Katerina Graham Talks Vampire Diaries

Vampire Diaries,ever since it came out last year, has been one of those things that I’ve been desperately trying to avoid and it seems that it’s just there no matter where I turn. That might not turn out to be a bad thing. I mean, that’s how my obsession with Twilight started too. And also with the Diaries series, once I found out that it too was based on a series of books, I became more interested. I have since caught a few full episodes and while I haven’t been completely sucked in yet, I then fell upon this interview with Katerina Graham who, in the series, plays a witch that’s a best friend to a human, who’s boyfriend is a vampire. Stay with us here.

In this interview, Katerina talks about her character, Bonnie Bennett, who’s an up and coming witch, and how she (Katerina) has always held an interest in vampires and vampire culture. The full interview is far too long for us to post here but you can read the interview in its entirety at iesb.net. Here are some of my favorite clips from the exclusive interview,

“The Vampire Diaries has been one of the break-out hits of the Fall 2009 TV season. The freshman series, which returns to The CW on January 21st, tells the story of Mystic Falls high school student Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), whose boyfriend Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) is a centuries-old vampire. While Stefan struggles to live peacefully among humans, his older brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality.
In this exclusive interview, Katerina Graham, who plays Bonnie Bennett, a new witch coming into her own, who also happens to be Elena’s best friend, talks to IESB about how her life has changed since becoming a part of the popular new TV show.

IESB: How did you get involved with The Vampire Diaries?

Katerina: It was just a regular audition. People always ask me, “What made you decide to do The Vampire Diaries?,” and I’m like, “Trust me, it wasn’t my decision.” Of course, I was dying to get an audition for it, but there were people that went in before me, and there were people that went in after me, all for the role of Bonnie. They liked my choices enough that they brought me back, again and again, and then I got the phone call. It’s a very humbling experience, being an actor. I always want to keep it real, when I talk to people about the process because I’m just one of many.

IESB: Once you had been cast and you had a chance to learn more about the character, was there something about Bonnie that you felt you could relate to?

Katerina: Her nature and my nature is very similar. She’s very quick-witted, but still very laid-back, and she has these funny little one-liners and cute things that she says. Her relationship to Elena is very similar to the texture of the relationships I have in my life. There are a lot of similarities.

IESB: Had you even been aware that this show was based on books, prior to being cast?

Katerina: I didn’t know it was based on books, before the audition. During the process, however, I realized that and that’s when I started reading the books. I have all of them and I study them constantly. I realized that, in the beginning, before the pilot even came out, the fans were fans of LJ Smith’s novels.

IESB: Were you a fan of the vampire genre before this, or is this totally new to you?

Katerina: I’ve always been a fan of it. I grew up watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and stuff like that. It was always a big thing. I’ve been a vampire on Halloween multiple times, and I’ve been a witch more times than that, coincidentally. I was just always really into it. It was always cool to do that on Halloween, or to talk to your friends about the new things in vampire culture, and stuff like that. Vampires have always been hot.”

Katerina delves more into her character, Bonnie, further into the interview and the way she talks about the young witch and how she comes to be who she is also makes me very interested in watching the show. As far as I can guess, the series is still in its first year as it premiered on September 10, 2009 and, as the quote states, will be back to the TV screen on January 21st. Looks like I’ll have to start making a special effort to watch it.

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