Exclusive Q&A with The Vampire Diaries' Sara Canning

Exclusive Q&A with The Vampire Diaries' Sara Canning



At Teen Vogue, we are big proponents of acting your age. But on The CW's The Vampire Diaries, Sara Canning plays Elena's aunt Jenna--even though there's only a one-year age gap between her and Nina Dobrev! We caught up with Sara to chat about premature aging, eternal youth, and why there soon might not be any humans left in Mystic Falls.

Though you're one of the very few figures of parental authority on the show, you're just 22. What's it like playing the adult?

I thought it might be a stretch given that Jenna's quite a few years older than me, but I've found her to be very relatable because she's essentially growing up herself as I have in the past two years since finishing Vancouver Film School's acting program. Plus, when I moved down to Atlanta, Nina Dobrev and I actually became roommates so she really has become like family to me!

The forever-teenage Salvatore brothers are both played by actors older than you right?

I think it was a smart casting. Both brothers look young, but when you think about a vampire who's been around for 145 years, there's going to be a certain worldliness to that character. Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder are able to bring that to their roles.

I hear you too have experience with period acting?

Yes, before shooting the series, I acted in Danishka Esterhazy's film Black Field, which comes out in Canada next month. It's set on the desolate Canadian prairies in the mid-19th century--the same time as the flashbacks in The Vampire Diaries--and it's very Brontë-esque.

So any hints at what we can expect from tonight's season finale?

I can say that the series seems to be becoming darker as we've had more and more night shoots scheduled. The cast and crew has been up working a lot of midnight hours, and sleeping away the days.

So you're all becoming vampires then?

Ha, yeah we're turning into them slowly, but surely!