Candice Accola Talks Vampire Diaries, Fan Reaction & Her Music Career

Exclusive Interview: Candice Accola Talks Vampire Diaries, Fan Reaction & Her Music Career



On the hit drama The Vampire Diaries on The CW, Candice Accola makes her debut as a series regular in the role of Caroline Forbes, friend to Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and current girlfriend of Elena’s ex, Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig). But, in the town of Mystic Falls, you don’t have to just navigate being a teenager and growing into adult responsibilities. You have to survive all of the blood-thirsty vampires.

In this exclusive interview with IESB, show star Candice Accola, who has also had a successful music career (she signed a record deal at the age of 16), said that the cast is just as anxious to learn about what’s happening next as the viewers of the successful series are, to the point where the crew has to hide scripts from them. She also promises that things are going to get even crazier, before the explosive season finale.

IESB: What led you to acting? Did you always know you wanted to be a performer?

Candice: I wouldn’t say that I necessarily had the acting bug. I think it would be more accurate to say I had the performing bug. I grew up performing. I started off as a singer. I was eight years old when I went home and told my mom that I was having auditions to form my own girl group, and that was that. I took singing lessons and did a play or two at school. It just all progressed and led me to Los Angeles, which led me to a record deal and doing a record.

While doing that, I was introduced to a manager and agent and started auditioning. And then, I realized how much, not only do I love the art form of acting itself, but more importantly, I love the business. It’s exciting to me. I just really love the film and television business, so I was hooked. The more I auditioned, I slowly started to work more. And then, I had the most incredible opportunity to audition for a show, called The Vampire Diaries, and here I am in Atlanta, where it’s been exactly a year since we started the pilot. We’re all feeling very nostalgic this week.

IESB: What was it about the show and the character that was appealing to you?

Candice: With the show, I was just excited to have the opportunity to audition for Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, let alone work with both of them. That definitely set a tone for what this show had the potential to be. With everything that Kevin Williamson is and has done, with the Scream franchise and I Know What You Did Last Summer and, most significantly to my childhood, Dawson's Creek, and also what Julie Plec did with Kyle XY, they just set a great tone to it.

And then, for Caroline herself, she was just fun. I loved her humor in the pilot, and how vulnerable she was at the end, when Stefan (Paul Wesley) turns her down and she talks to Bonnie (Katerina Graham) about never being the one that gets the guy. I can definitely relate to that. So, I was hoping that Caroline would grow and they would allow her to become that relatable girl in high school, who goes through all the trials and tribulations that we all go through, and that I went through myself. And, that is exactly what she is growing to be and is becoming.

IESB: Because so much happens on each episode of the show, do you get as excited and anxious to read the next script, as the audience does in watching it?

Candice: Yes. They actually had to start hiding scripts and telling crew members who get early copies of scripts to not let us read it because we’d read pre-versions that weren’t solidified yet and then things would change. So, we're definitely script hungry. Anytime we can get our hands on one, we’re just as excited as everyone else is, just to see what happens. The make-up trailer will be very, very loud, and then, as soon as the scripts come out, it goes silent and all you hear are random gasps, every couple of minutes.

IESB: Are there any hints you can give, as to what's in store for Caroline? Is there anything that you're particularly excited about viewers getting to see, by the end of the season?

Candice: I'm really excited for the viewers to see the show itself. There’s so much that happens in the rest of the season. It just doesn’t stop. It keeps going and going, and gets crazier and crazier. For Caroline specifically, I’m just excited for everyone to be able to see her grow. She’s becoming not just the girl who sees a situation for what it is, but who also sees the bigger picture of things. You’ll see how she’s relating to her friends and taking responsibility for her actions, and not just saying the wrong thing, all the time. That’s what I’m the most excited about with Caroline.

IESB: With Caroline and Matt becoming closer, what has it been like to work with Zach Roerig?

Candice: He’s great. We all, immediately, got along so well as a cast, shooting the pilot in Vancouver, and it’s really carried on and made the on screen relationships really easy and fun. He’s a blast to work with.

IESB: Will viewers continue to get to see that relationship develop?

Candice: I would love to have an answer about where that relationship is going, but I have no idea. In the next couple of episodes, it definitely continues to grow. I loved that moment, during the episode with the double date, where they're in the car. There's a whole new vulnerability to the relationship. I’m excited to see what's going to happen in Season 2. I don’t really know yet.

IESB: Did you do any bonding with Nina Dobrev and Katerina Graham, prior to filming, to establish the relationship between Elena, Bonnie and Caroline?

Candice: We're all fortunate, with this group of women, that we do get along and we’ve all definitely taken the time to bond and have our girls’ nights, just to make it a nice and easy thing on set, but it really didn’t take much work. Also, a lot of that needs to be attributed to the fact that we’re in Atlanta. All of us uprooted and moved to this new city and didn’t really know anyone. Boys can make friends fairly easy, but it’s hard to find a good group of girlfriends. I’m just so grateful for this core group of women, not only that we do get along, but just for who they are as individuals. It’s nice to be able to come to work and work with them throughout the day, and it’s just as lovely to go out to dinner with them or go to a dance class, and just be silly girls in a new city.

IESB: Working with a bigger cast, are there people on the show that you haven’t gotten to work with much, that you're hoping to get more scenes with, in the future?

Candice: Yeah. Steven, who plays Jeremy, and I have only had two scenes together where we were talking, out of this entire season. It’s really funny because we hang out all the time. As much as you can sit there and say, “I wish that we could work more,” we all spend so much time together that we get our fill anyway. But, there have been a lot of great actors who have come in to play new characters. David Anders is playing Uncle John, and he’s great, as a person. Matt Davis is playing Alaric, and he’s wonderful. I love Sara Canning, who plays Aunt Jenna. I don’t do too many scenes with her, but we hang out so much outside of work. It would be fun to work with people in scenes, but we see each other so much on set that you don’t feel like you’re not seeing them.

