Few people knew who Paul Wesley was, unless they were already fans of shows he was in, before . The broody series was Wesley's debut as Stefan, a good-guy-turned-bad-turned-good-again who stole hearts (well, and turned people... or sucked their blood) for every one of the eight seasons the show was on the air.

By the time the show ended, Paul was relieved to be moving on. While things apparently weren't terrible enough to have him quitting early, Paul Wesley has admitted during various interviews that it was definitely time to move on.