‘The Vampire Diaries’: Candice Accola bites into a new challenge
Did you ask Paul [Wesley] or Ian [Somerhalder] or even Nina for advice about how to play a vampire? Did you look to their performances at all?
Yes. I had the pleasure of working with Ian while he was vamping out on me during the first part of the first season. So I definitely reviewed that a little bit. Their main advice was to know my vamp face. You know, the face that you make kind of right before you bite. It’s just like when someone tells you, “OK, you need to scream on cue.” Usually, the first time you scream, it’s more like a squeak because it’s kind of a jarring thing. So that was my big piece of advice was to know my vamp face.
What was it like putting on those fangs for the first time? Are they uncomfortable?
They’re not actually. The first pair that I tried on were kind of more like a retainer, so they had a bar around them. I started off as a vampire with a lisp. They changed them the next day before I started shooting. They’re just like two caps for my teeth on either side. I can talk normal. I can sip water if I need to. They’re not bad at all, actually. I was pretty impressed with the special-effects people for doing that. I think that with every television show, as the seasons go on, all the kinks are worked out. So part of what our production did was work out the kinks of vamping out. There are no more contacts this year. A lot of the things in special effects are done in post [production]. There’s not as much time in the makeup chair as you would think. It’s really all of our editors that make that kind of magic for us happen.
Ian Somerhalder Teases Tonight’s ‘Vampire Diaries’ Episode!
“We find out some interesting stuff,” he said. “[Specifically] the whole werewolf aspect. Mason poses a massive threat to Damon and Stefan and everyone, really. It’s a big problem, and I think we address a lot of that, which people have been very eager to know.”
“The question of, ‘How does Elena feel right now?’ Can she even look at [Damon]? She’s going to have to deal with him, because he’s around. There are a lot of issues to deal with,” he explained. “[Damon] wants to kill her best friend, Caroline, one of her best friends, and there’s this problematic supernatural element that’s running around the town, and it literally poses a serious threat to all of them—every single one of them: Katherine, Damon, Elena, Stefan, Caroline, everyone,” Ian said. “So dealing with that and getting into that is necessary, and that’s what this episode is going to start to touch upon.”
Natashia Williams to Guest Star on The Vampire Diaries
She nearly made the finals on season seven of American Idol. Now, she’s officially made it on to the most pulse-pounding show on TV.
Natashia Williams will guest star on an episode of The Vampire Diaries later this year. According to Entertainment Weekly, she’ll portray Lucy, “a mysterious hipster who possesses a fun swagger.” That description might be more mysterious than the reason behind Katherine’s return.
Stills from The Vampire Diaries Episode 5 – Kill or Be Killed
I think Candice Accola is doing a great job portraying a new out of control vampire. How do you feel about her acting chops as new vamp craving blood?
