“Hi, guys! How are you?”
With this warm greeting, Ian Somerhalder set the easy-friendly tone during this one-on-one at the presidential suite of Manila Peninsula where he was billetted during his brief visit (arriving Saturday last week and leaving Thursday night back to L.A.) as the newest addition to Penshoppe’s “All Stars” endorsers (including Thai popstar Mario Maurer, Gossip Girl actor Ed Westwick, Zac Efron and Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester who arrived Friday for her own pictorial).
“Is everybody okay?” Ian smiled, his eyes picking out those inside the room, so mesmerizing crystal-blue that when I asked him if they were real, and not merely contact lenses, he jokingly pretended to extract them out of their sockets and put them on my palm.
When he saw his picture on The STAR announcing his arrival, he commented, “That picture was taken more than 10 years ago, in 2001.” Told that he still looked the same, Ian laughed. “Crazy, am I not?” Hmmmm, “A bit,” I told him.
Then, I asked him if he bites people, referring to his role as Vampire Damon Salvatore in the hit US TV series The Vampire Diaries, and Ian jokingly said that, yes, he did. Only in the series, perhaps, and not in real life. (But wait until you read about such “biting” incident off-camera.)
Born on Dec. 8, 1978, in Covington, Louisiana, by a mother who is a massage therapist and a father who is an independent building contractor, Ian Joseph Somerhalder was raised a Catholic. He started modeling at age 10 and ventured into acting at 17. It was smooth sailing for him from then on.
In 2000, Ian starred in the short-lived TV series Young Americans, a spin-off of Dawson’s Creek, and in 2002 played a bisexual in The Rules Of Attraction. His breakthrough role came in 2004 in the hit TV show Lost. Then, came The Vampire Diaries.
As one of Penshoppe’s “All Stars” endorsers, Ian brings into the campaign his advocacy for the preservation of the environment. Fittingly, his campaign was shot in eco-friendly Palawan, specifically in El Nido.
“Ian was easy to deal with,” said Joyce Ramirez, head of PR Asia Worldwide, who conceptualized Penshoppe’s “All Stars” campaign.
At a presscon a day before he left, Ian was happy to learn from Golden ABC CEO Bernie Liu, maker of Penshoppe (a 100-percent Filipino clothing line) that Penshoppe has partnered with The Ian Somerhalder Foundation (TISF) in its environmental-conservation efforts.
“A portion of the sales from Ian’s campaign will be donated by Penshoppe to TISF,” said Joyce. “The campaign will be formally launched in June.”
Said Alex Mendoza, Penshoppe’s brand director, “People were saying that this kind of campaign was not possible. Well, we have proven that it is. The campaign has been successfully bringing Penshoppe to international attention.”
Welcome to the Philippines, Ian.
“Thank you very much. I still can’t believe that I am here.”
You’ve been here for five days. How have things been so far?
“Amazing! It’s extremely beautiful here. The people have been phenomenal. Everyone at Penshoppe has been nice. It’s been an amazing trip.”
What was your reaction when the brand was offered to you to endorse?
“It’s the first time as an actor that I am endorsing anything. When I got the offer, I said, ‘It’s incredible!’ Free trip to the Philippines…I get to hang out with great people…hang out on islands in the South China Sea.”
You were in Palawan for the Penshoppe shoot. Did you visit the Underground River?
“I didn’t. But I went to the lagoon. I was in El Nido which is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Incredible!”
Of course, you wore Penshoppe clothes…
….”I’m wearing one now!”
How do you find them?
“Comfortable, wonderful. I love it!”
Are you going to wear them in The Vampire Diaries and your other shows?
“I will…if they send me some stuff.”
Did you have spare time for a quick look-see of Manila?
“I haven’t, yet, but I’m thinking that on my next trip, I will do it.”
Oh, you’re coming back. For vacation or for work?
“Probably for both. I definitely want to go to Cebu. I want to check out Manila. And also, I want to explore more islands.”
There are 7,000 islands to explore.
“Actually, there are 7,107.”
Oh, I stand corrected. High tide or low tide?
“Hahahahaha!”
What have you heard about the Philippines before you came?
“You know, that’s an interesting question. I’ve known about the Philippines my entire life. My father was very, very fond of this country. But I didn’t really get a chance to explore what this country was until I looked it up in the map. It looks like a bunch of islands. Nothing could prepare me for how beautiful it was….it is! The resorts that we visited were completely green, very eco-friendly. It was amazing! The Filipino people are really taking great strides in protecting this incredibly beautiful land that you guys have. It’s very refreshing and very inspiring.”
