Ian Somerhalder Provides Background on Damon Salvatore

On the pilot episode, Damon Salvatore certainly comes across as a purely evil character.

But star Ian Somerhalder says - The Vampire Diaries spoilers alert! - that this isn't the case.

In a revealing new interview, the actor opens up about Damon's intriguing back story. Here are a few excerpts from it:

On Damon Salvatore: He's angry. He feels like he's been wronged, very badly, and he wants vengeance and redemption. However, he is lonely. He's the most lonely person I've ever known. Imagine being 170 years old. However old you are, at this point in time, imagine thinking about how much you know about life and quadrupling that, and seeing all the people you've ever known die around you. That probably makes you very cynical and lonely.

On Damon's background: It's intense. Even people who are bad, it all stems from a place. It's coming from a place. When we're good to people, it's coming from a good place. When we're bad to people, it's coming from a bad place. But, we all have a reason for what we're doing, and Damon's is pretty justified. He feels as though he was hurt very badly in the past, and wronged very deeply, so he's ticked off and he's ready for some vengeance. It's going to be interesting. He has reasons for everything he does, so there will be shifts. The whole idea is that Damon has lost all humanity, but we will see different sides of him, as the season starts to play out.

On whether Damon is all bad: No. He's a very dynamic, very complicated character. The relationship between Stefan, Damon and Elena is getting away from just this teen soap show. They're very complicated relationships.