|
The son of a massage therapist and a building contractor, Somerhalder was born and raised in the small southern town of Covington, LA. Boating, swimming, fishing and training
horses filled much of his recreational time growing up, along with the school drama club and performing with the local theater group.
Encouraged by his mother, Ian began modeling at age 10. He
modelled for Guess and Versage. He was the face of Guess for two consecutive Fall seasons. He also modeled for Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabanna, and Gucci. However, he doesn't like to talk about his
modeling career because of the impressions people might get of him as being just another pretty face.
By junior high, he decided to put modeling on the back burner and focus more on sports and
school. A few years later, when the opportunity to model in Europe arose, Somerhalder grabbed it, embarking on a rewarding path of work, travel and study that took him to many cities including Paris,
Milan and London. At 17, he began studying acting in New York, and by 19 had committed himself to the craft, working with preeminent acting coach William Esper.
He gained necessary exposure on the
television series The Young Americans (2000) and also appeared in the made-for-MTV drama Anatomy of a Hate Crime (also 2000).
On the big screen in 2002, he played a gay socialite who falls for straight guy Shaun, played by James Van Der Beek in the sex and drug- filled dark comedy "Rules of Attraction" After his earlier role in 2001's "Life as a House", he also starred in "Changing Hearts" (2004) and 2004's "In Enemy Hands" (2004), before his acting in Lost (2004) for TV. Ian Somerhalder will also star in 2006's Pulse.
Happy to be settled in New York, Somerhalder spends much of his time studying acting, writing and practicing yoga. His recreational interests include water and snow skiing and horseback riding.
|
