Why Ian Somerhalder “Pulled the Plug” on Acting After Netflix’s V Wars

Ian Somerhalder Shares How He, Nikki Reed Overcame 8-Figure Debt

Ian Somerhalder bit off more than he could chew with V Wars.

Seven years after the Vampire Diaries alum starred as Dr. Luther Swann in the Netflix sci-fi series, which he also executive produced, he shared why the experience making it led him to leave acting behind for good.

“I wanted to do V Wars because it was me, not as a vampire, it was me as a scientist,” Somerhalder ecalled during an appearance on the Haley on the Go podcast earlier this month. “Worked really hard on this thing for almost a year, and the show that got turned in wasn’t even watchable.”

The Lost actor was so disappointed in the initial cut of the show—which also featured Adrian Holmes, Laura Vandervoort and Jacky Lai—he attempted to keep it from airing on the streamer.

“I said to the studio, ‘I don’t want to put my name on this,’” Somerhalder recalled. “I’ll give you the money back. Literally, I’ll give you millions of dollars. I’ll give it back. And they were like, ‘What? What are you talking about? No, no, no.’”

But Somerhalder—dad to two kids with wife Nikki Reed—managed to convince Netflix to allow him and his producing partner James Gibb to reshoot, although that too was not without complications.

“We said we need creative control of the show and Netflix said, ‘Sure, we’re not giving you a dollar more,’” the 47-year-old detailed. “And we were like, ‘No you don’t understand. We need $10 million to fix this show.’”

Despite the setback, Somerhalder shared that he and Gibb were able to raise around $6 million and shot 10 to 12 days of footage in half the time.

“Actually, I ended up in the hospital,” he shared. “Literally, was a full body shutdown.”

JC Olivera/Getty Images

And while the version of V Wars that hit Netflix in 2019 was one Somerhalder was proud of, it was ultimately still canceled before a second season could be shot.

“You give everything and then the show was a hit,” he continued. “The powers that be at Netflix were like, ‘This is unfortunate. This shouldn’t have happened. We can’t go back because that would set a precedent that would be terrible so the show is done.’”

For the Smallville alum, it was a turning point in his life.

“I looked at myself in the mirror and I said to my wife, ‘I’m 40 years old, I don’t want to spend two years of my life, doing something, working this hard, one year fully unpaid,’” he detailed. “I’m not gonna base my life on having television or streaming executives dictate how I can make a living. So, I pulled the plug. That was it. I walked away. I said, ‘I’m not gonna do this.’"

E! News reached out to reps for Netflix regarding Somerhalder’s comments but has not heard back.

In the years since, Somerhalder has transitioned fully into entrepreneurship—and he hasn’t looked back even when Hollywood calls his name.

“That’s a really honest, kind of controversial way I walked away from the business,” he admitted. “It wasn’t like this parting. I got offered things, but it was time.”

For more stars who have left Hollywood, keep reading…

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