Sebastian Stan was offered the lead role in The Vampire Diaries but turned it down due to burnout after his series Kings was canceled after one season. The part went to Paul Wesley, who played Stefan Salvatore across eight seasons that made the show a hit.
“They offered me Paul Wesley’s role,” Stan told The Hollywood Reporter.
Why Sebastian Stan Turned Down The Offer
Sebastian Stan said the timing was the deciding factor. He had just wrapped Kings, the NBC drama that was canceled after a single season in 2009, and he wasn’t eager to gamble on another series that might not survive its first year.
“I had just come off Kings and I sort of felt really burnt out from that not working out and just sort of the idea of thinking, ‘Oh, I’m just going to sign up again for something that probably is not going to get to the second season,'” Stan said, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Stan also pointed out that he had already spent time in supernatural territory through his role in The Covenant, suggesting the genre itself wasn’t the draw he was looking for at that moment.
How The Show Turned Out Without Him
The Vampire Diaries ran for eight seasons from 2009 to 2017, with Wesley as Stefan opposite Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore and Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert. Stan said he doesn’t dwell on the road not taken.
“I can’t look back and go, ‘Oh, what if?'” Stan said.
Where Stan’s Career Went Instead
Before that crossroads, Stan had built early visibility through roles in Gossip Girl and The Covenant. He went on to reach mainstream stardom as Bucky Barnes, also known as The Winter Soldier, starting with 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, a role that launched his long run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Reflecting on the choice now, Stan said he sees it as part of a larger story about timing and readiness rather than a missed opportunity.
“Now looking back, I feel grateful in a way ’cause I don’t know if I was really ready for that kind of exposure when I was younger, to be honest,” Stan said. “Emotionally and mentally, I know what I went through in those years and my focus was all over the place. Maybe that’s just ’cause it worked out the way it did and this is my story, but I’m definitely in a place right now where I wouldn’t change anything.”
Reporting from The Hollywood Reporter contributed to this story.
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