The Vampire Diaries is currently one of the most popular young adult novel and TV series.  With fans still reeling from the apparent death of Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), and rumors flying wildly online that Damon will return in Season 6, we thought it might be a good time to look at some differences between Damon on screen and on the page.

A lot of times in a book-to-screen adaptation, the screenwriters make changes to the existing character to suit their needs.  For the majority of L.J. Smith’s original book series (The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury, and Dark Reunion), Damon is viciously evil and manipulative.  We don’t want to root for him, and we have good cause not to.  While the same can be said of Damon in the earlier seasons of the TV series, there’s something about actually seeing a real, living (or not living, since he’s a vampire) person portray the character that makes us experience Damon in a different way.  We love to hate him, especially since Damon is portrayed by the amazing, brutally hot Ian Somerhalder.  Ian has appeared in movies and TV for years leading up to TVD, and his roles as Boon on Lost and Paul in The Rules of Attraction were particularly well loved by his fans.  That’s not something that can just be turned off, which makes Damon on the TV series so much harder to hate.

Take a look at some of the more specific changes between the Damon we read about in the novels and the Damon we see on the screen.   
 

	Book!Damon	Show!Damon
Age	523	173
Age when turned	22	25
Height	5’5”	5’9”
Eyes	DARK, almost black	Blue
Powers	Beyond “normal” vampire powers- shapeshifting, atmokinesis, telepathy	“Normal” vampire powers only- super strength, senses, influence/glamour
Damon & Bonnie	More than friends	Friends only

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