Lost star Ian Somerhalder has reflected on his decision to quit acting, saying his experience working with Netflix persuaded him to leave the industry behind.
The 47-year-old Louisiana-born former actor first found fame in the Dawson’s Creek spin-off Young Americans and the 2002 Bret Easton Ellis adaptation The Rules of Attraction. He subsequently landed a key role on ABC’s enigmatic drama Lost and later starred on the CW series The Vampire Diaries.
In 2019, Somerhalder took the lead role in the Netflix series V Wars, but the vampire horror series was canceled after a single season.
Speaking about the experience on the Haley on the Go podcast, Somerhalder said he “worked really hard” on the series and was disappointed when an initial cut “wasn’t even watchable.”
After Netflix turned down his request for money for reshoots, Somerhalder recalled that he raised over $6 million himself in order to shoot “10 or 12 hours of footage in six days.”
After successful reshoots, the show was released and found an audience. “You give everything, and then the show was a hit,” Somerhalder recalled. “We built a show that was No. 1 in 103 territories out of 120 territories. It was a big deal.”
However, despite this success the show was quietly canceled by Netflix executives shortly afterward. Somerhalder said the decision convinced him it was time to leave acting behind.
“I pulled the plug. That was it. I walked away,” he explained.
After quitting acting, Somerhalder moved to a farm in Southern California where he focuses on sustainable farming. He also co-founded Brother’s Bond Bourbon with his former The Vampire Diaries co-star Paul Wesley.
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Despite business struggles and significant debt, Somerhalder told the podcast he has no plans to return to acting.
“I think it’s in the rearview mirror. I do,” he said.
Back in 2024, Somerhalder admitted that he now regrets some of his behavior while appearing on Lost.
Speaking to People, he said: “I don’t think I would really change anything other than maybe with Lost.”
He continued: “I maybe complained about craft service or something, showed up late twice, actually really late once. I was so tired from the night before, I slept through my alarms. That’s about as far as I can go.”
At the time, he said of his decision to call time on acting to concentrate on raising a family with his wife, Twilight actor Nikki Reed, that: “Once you reach a certain level, you’re like, ‘Okay, I want to focus on family and the future of farming and food and energy and the big things.’”
