Photography by Mr Doug Inglish | Styling by Ms Gaelle Paul
Words by Mr Mark Jacobs

As far as ghouls go, Mr Paul Wesley, 29, is a particularly good-looking example. But the star of the hit teen drama The Vampire Diaries, in which he plays Stefan Salvatore, a Mr James Dean-type bloodsucker with a heart of gold, prefers Count Orlok from the 1922 horror Nosferatu: “Because he was so mangled and warped. I almost feel as if when older people hear the word ‘vampire’ they cringe and think, ‘Oh great, teen bullsh** and pretty girls running around.’ But a vampire used to be hideous, a monstrosity. That’s interesting to me.”

Mr Wesley, who boasts natural fangs of his own (he attributes them to night-time teeth grinding), was already an acting veteran when he secured a role in The Vampire Diaries. As a teenager he transferred New Jersey high schools to accommodate a role in the daytime soap opera Another World, and later dropped out of university to work full time. The risks paid off: an avalanche of TV roles followed, including recurring parts in Wolf Lake, Everwood and Army Wives.

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