Matthew Davis played a pivotal role in The Vampire Diaries. His character, Alaric Saltzman, appeared in all TVD projects, including the spinoffs The Originals and Legacies. Like most of his castmates, the actor joined the 2009 supernatural teen drama at a relatively young age. So, how old was Matthew Davis while on The Vampire Diaries?
Matthew Davis was 31 when ‘The Vampire Diaries’ debuted
Davis joined The Vampire Diaries in its first season, playing a vampire hunter and history teacher. Alaric Saltzman was many of the side characters who drove the plotline. The actor was on the show for three seasons until the end of season 3 when Alaric died.
Davis returned as a guest star for two seasons and then reprised his role in season 6 after his resurrection. Magic takes away his vampirism, but he finds love with Josette, with whom he starts a family. However, on their wedding day, a pregnant Josette is attacked and killed by her twin brother Kai.
Her babies are transferred to Caroline Forbes’ womb to allow them to grow full-term. Davis remained on the show until its final season, establishing the Salvatore School to help supernatural children thrive.
Davis was 31 years old when TVD began filming and 34 when he exited the series after his character’s death. TVD went off the air on Mar. 10, 2017, and Davis turned 39 two months later. Born on May 8, 1978, Davis is now 44, IMDb reports.
How old was he in the ‘TVD’ spinoff ‘Legacies’?
Legacies began a year after TVD went off the air and explored Klaus Mikaelson’s daughter and other gifted children as they honed their powers and navigated teen life. The series took place at the Salvatore School, with Davis reprising his role as Alaric and the school’s headmaster.
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The first episode of Legacies aired on Oct. 25, 2018, and Davis turned 40 that year. When the series went off the air on Jun. 16, 2022, Davis had turned 44, finally saying goodbye to his TVD character.
Davis was the oldest Legacies cast member, with his co-stars in their early 20s. Danielle Rose Russell, who played Hope Mikaelson, was born on Oct. 31, 1999. She was 22 years old when the series ended. Her onscreen love interest, Aria Shahghasemi, was born in 1996 and was 26 when Legacies wrapped.
Kaylee Bryant, who played one of Alaric’s Gemini twins, Josie, left Legacies in its fourth season in 2021 at age 24. Quincy Fouse, who portrayed Josie’s twin’s love interest, MG, was also born in 1997 and was 25 when the series ended.
Chris Lee, Jenny Boyd, and Ben Levin were the oldest cast members acting as high schoolers in the series. Lee was born in 1994 and will burn 29 this year, while Boyd and Levin were born in 1991 and 1987.
Matthew Davis’ age compared to his ‘Vampire Diaries’ castmates
Davis’ character on The Vampire Diaries grew throughout the show, but he initially wasn’t supposed to appear for more than four episodes. He was one of the oldest cast members on the show, but Ian Somerhalder had him beat because Davis wasn’t part of the original core cast.
Somerhalder landed the role of Damon Salvatore at 30 and was 38 when the show went off the air. Paul Wesley, who portrayed Damon’s brother Stefan, was 27 when TVD began and turned 35 when it wrapped. Nina Dobrev and Kat Graham were closer in age to their characters, Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett, with Dobrev being 20 at the start of the series and turning 26 when she left the series in 2015. Graham was 19 when she began playing Bonnie and was 27 when the show ended in 2017.
