and he got a better deal from Pearl. He also prefers a single bass drum set-up, both live and in the studio . Pearl Drums produce his signature snare drum.^[8]

He has also released a solo DVD which is aimed at both drummers and music fans in general.^[1]

Actual setup[link]

MMP Masters Series in Silver Sparkle

• 26x16 bass drum w/ mounted cowbell ( Pearls website states than Ian uses a 24 bass drum but in reality Pearl makes him a custom order 26 bass drum.
• 10x10 rack tom
• 12x10 rack tom
• 13x11 rack tom
• 16x16 floor tom
• 18x16 floor tom
• 14x12 tom (above 16" floor tom)
• 15x12 tom (above 18" floor tom)
• 14x6.5 Ian Paice snare drum

Paiste cymbals

(the cymbals are listed from right to left, because he plays a left-handed drum setup)

• 15" 2002 sound edge hi-hat
• 22" 2002 crash
• 8" 2002 splash
• 22" 2002 ride
• 24" 2002 crash
• 22" 2002 china

Hardware

• B2000 boom stand
• B2000 boom stand
• B2000 boom stand
• B2000 boom stand
• B2000 boom stand
• H2000 hi-hat stand
• S2000 snare stand
• D2000 drum throne
• TH2000 tom holder
• TH2000 tom holder
• TH2000 tom holder
• TH2000 tom holder
• TH2000 tom holder
• CH2000 cymbal holder
• CH1000 cymbal holder
• AX38 adapter
• AX38 adapter
• AX20 adapter
• Pearl P-3002D Eliminator Demon Drive left-footed double pedal

Sticks

Promark TX808LW Ian Paice model

• length : 16 1/8"
• diameter : 0.579"

Drum technique[link]

Paice is primarily left-handed with a left-handed drum-kit set-up and uses the matched-grip approach. He is well known for his extremely fast and smooth single and double stroke rolls as well as single bass pedal speed. He is also known for perfecting the one-handed roll as demonstrated on a Drummers World video.

Recognitions[link]

On 5 November 2007 at the Classic Rock Awards, Jacky and Ian Paice received the ChildLine award in recognition of their philanthropic work with the SunflowerJam raising money for children with cancer. Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden presented them with the award. It was the first time the award has been given.

On April 2, 2012 Ian Paice was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Buddy Rich 25th Anniversary Memorial Concert at the London Palladium.

Discography[link]

MI5 & The Maze[link]

• 1966 You'll Never Stop Me Loving You/Only Time Will Tell (SP, UK)
• 1966 Hello Stranger/Telephone (SP, UK)
• 1967 Aria Del Sud/Non Fatemio Odiare (SP, Italy)
• 1967 Harlem Shuffle/What Now/The Trap/I'm So Glad (EP, France)
• 1967 Catteri, Catteri/Easy Street (SP, UK)

Gary Moore Band[link]

• 1982 Corridors of Power
• 1982 Live at the Marquee (EP)
• 1983 Falling in Love with You (EP)
• 1983 Rockin' Every Night - Live in Japan (European release: 1986)
• 1983 Victims of the Future
• 1984 We Want Moore!

Solo[link]

• 2002 Not for the Pro's (DVD+CD)
• 2005 Chad Smith & Ian Paice – Live Performances, Interviews, Tech Talk and Soundcheck (DVD)
• 2006 Modern Drummer Festival 2005 (DVD)
• 2007 Ian Paice and Friends Live In Reading 2006 (DVD)

Guest appearances[link]

• 1967 Do Your Own Thing/Goodbye Baby Goodbye (Soul Brothers, SP)
• 1968 I Shall Be Released/Down In The Flood (Boz Burrell, SP)
• 1968 I Feel Fine/Let Me Love You (Tony Wilson, SP)
• 1968 Sundragon (Sundragon)
• 1971 Natural Magic (Green Bullfrog)
• 1971 In My Time (Mike Hurst)
• 1972 Gemini Suite (Jon Lord)
• 1972 Home is Where You Find It (Eddie Hardin)
• 1972 The Pete York Percussion Band (The Pete York Percussion Band)
• 1972 Squeeze (Velvet Underground)
• 1973 Bump & Grind (Jackson Heights)
• 1974 E.H. in the U.K. – (Eddie Harris)
• 1974 First of the Big Bands (Tony Ashton & Jon Lord)
• 1975 Funkist (Bobby Harrison)
• 1977 You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks (Eddie Hardin)
• 1978 Composition (Kirby^{[disambiguation needed ]})
• 1980 And About Time Too (Bernie Marsden)
• 1980 Free Spirit (Ken Hensley, "Brown Eyed Boy")
• 1981 Look At Me Now (Bernie Marsden)
• 1982 Before I Forget (Jon Lord)
• 1983 Arrested – The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Friends Tribute to Police ("Truth Hits Everybody", "Arrested", "Message in a Bottle", "Invisible Sun")
• 1987 Super Drumming (Pete York & Friends)
• 1989 Best of Dark Horse 1976-89 (George Harrison)
• 1990 Jump The Gun (Pretty Maids)
• 1990 Pete York Presents Super Drumming Volume 3 (Pete York & Friends)
• 1993 BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert '74 (Tony Ashton & Jon Lord)
• 1994 From Time To Time (Ken Hensley, "Inspiration")
• 1999 Run Devil Run (Paul McCartney)
• 1999 Live at the Cavern (Paul McCartney, DVD)
• 2001 Living on the Outside (Jim Capaldi)
• 2001 Twister (Max Magagni)
• 2002 Dal Vero (Tolo Marton, "Stone Free", "Hey Joe")
• 2003 E-Thnik (Mario Fasciano)
• 2006 Gillan's Inn (Ian Gillan, "Sugar Plum", "Trashed", "Smoke On The Water", "No Laughing In Heaven")
• 2006 Time To Take A Stand (Moonstone Project, +2008 extended ed., "Rose in Hell", "Where Do You Hide The Blues You've Got")
• 2007 Little Hard Blues (Andrea Ranfagni, "Forget My Boogie", )
• 2009 Rebel On The Run (Moonstone Project, song "Halfway To Heaven")
• 2010 Stay Tuned (Bernhard Welz, "Drum Jam - live 2002")
• 2010 Made in Verona - Live (Forever Deep - The Italian Deep Purple Tribute)
• 2011 Seeking Major Tom (William Shatner, "Space Truckin'")
• 2012 Raining Rock (Jettblack, "Feel the Love")

