The Vampire Diaries has an amazingly hot spread in Entertainment Weekly for February 17 and I’ve added scans to the gallery thanks to Kelly.

One glimpse at The Vampire Diaries’ badass Damon Salvatore might have given you and Terron R. Moore the impression that the man behind his madness is just as reckless as his brutal alter-ego. But you’d be wrong. Ology flew down to Atlanta and discovered the truth: Ian Somerhalder is trying to save the world.

OLOGY: What’s your Ology?

IAN SOMERHALDER: ConserveOlogy. I’m all about conservation.

If I can ask, what made you get involved and create The Ian Somerhalder Foundation? A lot of people want to create social change, but people don’t always do something about it.

Just being from a really delicate ecosystem—I’m from the Gulf Coast in Louisiana—so it’s literally one of the most delicate ecosystems in the world. It’s so unique and amazing. 45% of all the wetlands in America are in Louisiana where I grew up. If we lose those, we’re screwed. Which we pretty much did, after BP. And that feeling of helplessness… I decided that no one should ever feel that way.

So our organization is all about empowering people through education. And it’s unfortunate, but the education in this country is lacking. There’s a lack of information out there, but the positive spin on that is that there’s so much media and social networking that we can now transfer information so quickly. And it’s really catching on. It’s absolutely awe-inspiring.

That sounds awesome.

I mean, think about it- 50% of all species will be extinct in 50 years, if we don’t do something about it.

How do you find time to do all of this?

No. [Expletive]. Idea. (Laughs) But the youth of the world… they’re a powerful group. It’s a new Generation X. And our outreach goes as far as Pakistan, India, Afghanistan… and then there’s the ISF Kids Army, and it’s kids from 6 to 15. A year and a half ago, a 6-year old girl sent ISF her tooth fairy money. She wanted to change the world. 6 years old. And she said “I know I don’t have a voice, but I want one.” So we said, okay, we’ll give you a voice. And now this kid has like 10,000 twitter followers. She’s 7 now, and she’s protesting and yelling and screaming at Obama and rallying all of these kids together. She sent me a picture [of her protest] and I retweeted it and it had over a million hits in a few days.

Wow, that’s really cool.

Yeah, there’s kids like that all over that don’t have a voice, but now these little guys get together and figure it out- they’re setting up recycling programs, they’re turning off their TVs when they leave… even showing their parents better ways to do things. It’s crazy. 

So let’s talk about The Vampire Diaries. Damon has done a lot of wrong to Elena over the years, but his reasoning for that has been good… right?

Yeah, killing someone’s brother is clearly the best way to say ‘I love you’! (Laughs) But there’s reasons we do everything.

So why is Damon so cynical?

You know, humor is a medicine for pain. It’s like a Band-Aid. There’s so much pain in these guys’ lives, and they use humor as medicine. And it works.

With the fanbase the way it is, people are very adamant that Elena be with either Damon or Stefan. But in your opinion, you see a point where the show ends and Elena doesn’t end up with one of the Salvatore boys?

Oh, I could totally see that. I mean, I think that the best thing for her would be to not end up with a Salvatore. But it’ll be tough. I have no idea. I mean, I think she’d be crazy to be with one of them. But love is weird, and love is odd. People always talk about this Damon and Elena relationship, and I just can’t see that happening. I mean, he is pretty enticing, and suave, and he’s charming. But he’s a dick. He really is.

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WE NEEDED THE VAMPIRE DIARIES SEASON 3 SCOOP SO BADLY we flew down to Atlanta, GA for an interesting brunch with the three most unlikely guys ever willing to share a cup of tea together: baddie Klaus, enemy Damon, and still-human Matt. Before tomorrow night’s thrilling episode, Joseph Morgan, Ian Somerhalder, and Zach Roerig get compelled by Terron R. Moore for spoilers.

OLOGY: Between everything that’s happened between Stefan and Damon with Elena, is there a lesser of two evils?

IAN SOMERAHALDER: I think they’re both pretty screwed up.

JOSEPH MORGAN: Yeah, I mean, in the real world, what each of them has done is unforgivable, isn’t it? Like, for neither of them would you say ‘oh, okay, I can kinda get past that’. [Stefan] did try drive her off a bridge…

ZACH ROERIG: I mean, she’ll always want to keep them around, because she still loved them… but I don’t think she’ll ever trust them again.

JOSEPH: It’s time for her to move on, you know?

IAN: Find another handsome duo… like Batman and Robin!

JOSEPH: I like that!

IAN (to Joseph and Zach): Klaus and Matt!

ZACH: Yogi and Boo-Boo!

