Ian Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American model, former actor and producer and founder of the Ian Somerhalder Foundation. He is best known for playing Damon Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries and Boone Carlyle in Lost.
Biography from TMDB.
- December 8, 1978 (47)
- Covington, Louisiana, USA
- Actor, also producer
- 29 on MovieCove · 36 credits in all
What are Ian Somerhalder's films like?
Across their 19 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Society.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 14
Light 5 · Serious 6 · Dark 5
Grounded 11 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 2
Gentle 3 · Charged 8 · Intense 5
Steady 6 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 1
Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 2
A split, not a type: Casual 7 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 8 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 5
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 2
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 5 of 12 analyzed roles.
Show the 12 rolesHide the roles
- Shadowas Russell Henderson in Anatomy of a Hate Crime (2001)
- Tricksteras Paul Denton in The Rules of Attraction (2002)
- Allyas Jason Kelly in Changing Hearts (2002)
- Allyas Dexter in Pulse (2006)
- Heroas Finn in The Sensation of Sight (2006)
- Heroas Marco Polo in Marco Polo (2007)
- Heroas William Archer in The Lost Samaritan (2008)
- Heroas Jack Kubiak in Lost City Raiders (2008)
- Allyas Lee Cooper in Fireball (2009)
- Heraldas Daniel Meltzer in How to Make Love to a Woman (2010)
- Shadowas Harkin Langham in The Anomaly (2014)
- Heroas Luther Swann in V-Wars (2019)
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet7
- Ambiguous8
- Other1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ian Somerhalder's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 25 of their 29 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (13).
- Kiss the Ground (2020) · actor, producer
- Common Ground (2023) · actor, producer
- Groundswell (2026) · actor
- The Rules of Attraction (2002) · actor
- The Big Easy (1996) · actor
- In Enemy Hands (2004) · actor
- The Tournament (2009) · actor
- Fireball (2009) · actor
- Caught on Tape (2013) · actor
- Marco Polo (2007) · actor
- Pulse (2006) · actor
- How to Make Love to a Woman (2010) · actor
- +1 more
- The Sensation of Sight (2006) · actor · free
- The Rules of Attraction (2002) · actor · free
- The Big Easy (1996) · actor · free
- In Enemy Hands (2004) · actor · free
- The Tournament (2009) · actor · free
- Wake (2009) · actor · free
- Fireball (2009) · actor · free
- The Anomaly (2014) · actor · free
- Pulse (2006) · actor · free
Subscription and free streaming for Ian Somerhalder's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
36 credits, 29 with a MovieCove page; 9 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Groundswell(2026)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Common Ground(2023)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
LOST: Circle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Kiss the Ground(2020)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
V-Wars(2019)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all shows
Nature Is Speaking (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
The Anomaly(2014)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Caught on Tape(2013)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
The Vampire Diaries(2009)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows
Fireball(2009)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
The Tournament(2009)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Wake(2009)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Lost City Raiders(2008)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
The Lost Samaritan(2008)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Tell Me You Love Me(2007)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows
Marco Polo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Marco Polo(2007)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all shows
Pulse(2006)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
TV: The Movie(2006)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
The Sensation of Sight(2006)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Lost(2004)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
In Enemy Hands(2004)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
The Rules of Attraction(2002)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
CSI: Miami(2002)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all shows
Changing Hearts(2002)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Life as a House(2001)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Smallville(2001)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows
Anatomy of a Hate Crime(2001)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows
Young Americans (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Now and Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
The Big Easy(1996)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Fearless (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The End: LOST (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 98th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 35 titles, 33 of them dated from 1996 to 2026; peak year 2008.
Biggest box office
Pulse (2006)
Highest rated
Kiss the Ground (2020)
Most popular right now
The Vampire Diaries (2009)
Film career
Peak 2008 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 3 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2001Screen debut· Smallville
- 2001First film· Life as a House
- 2007First top-billed film· Marco Polo
- 2007Breakout· Marco Polo
- 2019Career best· V Wars
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Ian Somerhalder's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 36th percentile, the median of all 19; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 27th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th10
Shape of the crowd
16 of their 29 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved4
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed16
Reviewers score the acting 54/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 33. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Ian Somerhalder's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity and profanity run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Ian Somerhalder work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ian Somerhalder's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Joshua Tickell shares the most, 2.
Directors
- Joshua TickellShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Joshua Tickell
- Rebecca Harrell TickellShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Rebecca Harrell Tickell
Writers
- Johnny O'HaraShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Johnny O'Hara
Actors
- Rosario DawsonShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Rosario Dawson
- Woody HarrelsonShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Woody Harrelson
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Anthony EllisonShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Anthony Ellison
- Ryan A NicholsShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Ryan A Nichols
- Ryan Michael DemareeShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Ryan Michael Demaree
- Simon BalderasShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Simon Balderas
Producers
- Adam LewisShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Adam Lewis
- Bill BenensonShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Bill Benenson
- Cristian BettlerShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Cristian Bettler
- Finian MakepeaceShared titles: Common Ground (2023), Kiss the Ground (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Finian Makepeace