Film and TV appearances[link]

• 1983 Rock School (BBC, educational)
• 1991 Deep Purple - Heavy Metal Pioneers (Warner, interviewee)
• 1995 Rock Family Trees, ep. 'Deep Purple' (BBC, interviewee)
• 2002 Classic Albums, ep. 'Deep Purple - Machine Head' (ITV, interviewee)
• 2004 Roger Glover - Made in Wales (ITV, interviewee)
• 2005 Hard Rock Treasures (Feature, interviewee)
• 2006 Heavy Metal: Louder Than Life (Feature, interviewee)
• 2006 Brick by Brick - The Building of Gillan's Inn (DVD special)
• 2007 Highway Star: A Journey in Rock (interviewee)
• 2010 I'm in a Rock n' Roll Band, ep. 'The Drummer' (BBC, interviewee)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Interview with Ian in web magazine Drummer's Digest
• Ludwig Drummer illustrated article on Ian Paice's pre-1984 drums setup
• The Sunflower Jam

Ian Somerhalder
Born	Ian Joseph Somerhalder (1978-12-08) December 8, 1978 (age 33) Covington, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, model
Years active	1997–present

Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor and model, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.

Early life[link]

Somerhalder was born and raised in Covington, Louisiana, the son of Edna, a massage therapist, and Robert Somerhalder, an independent building contractor.^[1] Raised Catholic, he attended St. Paul's, a private Catholic school in Covington. He embarked on a modeling career from age 10 to 13,^[2] and by the age of 17 he decided to go into acting.

Career[link]

Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder

In the summer of 2000, Somerhalder starred in the short-lived WB series Young Americans, a spin-off of Dawson's Creek. He played Hamilton Fleming, the son of the dean of a prestigious boarding school. In 2002, Somerhalder played bisexual character Paul Denton in Roger Avary's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel, The Rules of Attraction, alongside James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, and Jessica Biel.

In 2004, Somerhalder scored his breakthrough role when he played Boone Carlyle in the hit TV show Lost. Despite his character's death in the twentieth episode of the first season, Somerhalder returned to the role of Boone for seven more episodes between 2005 and 2010, including the series finale. Somerhalder was the first actor to be cast in a role for the series and the first character to die.

In 2009, Somerhalder appeared in the movie The Tournament where he played the role of an assassin participating in a lethal competition with other assassins. On 10 October 2009, it was announced that he will star in the Gothic movie Cradlewood, which is to be directed by Harry Weinmann.^[3] The movie is set to be released in 2013.^[4] He appears in the coffee table book About Face by celebrity photographer John Russo.^[5][6]

In June 2009 Somerhalder was cast in the role of Vampire Damon Salvatore as a series regular in The CW television drama series The Vampire Diaries. The series premiere attracted The CW's highest premiere ratings of any season premiere since the network began in 2006. The series has continued to be the highest rated series on its channel with both Somerhalder's performance and show receiving a positive response from critics. Somerhalder has received a Teen Choice Award for his participation on the series. The shows third and most recent season premiered on September 15, 2011.^[7]

Personal life[link]

While working on The Vampire Diaries, Somerhalder began dating his co-star Nina Dobrev.^[8]

Philanthropy[link]

Somerhalder was involved in the cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling disaster on April 22, 2010. His efforts included cleaning of oiled wildlife and taping public service announcements to let the public know how they could help.^[9] Somerhalder also supports the St. Tammany Humane Society, an organization for animal shelter and welfare. On November 13, 2010, he hosted a Bash on the Bayou charity fundraiser for the Society. During the event, Somerhalder was presented with a donation of $11,100 by The Vampire Diaries fandom for his birthday project.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Together with his The Vampire Diaries co-stars Candice Accola and Michael Trevino, Somerhalder supports the It Gets Better Project, which makes it a goal to prevent suicide among LGBT youth^[14] associated with The Trevor Project.^[15]

Somerhalder announced, via Twitter and in various interviews that he was setting up The Ian Somerhalder Foundation (launched on December 8, 2010, Somerhalder's 32nd birthday), which he hopes will educate people on the importance of protecting the environment and animals: "Instead of gifts this year, my birthday wish is that we come together and raise funds to support projects that protect our habitat and nurture our furry friends.^[16][17]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ian Somerhalder

• Ian Somerhalder at the Internet Movie Database
• Ian Somerhalder on Twitter