Somerhalder: Family ties for cast

Ian Somerhalder has revealed there is no awkwardness acting alongside his ex Nina Dobrev, because they are as close as family.

The Vampire Diaries star, who plays bloodsucker Damon Salvatore, admitted that his bond with co-stars Nina (Elena Gilbert/Katherine Pierce), who he split with in May, and Paul Wesley (Stefan Salvatore) is unbreakable.

“We are like family. We’re literally like siblings,” he said.

“Being on a television show, you’re essentially living together and you go through all these insane experiences with one another. We are exceptionally close and we have bonded. We have ginormous amounts of respect for one another, we have the luxury of being able to bring four years of being around each other.

The 34-year-old added: “There’s an exorbitant amount of trust that goes into this type of work, so it’s wonderful.”

The third season of The Vampire Diaries will begin on October 3 in the US, and viewers will see a loved-up Damon and Elena.

“There will be a very different dynamic. You will see a different Damon than you’ve ever seen. I don’t like ‘soft’ Damon but this guy is kind of adorable,” Ian teased.

“He’s just so totally in love and so happy for once, and we haven’t seen Elena like this in a very long time. You’ll see both the characters in a different light and it’s really refreshing. But I don’t think anything in Mystic Falls is ‘happy ever after’ because then there would be no drama. So this is probably not going to last very long.”

:: The fourth season of The Vampire Diaries and complete seasons 1-4 box set are out on Blu-ray and DVD now.

Somerhalder: Family ties for cast