'The Vampire Diaries' Michael Trevino on Tyler's rage, Uncle Mason, and nudity. Yes, nudity

Where there are vampires, werewolves are rarely far behind, and "The Vampire Diaries" is no exception.

Trevino's character, Tyler, is not only dealing with some animal insticts, but he's grieving the death of his dad (and the town "alpha-douche"), Mayor Lockwood. "It's just adding another layer to the top of his inner rage," Trevino explains. "He's upset and he's sad that his dad is gone, but then he's also upset because it's another move that his dad has made against him. His dad's dead and was never able to redeem himself for how he raised Tyler, how cruel and strict he was."

The mystery surrounding Mayor Lockwood's death isn't lost on the other residents of Mystic Falls... especially not on Damon (Ian Somerhalder). "They're questioning everything," Trevino says. "They're not assuming we're vampires, because I think the people that are asking the questions are actually vampires, so they know that we're not. A lot of questions are being asked right now."

Luckily, Tyler won't have to experience the Lockwood family curse alone. My first day on set was also "Trauma" star Taylor Kinney's first day playing Uncle Mason. Says Trevino, "He's my father's younger, hipper brother." (He's also hotter. No offense, Mayor Lockwood. Rest in peace.)

Even though Tyler and Matt (Zach Roerig) made up last season - yes, Matt forgave Tyler for making out with his mom - don't expect the BFF bromance to feature in the first few episodes of this season. "Tyler's going to be leaning more towards hanging out with Mason, now that he's in town," Trevino says. "I think the Lockwoods are just going to stick together in their own entity and let Matt go do his thing."

Taking such a central role in the show's plot is a new experience for Trevino, since Tyler was M.I.A. for the majority of episodes in Season 1. "I'm looking forward to our take on this werewolf lineage and culture,"he says. "You know, there's 'Twilight' and 'True Blood' and they have their differences, obviously. I just want us to be original and be our own kind of werewolf with the transformation and the look of our wolves."

Trevino says, "There's a different set of rules within Mystic Falls." "Werewolves have a little upper hand on vampires for a bit. There's something we're definitely capable of doing, that the vampires cannot protect themselves from. It's not your traditional werewolf rules as far as how they die."

At Comic-Con last week, Trevino mentioned that he's "nervous as hell" about the emphasis on his character this season.

Besides, even if Trevino's acting isn't up to par (which it is, don't worry) he's got Plan B ready to go. "I don't know how much clothing is going to be off or on," he teases, "but I'll say that I am prepared to get totally naked on the show if need be. It's official."

Team Tyler, get ready for some overcrowding in the clubhouse.

CREDIT: ZAP2IT.COM