Ian Joseph Somerhalder

Ian Joseph Somerhalder was born on 8th December, 1978 in Covington, Louisiana, USA.

The son of a massage therapist and a building contractor, Somerhalder was born and raised in the small southern town of Covington, LA. Boating, swimming, fishing and training horses filled much of his recreational time growing up, as did the school drama club and performing with the local theater group.

He is an American actor, model and producer. His first major role was in The Rules of Attraction, Roger Avary's adaptation of the Bret Eston Ellis novel of the same name.

A strikingly handsome player who proved his versatility with accomplished forays into acting and modeling, Ian Somerhalder possesses the piercing eyes and chiseled features that spell success in the more adult modeling world and the emotional intensity and shy rebellious charm that makes perfect teen heartthrob material on screen.

At age seventeen, he began his acting training, going on to work with William Esper by age nineteen. Around that time he was spotted working as an extra in a crowd scene in the James Toback feature "Black and White" (2000).

In 2002, Somerhalder was cast as Paul Denton in the thriller "Rules of Attraction", a feature based on the novel written by Bret Easton Ellis. Happy to be anchored in New York, Somerhalder spends much of his time studying acting, writing and practicing yoga. His recreational interests include water and snow skiing and horseback riding.