JOSEPH: I just can’t decide who’s the better bear for me! (Laughs)

IAN: But it is weird. It’s definitely weird- Julie Plec has this way of poetically justifying it, but I… I’ve gotten to the place where I’m just interested in seeing what happens to any of us. I quit asking questions, because I realize they don’t get me anywhere. But in a good way- this thing is just constantly ch-ch-changing!

JOSEPH: The lines are blurred, as well. [Elena] hasn’t been a saint, either, and she’s made decisions that have pushed them… things like taking the dagger out of Elijah that are really kind of risky and puts them in jeopardy as well. So there’s so much gray area.

IAN: Every single character is doing what they need to do by protecting themselves.

JOSEPH: What they think is best.

IAN: And it always gets someone in trouble; I was joking with Joseph- he’s been in L.A. for a week, working, resting, and eating , and being healthy… and I said “You look good, man, you’ve gained a couple of pounds,” and he says “I know, dude. It’s the Vampire Diaries Syndrome.’ Because when you’re here, you’re so… manic. When we’re at work all day, it’s not like everyday drama… this is epic!

JOSEPH: Exactly- you lose weight, doing this! It’s not like you’re sitting around and today is a scene where we all have a cup of tea, you know what I mean? It’s “okay, I’m screaming today!” or “I’m vamping!” or “we’re fighting!”

IAN: It’s not Parks and Recreation.

JOSEPH: That it ain’t!

To nitpick a bit, when Elena confesses to Stefan about the Damon-Elena kiss, she specifically says “I kissed Damon”, and not what it actually was, which was Damon making the move.

IAN: She doesn’t even say ‘I kissed him back’… she was just being honest. I think that she just wanted to be honest, because no one in Mystic Falls is honest. There’s so much ‘whodunit’, and everyone’s got a hidden agenda. I just don’t think she wanted to do that.

JOSEPH (to Ian): You think she was trying to hurt him?

IAN: Probably, yeah, but she was also… Elena’s not even that manipulative, I think she was just trying to say “Look, this happened.” And also, [she wanted] to see what his reaction would be, which was… you know. (Ian makes a fart sound)

ZACH: I think Elena’s also just ready to be loved. She’s just so ready to be taken care of.

And she was, at one point.

IAN: For a second. There was Matt, and then the death of parental figures, and then five episodes of love with a sexy vampire man, and then…

ZACH: And now she’s got a mid-30s teacher living in her house! A total alcoholic!

IAN: (imitating drunk Alaric) Elena! I have only seven personalities, not ten!

I’ve always viewed Klaus as inherently selfish, and always using those who believe he’s trustworthy. As we go on, does he continue that trend, or can his newfound dynamic with Caroline change that?

JOSEPH: I think that there’s potential for him to change, yes, but it’s going to be really difficult. Because as well as being selfish, he’s incredibly paranoid. He’s spent the last 1000 years maintaining this lie he’s told his siblings. He’s the product of a dysfunctional family, having this horrible relationship with his father, being a bastard child, not feeling accepted by the rest of his family… so I think he has real issues with trust, and if he is gonna be a little more selfless with Caroline, he’s going to have to conquer them first.

IAN: I feel like Klaus is what happened with Rome, or like, Kublai Khan. He’s created this empire of deceit, and he has to keep it down to protect himself. It’s like what happened with Rome- Rome got so huge that it fell apart.

JOSEPH: Can we stop recording and go back and I’ll pawn that off as if it’s my answer? I feel like Klaus is like what happened with Rome, and I’ll tell you why!

IAN: (Laughs) Not to be too cerebral about it, but I don’t think anyone envies that aspect of Klaus at all.

JOSEPH: It’s a web of deceit that’s getting harder to maintain, so he becomes less and less trusting and he questions everyone’s motives, even though his are the ones that should be questioned. He doesn’t believe that anyone would be genuinely kind to him for that sake. So there’s potential for him to learn to trust, and possibly even to love, but it’s going to be a long journey.

IAN: He’s like the boyfriend of the girlfriend thinking that you’re cheating on them. But it’s actually him!

And Elijah is back, but as of tomorrow night’s episode (‘Dangerous Liaisons’), he doesn’t know who freed him. Will Klaus take advantage of that?

JOSEPH: Well, here’s one thing I can say: the next episode picks up exactly where the last one ended. So it’s great- immediately, you’re back in that room, and you see what happens straight afterwards with those guys.

IAN: Joseph, shut up!

JOSEPH: And what happens is… stop me! Stop me!

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Hey everyone! I added screencaptures of this week’s episode of The Vampire Diaries “The Ties That Bind” to the gallery plus stills of 3.14 “Dangerous Liasons” to the gallery. Check it out!