Damon Salvatore
Damon Salvatore, portrayed by Ian Somerhalder since the pilot, serves as the series' anti-hero. Damon was born in Mystic Falls. When Katherine Pierce came to town, both he and his younger brother, Stefan Salvatore, fell in love with her. In 1864 he is turned into a vampire after being shot by his father with Katherine's blood in his system. His transitioning was completed after Stefan, also now a vampire, convinced him to kill a woman. Damon, angry that Stefan forced him to complete his transition to a vampire, vowed to make Stefan's life miserable. More than a hundred years later, Damon returns to Mystic Falls to free Katherine, who he believes is locked in a tomb there. Damon meets Elena Gilbert before Stefan (later found out in the season finale of season 3) but compels her to forget their meeting. Later, still hating his brother, decides to bring havoc to her relationship with Stefan. When he finds out that Katherine is not in the tomb and has been alive the entire time, he finds comfort in Elena. He then starts to fall in love with her. His relationship with Stefan also improves and it is shown that Damon actually does care about his brother. In the beginning of the series, Damon kills people impulsively, but as the series progresses he starts to act more humane and stops killing people. He even starts friendships with others, such as Alaric Saltzman and Sheriff Forbes. When Katherine returns in season two and tells him that she has always loved Stefan and not him, his love for her vanishes and he starts to hate her. He becomes close to another vampire named Rose. When Rose is bitten by a werewolf, Damon is left with no other choice but to stake her and briefly falls back into his old ways, killing a young girl. Damon then starts a relationship with a reporter called Andie Star. He compels her to agree to him taking her blood and uses her to distract himself. However, she is later killed by Stefan. Despite these relationships, Damon still loves Elena deeply. When Damon is dying, due to Klaus werewolf bite, Elena tells him that she forgives him for everything and they share a "goodbye kiss". However, Damon is cured after drinking Klaus' blood, brought to him by Katherine after Stefan had exchanged himself for his brothers cure. In season three, while trying to find and save Stefan, Damon and Elena grow closer to each other and they later even share a kiss. When Elena tells Damon that his love for her is a problem, Damon in anger, has a one-night stand with Rebekah. However, in Denver Elena kisses Damon, showing her love for him as well as for Stefan. When Klaus tries to suck Elena dry of her blood to continue his hybrid obsession, Damon helps his brother Stefan, along with Bonnie, Tyler, and Jermey, stop Klaus' heart. The vampire-hunting vampire Alaric Saltzman tries to find Klaus' desecrated body and as he meets up with Rebekah. Alaric finds them and kills Klaus sending Rebbekah into anguish. Towards the end of the season 3 finale it is also revealed that Klaus isn't actually dead but Bonnie had transferred his mind into that of Tyler's, but Klaus's old body was gone for good. Damon calls Elena to see where she is and finds out that she is on her way to see Stefan and her friends instead of going to him in the storage building, he says he understands and requests she told him who she chooses. Elena chooses Stefan over Damon because Stefan met her first and was there for her when she needed someone to love after her parents' death. Alaric next tries to go after Rebekah but Damon protects her and tells her to flee, which she does. Alaric, angry with Damon, proceeds to brutally beat him until Damon starts to fight back; then, Alaric suddenly dies due to Elena's death, because Alaric and Elena's lives are tied together. In a flashback during the season 3 finale, it is revealed that Damon met Elena the night of her parents' crash, but compelled her to forget.