Paul Wesley says ‘Vampire Diaries’ fame ‘freaked’ him out

So long, Salvatores.

Paul Wesley has no plans to act alongside his “Vampire Diaries” brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder), again — at least for now.

“We haven’t [talked about it]. Nina Dobrev and I talked about working on-screen again. Maybe in a comedy or something,” Wesley, 41, told The Post. 

“That was a while ago. We hadn’t talked about that in a while. But, I love Ian. I see him every day, whether it’s on a Zoom or [in person].”

Wesley starred as Stefan Salvatore on the CW series alongside Somerhalder, 45, and Dobrev, 35, for eight years, from 2009 to 2017. He has since gone into business with Somerhalder, with their Brother’s Bond Bourbon, and he said that spending time with Somerhalder through their entrepreneurial partnership is enough.  

“We have a full company that we are running, and we have to get on work Zooms all the time, and we’re doing tastings. We share an office in Malibu. I see that guy more than I see my own girlfriend,” said Wesley, who’s currently dating model Natalie Kuckenburg, 23, following his split from his ex-wife, Ines de Ramon, in 2022. 

“So I’m good with not doing an on-screen reunion,” he said about Somerhalder. “I think we’re good.” 

Wesley’s beloved character Stefan ultimately died in the series finale — which is what he requested.

“I love the show, and I was so grateful for it. And it was more that I wanted to die in the finale. I thought me and Damon should have died in the finale. Because both of us were these guys that wreaked all this havoc,” he said. “And frankly, even Stefan went through a phase where he was ripping people’s heads off. And I was like, ‘They’ve had a good run . . . at this point, they’ve been around for 160 years’ . . . And they listened to me.”

Wesley is currently starring in the movie “History of Evil,” now streaming on Shudder. Set in a futuristic police-state version of America, the story follows Ron (Wesley) who is a member of the resistance, and his wife, Alegre (Jackie Cruz), and daughter Daria (Murphee Bloom).

His wife is a wanted fugitive, so they seek refuge in an abandoned house while they wait to get her to safety. Naturally, the house is haunted. 

“Ron’s a guy who I think is a victim of some deep-seated, repressed complications [and] vulnerabilities with himself and his masculinity,” said Wesley.

“I think that Ron is in a marriage with a woman who’s quite powerful and is a voice for a lot of people. And I think, in a way, he feels threatened by that. He doesn’t necessarily express that in the beginning of the movie, but it slowly comes out.”

“I tried to humanize him,” he explained to The Post. “I tried to make him someone that had an arc, so that in the beginning of the movie, he was perhaps someone that was somewhat likable. And by the end of it, you’re like, ‘Oh gosh, how did he get to where he is now?’ ” 

The movie also sees Wesley play a dad for the first time.

“I’m 41. So it’s not like I’m a spring chicken, but I’m not a dad in real life,” he said.

“I am to my dog, who’s like a son to me. But I don’t have kids. It was interesting because Murphee, who plays my daughter, is 7 or something. I had to really charm my way in there, to get her to like me, make her laugh . . . And I think dads do that. I often see dads trying to charm their kids into not misbehaving.” 

Wesley has kept busy since his Mystic Falls days, but admits the heightened attention he garnered from starring on “The Vampire Diaries” didn’t always sit well.

“The fame thing freaked me out a lot at the height of it. And I did not like it. I know it sounds, ‘Woe is me’ or whatever. But it’s a very odd, inexplicable thing to not be able to walk down the street or to have people interested in your private life. And I definitely found myself kind of wanting to go into my little bubble,” he said. “Now, I think it’s funny, and I don’t care. But in my mid-20s, I didn’t know how to handle it.” 

Despite his success, Wesley has never had the “I’ve made it” mentality in the business.

“I’m like,’ F – – k, I could be better. Why aren’t I doing this?’ . . . But I’ve always been that way,” he explained. “Even when it comes to school or sports. I very rarely celebrate any achievements. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

“I think I got lucky. I think I worked hard, but hopefully I have some talent,” Wesley went on. “It is what it is. You have to have humility.”

“History of Evil” is now streaming on Shudder.