Ian Somerhalder

Ian Somerhalder
Somerhalder in 2013
Born	Ian Joseph Somerhalder (1978-12-08) December 8, 1978 (age 38) Covington, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, model
Years active	1997–present
Spouse(s)	Nikki Reed (m. 2015)

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

Somerhalder was born and raised in Covington, Louisiana, the son of Edna, a massage therapist, and Robert Somerhalder, an independent building contractor. He is the second of three children, with an older brother, Robert, and younger sister, Robyn. He attended Mandeville High School, a public school in Mandeville, Louisiana. He embarked on a modeling career from age 10 to 13, and by the age of 17 he decided to go into acting.

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 one of the first actors to be cast in a role for the series and the first major character to die.