Ian Somerhalder on Missing Alaric, Loving Elena and Finding Compassion

Damon Salvatore misses his best friend. That much is evident in the Vampire Diaries clip from tomorrow night's "Memorial."
And the character isn't alone.
"F-ck Damon. I miss Alaric," Ian Somerhalder told me over the phone yesterday. "I miss Matt Davis in my life."

The second (TERRIFIC!) episode of The Vampire Diaries Season 4 will give viewers multiple opportunities to see how his drinking buddy's passing affects Damon, but Somerhalder says the loss goes beyond a lack of someone to meet at the Grill.
"Losing Alaric signifies something bigger, it raises much bigger questions in Damon's world," the actor explains. "He wonders: 'Why are you dead? What did I do to contribute to it?'"
And it sets Damon off on a dark, lonely path.
"He's missing his best bro, but he's also telling those around him: 'I tried so hard to make you guys see my point of view. And now what's happened? Alaric is dead. Elena is dead.' Damon was right. And now he's saying: 'This is who I am. I tried to play nice and know what? It didn't work.'"
Yes, it's a return to the cynical side ("This is me. Take it or leave it," Somerhalder describes his character's current outlook) of Damon Salvatore, which the star has made clear over the years is his preferred role to play.
"You can't just be a cool lunatic all the time, I understand that. You need to grow and change and evolve," Somerhalder says of the journey Damon has taken. "Still, you are who you are at your core."
And who is that person?
Damon has always had "ill intentions, but he had them for righteous reasons," Somerhalder says. "He believes in what he's doing and he enjoys it so much… whether he's ripping your throat out or saving a kitten from a tree, Damon has that same smile on his face. It's sadistic but true. And the only person he isn't that way around is Elena."
So does that mean Somerhalder is glad he didn't get the girl? Wouldn't a relationship with Elena set Damon down a much lighter path? Somerhalder needed a moment to contemplate that question.
"If you look at why Damon came back to Mystic Falls, it was for love. Even being a sort of maniacal kind of killer at times, he wants what we all want: to be loved."

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