'I Don't Miss The Work': Ian Somerhalder Decided To End His Acting Career For A New Path

While it's not uncommon for celebrities to fade from the limelight, for some of them, it is a purposeful choice. This appears to be the case for actor Ian Somerhalder, whom you probably remember from either "The Vampire Diaries" or "Lost." If you were wondering why you never see Somerhalder in any major acting roles anymore, look no further, as the reasoning is because he decided to pursue a more nature-centric life of farming, environmental activism, and other business ventures outside of acting.

Speaking to Fox News in 2026, Somerhalder said, "I don't miss the work," while discussing his move away from traditional film and TV roles. "I loved what I did. I did it for a long time. I miss the people." He also went on to say that he specifically misses the "small city" atmosphere of working on "The Vampire Diaries."

Despite not doing any more scripted work, Somerhalder is one of the subjects in the documentary "Common Ground." It was the second part of a three-part series of environment-focused documentaries that Somerhalder served as the executive producer on, all about regenerative agriculture. The first part of the series was entitled "Kiss the Ground" and the final part was entitled "Groundswell."

While the reason for the ending of "The Vampire Diaries" may have been surprising, Ian Somerhalder's return to farming seems unsurprising considering his family history. "My family on both sides are multigenerational farmers going back to the 1700s. So this is very much in my blood. This is what I'm about," Somerhalder said to Fox News in 2025.

Somerhalder's wife Nikki Reed (the couple married in 2015) is also a former actor and on the same page about trading that career for farm life. She told Santa Barbara Magazine, "To be fully transparent about it, I really did not want to be in the public eye anymore." Fans can get a glimpse of the couple's non-Hollywood lifestyle through Reed's Instagram, where she often shares pics of idyllic natural landscapes, horses, and other animals and greenery. Like her husband, Reed runs several businesses while also working toward a goal of making their Santa Barbara farm autonomous. Definitely not a bad place to grow up for Somerhalder and Reed's two kids, their daughter Bodhi and a son whose name has not been made public.