Ian Somerhalder

Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder as Boone Carlyle
Born	Ian Joseph Somerhalder
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)

Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor, male fashion model and producer, probably most notable for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost.

Biography

Early life

Somerhalder was born in Covington, Louisiana. He has a brother, Bob, and a sister. His father, Robert Somerhalder, was a building contractor of French and English descent, and his mother, Edna, who is of Irish and Choctaw descent, grew up on a pig farm in Mississippi. The surname "Somerhalder" originates from his adoptive great-grandfather. His biological great-grandfather, a wealthy English landowner, got one of his mistresses pregnant and paid an immigrant worker of his to marry this woman and give the baby a name, which was Somerhalder. The biological great-grandfather's name was Hull.

Somerhalder's parents divorced when he was thirteen. He grew up with his mother, whom he has described as being "very spiritual", and attended Catholic school.

Career

Somerhalder began his career as a fashion model, with his mother's encouragement at the age of 10. He modeled in New York, Paris, Milan, and London. His modeling credits include Calvin Klein, American Eagle Outfitters, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Versace, and Guess?. He was the face of Guess? for two fall seasons.

Although he continues to model with his agency DNA Models, he has also started acting.

His first major acting role was in The Rules of Attraction, Roger Avary's adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name.

His television work includes appearances in shows such as Smallville (in which he played Adam Knight, a dead person who is being kept alive by a special drug), CSI: Miami, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Now and Again, and The Big Easy, as well as producing Recess.

His biggest role to date was as a main cast member for the first season of the American television series Lost as the character Boone Carlyle.

Somerhalder returned to play Boone Carlyle in episodes of both the second and third season of Lost. In the second season he guest starred in the flashbacks of Boone's stepsister, Shannon Rutherford in the episode "Abandoned". In the third season, he guest starred in the episodes "Further Instructions" (appearing in John Locke's dreams in the episode) and "Expose" (in flashback scenes that take place during Season 1).

In May 2006, DNA Models named their Top 10 Male Models. Somerhalder was among those in the list.

He is currently in talks to play a God in Osiris Release [1]

Allegations of Homophobia

In the film The Rules of Attraction, Somerhalder plays a bisexual character named Paul who falls in love with the character Sean, played by James Van Der Beek. In perhaps the film's most infamous scene, Paul fantasizes, while masturbating behind a pillow, of seducing Sean. On one of the DVD's commentary tracks, Somerhalder discusses the scene while it is shown:

Oh yeah, doing a press junket of 62 intervays[sic]--interviews a day, and everyone asking about this one scene, which will probably haunt me and James--not haunt us, what am I talking about... It's actually quite funny. But I gotta say, [referring to the beer he is holding in the scene] that's real beer in there, buddy. It's gotta be one of the most uncomfortable things on the face of the planet that you could possibly do, is kiss a guy. I have the most profound respect for women now. --[Referring to a pimple-like bump on Van Der Beek's forehead] What is that thing in the middle of James's head?-- So, I gotta say, I never understood how painful it could possibly be. And I remember in the winter, seeing my girlfriend's face, it was a little red and scratchy... And I thought, ah, that must suck. Put two guys together? It's disgusting. It's like, fucking velcro, ok? There's something inherently wrong, with that. But it was really funny. It was quite funny. *laughs* And it's in all seriousness. But I-I have to say, that, after doing this, you feel... a bunch of liberties--not sexually, but just a lot of liberties where you sort of push... everything you could possibly push... and you just finish your day of work and you have a beer and you laugh about it... But what's really funny is, no one knows whose fantasy this is? I kiss James and he stops me, and then once it [sic] more, how funny is that? It's--I, I, I just, yeah. Mmm. It's just, uh... I-eh-I've seen this--No, there was no tongue! There was NO tongue. That was the one thing, that James and I talked about, --It was the first thing, we said it simultaneously: "Don't stick your fucking tongue in my mouth." But it looks like it... Eh, what did someone say? Someone said in an interview, "So it was like, ki"--So they said "What do you do?" And I said "well you open your mouth, [voice changes to re-enact the experience] like this, and you don't stick your tongue in their mouth." And they said, "So it's like, sucking on a pipe." *laughs* I said, "...I guess so. I haven't really sucked on a pipe but I guess it would sort of be like a pipe." 'Cause if you've ever kissed a girl, with your mouth open, and her tongue didn't come outta her mouth? It was kind of annoying. And it was sorta like kissing a pipe.

Some alleged that based on similar remarks he made elsewhere, Somerhalder was homophobic. However, rather than citing Somerhalder's statements referring to two guys kissing each other as "disgusting" and "inherently wrong", the allegations frequently referenced his statements about his personal displeasure kissing Van Der Beek, such as "I don`t ever plan on kissing a guy again, because it`s so fucking scratchy"[2] as evidence of his supposed homophobia. Referring to the backlash, Somerhalder stated:

It's not me who can't handle it, it's the audience. Seann William Scott didn't get all of the backlash that I received when he did just the same in American Pie 2. It was completely unjustified - fans and outraged men saying that I was making anti-gay remarks. I wasn't and those very close to me who are gay were visibly upset. I'd never make a disrespectful remark about anyone, especially in public, about one's sexual preference.[3]

Filmography

Television

• 2000 – Young Americans as Hamilton Fleming
• 2001 – Anatomy of a Hate Crime as Russell Henderson
• 2004 – Fearless as Jordan Gracie
• 2004 – Smallville as Adam Knight
• 2004-2005 – Lost as Boone Carlyle (also appeared in flashbacks/dream sequences in 2006 and 2007)
• 2006 – Marco Polo as Marco Polo

Cinema

• 2001 – Life as a House as Josh
• 2002 – Changing Hearts as Jason Kelly
• 2002 – The Rules of Attraction as Paul Denton
• 2004 – In Enemy Hands as Danny Miller
• 2004 – The Old Man and the Studio as Matt
• 2004 – Recess as Cooley (also producer)
• 2006 – Pulse as Dexter McCarthy
• 2006 – The Sensation of Sight as Drifter

External links

• Ian Somerhalder at IMDb
• Template:Tvtome person
• Ian Somerhalder's Interview with TVNow's Tony Bray