IESB: Had you been a fan of the vampire genre, prior to doing this show, or was this your first exposure to it?

Candice: To be honest, growing up, I never had the hots for vampires. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie was as far as I got into vampires. But, recently, with the phenomenon of True Blood, I was definitely hooked and I'm looking forward to Season 3 of that show. I didn’t necessarily get into Twilight, but I think it's such an interesting pop culture phenomenon. It's interesting that vampires are "it" right now, and I'm really excited to be a part of it. But, more importantly than being a part of the phenomenon, I think the show has just really come together and done well to stand on its own. The writers have done such an excellent job with making it not just be another vampire show. There is a lot more going on.

IESB: Had you been aware of the fact that this series was based on books?

Candice: I was aware that the series was based on books.

IESB: What’s been the most enjoyable thing about working on the show, and what’s been the most challenging aspect of it for you?

Candice: I could come up with things that are difficult, but they’re really not even very difficult in the spectrum of things. We’ve been fortunate that Atlanta has been very welcoming to us. It’s a great city. It’s been a blast. To be relocated to a new city, this is definitely not too shabby of a choice. And, just coming to work, the crew and cast is great. Yeah, we have a lot of night shoots and it’s very long hours. The crew works very, very hard. With such a big cast, we’re fortunate enough to get days off. There’s really not much that I could have any room to complain about. It’s actually been really great.

IESB: Do you enjoy constantly getting to work with different directors, who each have their own vision for the show? Do you learn a lot, just from constantly getting to work with new people?

Candice: Anytime you do a new scene with a new actor, you’re going to learn a little bit of something. It’s been fun that people come to work on set that we already knew in Los Angeles. As big as the city is and as many actors as there are in L.A., it starts to form its own little circle and community. It’s been fun to have people come work on the show that we already knew, from back in L.A. It’s always exciting to have new people here, and welcome them into the family, show them a good time and hope that they enjoy their time on set and that they have some good Southern food.

IESB: With such talented people behind the camera as well as in front of it, did you realize early on that you were making something special that was going to connect with viewers, or was the show’s huge success just totally surprising to you?

Candice: I feel like the answer should be that it was totally surprising, but it wasn’t. Everyone collectively put their best foot forward, when it came to shooting the pilot and shooting the show. Everyone comes to work with their game face on and everyone wants to see this succeed because everyone genuinely cares. We all work on the show, and we’re doing the seasons finale, but we're still scrambling for the scripts. We’re just as attached to the work as the viewers are. It’s surprising and exciting, but we were just more hopeful. I never sat there and was like, "Oh, we’ve got this one in the bag," but there was just such a great comradery and so much heart and soul put into the pilot, and everyone genuinely cared and worked so hard, that I really hoped it would come out the other end and shine, and it did. I could not be more grateful to be a part of it.

IESB: With all the hard work you do, is it rewarding to learn that it was the most-watched premiere for The CW ever, it got a Season 2 pick-up right away and it won the People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama?

Candice: Yeah, definitely. It's all the little moments, like when we all went and set in Julie Plec's living room to watch the pilot as a whole, for the first time. When you can reflect on moments like that, it warms the soul.

IESB: What sort of fan reaction do you get from people?

Candice: What's funny is that I only get stopped by adults. I very rarely get stopped at a grocery store or anything, but the few times that it’s happened, it’s been adults. It’s a very interesting thing, but I think it just goes back to the writers. They’re the core of this whole production. They’re just locked away in those writers’ rooms in L.A. I think they’re turning into vampires because I don’t think they sleep or eat real food anymore. I think that they just write. But, it’s turning out beautifully and they’re kicking ass.

IESB: Do you have anything that you are looking to do on hiatus?

Candice: I'm still looking at projects for hiatus. There's nothing concrete. There's nothing, at this point. The Vampire Diaries finale is going to be quite the kicker.

IESB: If the attention that you receive for being a part of this show leads to more film work for you, have you given any thought, as to what you’d like to do next?

Candice: I don’t have anything specific that necessarily rings my bell. I would just always want to do something that challenges me and moves me. I feel grateful to be in a position where we are coming back for Season 2. I would have to be able to really connect with the next film that I would do. We only have two months off, and I want to put my best foot forward for this project, so to have another project in between, for my vacation time, it needs to be worthwhile. We’ll see. Who knows. We’ll leave it up to the hard work and the stars.

IESB: Are you still focused on writing and recording your own music, or has that taken more of a backseat to the acting now?

Candice: It's definitely taken a backseat recently. I had not even done multiple episodes or an arc on a television show, so going from doing three guest spots to a series, I was like, "I should probably sit tight and really pay attention, and really put my 100% focus on this." But, my manager and agent got me a record player for my housewarming, and we’re doing a cover band for the wrap party, which I'm singing with. I'm definitely feeling the itch to get back into the studio, so that’s actually what I’m planning on doing during my hiatus, pending what were to happen with films.

IESB: Is there something that you get out of writing and performing your own music that you don’t get from the craft of acting and playing somebody else?

Candice: To be honest, I find them very similar. Sometimes with music, when I’m writing, I say things that are not exactly what I’m trying to say, but it just conveys the emotion that I need to get out. It’s all just a way of expression. I’m still trying to figure out the difference between them both. I feel fulfilled in my soul, when I’m singing and when I’m acting, but it’s in a very different way. Singing is you. You’re putting your own words and your guts on the page.