My Vampire Obsession:
By: Tina Power Traverse

I take vampires in all shapes and forms, from the merciless blood draining monster to the sparkly love sick guilt ridden.
 

However, my favourite vampires of all time are Damon and Stefan Salvatore of The Vampire Diaries but to be honest as much as I drool over the dark, swarthy and snarky Damon, my heart beats a little faster, and I swoon a little more for the golden prince-but can be the devil when I want to be- Stefan Salvatore, portrayed by the irresistible Paul Wesley.

Paul Thomas Wasilewski charmed his way into the world on a warm July day in 1982 and was raised in Marlboro, New Jersey.

Apparently, our dreamy, flaxen haired,  olive  eyed, vampire god was once not as saintly as his character, Stefan Salvatore.

I heard through a very reliable source, that Paul Thomas was expelled from one school for getting into fights! Can someone say, Holy Suck?

Those wild ways led to him being force fed the acting bug by a very creative teacher(who we should be eternally grateful) who made our Paul do a school play.
 

The acting gods smiled down on his future fans and screaming, panting with lust admirers when Paul found acting to be a safe haven.

Paul's first role was that of Max on the epic soap opera "The Guiding Light" and has since had many roles in tv shows including Smallville, CSI: Miami and the short lived Wolf Lake.

His glorious face has even blessed the sliver screen in such movies as Beneath the Blue, Elsewhere, Killer Movie and Fallen(where he plays an angel…couldn't  there be a more perfect role? sigh.)

However, Paul's breakthrough role came when Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec decided it would be a interesting idea to turn L.J. Smith's novel series, The Vampire Diaries, the story of a love triangle between a beautiful teenage girl Elena Gilbert and two…pant….pant.. melt in a puddle at their feet, glad to bare your neck to, vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore.

Paul, who, in 2005 changed his surname with his parents permission to Wesley, because Wasilewski was too hard to pronounce; auditioned for the role of the bad boy brother, Damon and Stefan, the noble brother.

Though I am personally am sure that he wowed the mighty and all powerful producers as both Damon and Stefan, a little birdie whispered in their ear that Paul Wesley, with his golden good looks would better suit the role of the princely Stefan.

Since that fateful day in 2009 when The Vampire Dairies first aired, it exploded all over the airwaves, creating swarms of fans, and propelling its stars to superstardom, taking Paul Thomas with it.

With his insane fame, came insanely devoted and loyal fans, many who created fan pages on the social network site, Twitter dedicated to Paul Wesley, devoting their time, money and efforts in supporting their favourite vampire.

One of those faithful fans is Chloe Smith, an actress in training who created and maintains one of Paul's twitter fan pages called the Paul Wesley Network.

I managed to steal her away from her busy schedule to sit down with me and answer a few questions about her fan page and, Paul Wesley.

"Good afternoon Chloe, thank you for taking time out to speak with me."

"I appreciate your time and consideration in interviewing me, thank you."

"Chloe, could you tell my faithful readers, when and where was the first time you noticed Paul Wesley?"

"I noticed Paul Wesley for the first time in the movie "Fallen" 6 years ago."

"Did you like him from that first time, or did it take some time?"

" I was immediately impressed by Paul Wesley.His acting is amazing!"

"May I ask what are the qualities that Paul possesses that lead you to become a fan?"

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​" One of the things that i love about him and of course all fans is his honesty.The most actors will try and deflect the questions in interviews,but Paul is different .He always says what he thinks and what he feels.But that's not the only reason.He has an amazing talent of touching the hearts of people through is natural acting.You know he plays Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries and his emotions are so real on the screen.I think Paul Wesley is a really underrated actor,and he needs more recognition.He  is for me the best actor in the whole world."

"Have you ever met Paul in person?"

"Yes! A couple of times in New York in the street.The last time was 3 months ago.I was also in a TVD Convention ,but I'm honest with you it is more than a year ago.I had unfortunately not much time.Forgive me Paul."

"What lead you to start The Paul Wesley Network?"

"I'm a big fan, and i thought it is a good idea to support Paul Wesley because he is a very good actor."

"Please explain what kind of effort goes into hosting The Paul Wesley Network?"

"With the fan page Paul Wesley Network,I try to give the fans news about Paul.This includes,Interviews,Pics(no private pics,because i think everyone should respect the privacy)And of course a lot about Stefan Salvatore(News,spoiler,pics).And sometimes my personal opinion."

"Chloe, The Vampire Diaries has grown to be an insanely popular series for the CW network, with fans that are so passionate about this love triangle between Elena and her vampire suitors, Damon and Stefan, that it has resorted to something called shipping. Could you briefly explain to those of us who are unfamiliar, what shipping is?"

"Shipping is "relationship" is the belief that two characters, fictional or non-fictional, are (or will be, or should be) in a romantic relationship. It is considered a general term for fans' emotional involvement with the ongoing development of romance in a work of fiction.I feel like a teacher now.."*laugh*

"If I may get serious for one moment, Chloe, and while we are the topic of shipping, this passion has lead to debates between fans of Stefan and Elena(Stelena) and Damon and Elena(Delena) which has turned so intense about who Elena should be with, that it has escalated to some pretty serious reactions, bordering on the criminal. Have you ever encountered such a situation personally on the Paul Wesley Network?"

"Oh yes.I received a death threat and some hate tweets.I know this is crazy,but unfortunately I'm not the only. Stelena and Delena fans both need to just respect each other.Everyone has a different opinion and ships different couples for different reasons,but we need to accept it. Enjoy the show." ;)

"This of course leads me to this question. With all this unnecessary, intense negativity surrounding the Stelena/Delena and other similar issues, what motivates you to keep on hosting this page and supporting Paul?"

"Paul Wesley amazing acting! That is my Motivation..of course i love the Stelena shipp but @Paul Wesley Network is not a Stelena or Delena fan page.And the shipp war is not a reason for me to give up."

"What do you hope to see in the future episodes, or do you have any predictions for Stefan and the Vampire Diaries?"

"I hope the ripper comes back in the future Episodes.Paul Wesley was very good in the third season,and he loves to play the ripper.I think Stefan need more time for themselves without Elena for now.She has hurt him too much."

"Well said, Chloe. Thank you so much for taking time out of your hectic schedule to speak with me, it has been a pleasurable honour. I wish you the best in your career and I will be cheering for you when you accept your first Academy Award!"

Zawsze i na zawsze, Paul Wesley:  Always and Forever, Paul Wesley.

I thought I use a little of the language of his birth, Polish. I hope I got it right!! :)

I want to thank the charming and lovely Chloe Smith for this very enlightening interview and for IMDb(Internet Movie Database) contributor Kad  for the background information.

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Show Paul Wesley some love by visiting https://twitter.com/Paul_Network