I understand your interest in the greenness of the Philippines because one of your advocacies is the protection of the
“It’s just a part of me, of who I am and what I do. I think it gives me a great opportunity to bring the youth together and allow them to be inspired and be creative and sort of take control of the future because ultimately it’s theirs. The world will hopefully change for the better and we’re gonna do it and we will help the youth.”
You being a lover of animals, I presume that you have pets at home.
“I do. I have a number of pets. My whole family…we have a lot of pets. Dogs, cats and a lot of other animals. I’m buying this huge farm in Louisiana and it’s going to be an animal sanctuary, a big one.”
Oh, you’re going to put up a zoo!
“Kind of.”
Why don’t you just buy one like what Matt Damon does in the movie I Bought a Zoo?
“It’s going to be a sanctuary for abandoned and mistreated animals. What I’m gonna do is bring kids who also have behavioral issues, who are victims of bullying. We’re gonna bring them to this farm and teach them to care for each other. It’s gonna be cool.”
If you go around Metro Manila, you will see a few stray cats.
“A few, huh? Well, that’s another thing that we’re gonna do. We’re finishing the research on ‘species specific sterilization drug’ for cats and dogs. So, just a little pill and…”
Will it not stop them from reproducing?
“I’m pretty sure that in the next decade we can take the number of stray animals in the world and reduce it by 75 to 90 percent.”
Your other advocacy is preventing gays and lesbians from committing suicide.
“Yeah, that’s one of the bullying components. One of the big parts of the farm is allowing bullies and their victims to take a step back and spend time with the animals that also have behavioral issues, and learn compassion together. If you show them what it means to be compassionate, I think that’s going to be one of the bases of humanity. If you learn to be compassionate, your whole life opens up and, if we have compassion for each other, we will live in a much better world.”
Speaking of The Vampire Diaries…Obviously you enjoy playing a vampire.
“I do, yeah! Biting people and seducing women, why not?”
Why do you think fans are fascinated with modern-day bloodsuckers?
“People just love things that are sexy even if scary.”
Speaking of sexy, when do you feel sexiest?
“I feel sexiest early in the morning when I’m most relaxed. Being a pet lover I usually have three animals in bed with me and they fill up the sheets with fur. It would be a bit weird if I say that I feel sexy with all my kittens. If I do, I would be ‘that guy.’”
Have you tried biting somebody in the neck off camera?
“I have.”
A friendly bite, I suppose?
“You know, I had a fan once in London. A girl. She asked me to bite her. And I thought, ‘Oh, this would be kind of funny’.”
Lucky girl!
“Well, the girl looked 23 or 25 years old, a woman just out of college. What I didn’t realize was that she was 13 and her father was standing there and he wanted to kill me. I didn’t know that the legality to bite anyone off camera is a no-no. Since then, I’ve been careful. I no longer bite anyone.”
You’re a daring actor, ready to take on any role, such as that of a bisexual in The Rules Of Attraction.
“Oh yes. That was an interesting three months of my life! The whole thing was a really phenomenal experience.”
How did you prepare for the role? Did you make any research? Did you talk to some people to help you portray the role realistically?
“I had a lot of inspiration and a lot of friends and a lot of help. Initially, one of the biggest inspirations actually for that role is Peter Sellers.”
Oh, the British actor. Your role model?
“One of them, yeah! That was an amazing, amazing time.”
I’m amazed at your energy. You must have had jetlag traveling halfway around the world and then buckling right down to work. Where do you get your energy? What kind of diet do you have? Do you work out? How much sleep do you get per night?
“Healthy, healthy! I mean, we all have our little vices. Listen, human beings are like cars. You put out what you put into your body. If you put dirty gas in a car, you’re not gonna get anything good out of it. The secret is healthy living, clean living.”
How much time do you have for yourself? How do you spend it?
“Uhm, when I leave you and the time between when I go out of this room and I walk to the elevator, that’s a little bit of time. I’m gonna go to the loo and that’s going to be two minutes for and by myself. The thing is, you’ve got to find time for yourself. Late night I go to bed, reading and writing.”
How’s your time management?
“It’s getting better!”
Anyway, what’s the best thing about being Ian Somerhalder?
“All of you great people.”
And what’s the worst thing, if any, about being Ian Somerhalder?
(Thinks awhile) “Ahhhh, there’s nothing bad!”
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