Great interview with Paul Wesley from IF Magazine.  He talks about how he is oblivious to being considered a sex symbol and hearing about it makes him blush….everybody together now….”Awwwwww”.

Last year, the CW introduced THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. Before they knew it, they had a bona fide hit on their hands. Leading the charge is Paul Wesley, better known as Stefan, the sullen 160 year old vampire who is the love interest of the show’s lead, Elena, played by Nina Dobrev. iF Magazine had a chance to talk with Wesley about his blossoming stardom, why he likes playing vampires, and a little about where he hope THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is headed this season.

iF MAGAZINE: How does it feel to don the mantle of the next hip vampire a la Kiefer Sutherland or Brad Patt?

PAUL WESLEY: Amazing. It’s great to be a part of that lineage. I’m a huge fan of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. I love films like SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE with Willem Dafoe and the old Dracula films. So being a part of that mythology is fantastic. It’s an honor.

iF: Do you try to borrow at all from any of your vampire predecessors?

WESLEY: Maybe subconsciously because I’ve watched so many of those films. But I try to create Stefan from a human place of a seventeen year kid who is put into a situation, and now he’s a 160 year old man in this body. It’s kind of unique unto itself. All the circumstances and situations and characters are unique and individual. So I try to just stick to what the script is and the dialog and the story and not mimic too much.

iF: Have you read any of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES books?

WESLEY: I hadn’t read the books before I auditioned. But after I got the part, I found out it was based on books. I had like a week before I started shooting after I got the part, so I plowed through the books as quickly as I could.

iF: So now that you’re in this high profile position as the male lead of a very successful show, how does it feel to be entering into “sex symbol” territory?

WESLEY: I’m oblivious to it, in all sincerity. Hearing it kind of makes me blush. I don’t get out much, so I’m sort of oblivious to it. I have kind of a very homely life. I sit at home and I work. The idea of having female admirers makes me blush and makes me feel good.

Read the rest of the interview.