If there is one man who has the finger on the pulse of love triangles, it should be Paul Wesley. After a sensible career in episodic television, the actor gained fanatical popularity for his role as eternal 17-year-old Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries. For 8 seasons, Stefan and his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder) defy the odds to protect their sometimes human, sometimes vampire girlfriend Elena (Nina Dobrev) from unspeakable evil. The series became a benchmark for love triangles — for better or for worse.
But despite his experience in the area, the newest love triangle phenomenon has not reached his radar. Amazon Prime’s The Summer I Turned Pretty features another girl thrown between two brothers and her impossible choice. Apart from vampirism, the two shows are essentially each other’s equal, though Welsey wouldn’t know it. When fans asked him about his preference between Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), the actor quipped, “What is this, Bible teams?” However, since then, he has cultivated a slightly more researched answer when talking to People.
During the 20th Anniversary celebration for the Tennis Channel, Wesley confirmed that he had heard of the show, though two sides of the triangle did escape him.
“I definitely don’t have a side yet,” he added. “I’ll try to figure that out.” Somerhalder, who was also at the event for their Brothers Bourbon partnership, chimed in similar confusion, but added he would watch the series with his onscreen brother.
To Wesley’s credit, 8 years was a long time to be embroiled in the exhausting Stefan-Elena-Damon drama of The Vampire Diaries. The two brothers’ quest to win the heart of a human girl in Virginia was at times baffling when the show was stacked with far more compelling characters than the object of their affection. In The Summer I Turned Pretty, Belly (Lola Tung) has much more agency than Elena and a truly extraordinary love story in season 2. The Vampire Diaries will always be a teen drama institution, but Wesley shouldn’t be involved in every conversation surrounding romance. The actor has always been transparent about his appreciation for the show, and readiness to move on. His recent work has been tackling another brand of franchise characters in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Appearing in the season 1 finale as an alternate timeline Captain Kirk, Wesley appears now and again throughout season 2 as different variations of the character. As the timeline of Strange New Worlds moves closer to the era of The Original Series, it seems more and more likely that the show will bring Wesley in full-time. Playing a myriad of doppelgängers and humanity-less vampires has prepared Wesley for portraying a wide variety of roles.