Vampire Diaries and V Wars Actor Ian Somerhalder Grew Up Afraid of Vampires

Actor Ian Somerhalder went from playing vampire Damon Salvatore on "The Vampire Diaries," to fighting against them in his new Netflix series, "V Wars."

He's even married to actress Nikki Reed, who starred in "The Twilight Saga" as a vampire!

So, we don't blame Rach for asking the question we all have: Was he always into vampires?

Evidently, yes — although Ian says that when he was a kid growing up in Louisiana, vampires scared the life out of him!

"I grew up on Lake Pontchartrain, which is the lake that looks out over New Orleans," Ian says. "When I was a kid — because of the lore of vampires in New Orleans, Anne Rice and everything — you could sit on the shore of the lake and look out at the city and see this twinkling, sparkling… and I used to think, 'they're over there.'"

Ian and Rach also chatted about their shared passion for animal rescue — Rach raises money for no-kill animal shelters through her pet food brand Nutrish, while Ian's foundation, ISF, has a program that provides emergency medical care grants for rescued animals.

"We've saved everything from snakes to sea lions to pelicans, but lots of dogs, cats and horses," Ian says. Rach can relate once again, because Nutrish gives to foundations that rescue chimps, three-legged goats and more — in addition to dogs, cats and horses.

She's said it before and she'll say it again: "I eat all of the cat food and dog food to prove to people the quality," Rach tells Ian about Nutrish's products.

Well, it looks like Ian will need to come back on our show soon and fulfill a promise to Rach: "Let's bring [our foundations] together, and I will eat this dog and cat food, too," he says.