Warning: The list contains spoilers for The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Teen Wolf.

Because The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf are two TV shows similar in genre, tone, and cultural status, it is not surprising that many actors have appeared in both. The Vampire Diaries follows an average teenage girl who is torn between her romantic feelings for two vampire brothers, while Teen Wolf focuses on a teenage boy who is turned into a werewolf and must adjust to his new life. Both shows launched actors like Nina Dobrev and Dylan O’Brien to fame but feature many more famous and lesser-known talents.

Some of the actors who appear in The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf play similar characters in both shows, demonstrating their specific strengths. On the other hand, some had such small roles in one show or the other that most people do not realize they were in both. The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf will always draw comparisons due to their coinciding runs and similar themes, including how the same actors portray different characters.

12

Melissa Ponzio

Played Daphne (TVD) & Melissa McCall (TW)

Melissa Ponzio plays a vital, long-running character, as she is the protagonist Scott McCall’s (Tyler Posey) mother, and generally one of the best parents from Teen Wolf. Like most recently-turned-supernatural teens, Scott does his best to hide that he is now a werewolf from his mother. However, Melissa McCall eventually finds out; after being terrified of Scott and the other supernatural beings of Beacon Hills for a while, she becomes a valuable ally to Scott’s pack.

Melissa is an empowering character because she is a single, hardworking mother who subverts the parent tropes of this genre, becoming involved in the supernatural conflict and actually surviving the series. In contrast, Ponzio plays a one-off character in The Vampire Diaries. Before Teen Wolf premiered, Ponzio portrayed a woman called Daphne who has the misfortune to stumble across new vampire Logan Fell (Chris Johnson) while jogging and is killed by him.

11

Daniel Sharman

Played Kol Mikaelson/Kaleb Westphall (The Originals) & Isaac Lahey (TW)

Daniel Sharman had a brief stint on the Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals as Kaleb, a witch whose body is possessed by the youngest (surviving) Mikaelson brother Kol (usually played by Nathaniel Buzolic). Sharman played Kol for all of his 12 episodes and the audience never sees Kaleb’s personality before he is killed. From a casting perspective, Sharman was chosen for his ability to match Buzolic’s charismatic, trouble-maker performance.

On the other hand, Sharman has a much larger role in Teen Wolf as Isaac in the second and third seasons. Another high school student-turned-werewolf, Isaac first joins Derek Hale’s (Tyler Hoechlin) pack but later becomes closer to Scott and joins his pack instead. He is a compelling supporting character due to his close relationships with the McCall and Argent families. However, after the death of his girlfriend, Isaac leaves Beacon Hills, marking the end of his Teen Wolf arc.

10

Anna Enger Ritch

Played Dana (TVD) & Beacon Hills Student (TW)

Anna Enger Ritch took on small roles in both The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf, as someone must always play the random victims in vampire shows. In the former, she appears in three episodes as Dana, a classmate of Elena (Nina Dobrev) and the other main characters. In her last episode, Klaus Morgan (Joseph Morgan) compels Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) to kill her and another student to torment both Stefan and Elena, making Dana another unlucky bystander caught up in the supernatural conflict. For Teen Wolf, Ritch is only credited as a “student” for the season 2 premiere.

9

Rob Pralgo

Played Richard Lockwood (TVD) & David Whittemore (TW)

Robert Pralgo’s Vampire Diaries character is Richard Lockwood, the former mayor of Mystic Falls and father of Tyler (Michael Trevino), who is a main character in the Vampire Diaries cast. Richard does not appear to be a good father, telling his son to fight Jeremy Gilbert (Steven R. McQueen) and lecturing him on the importance of maintaining their image. Through pure luck, Richard never activates the werewolf gene and may have died having never been aware of his family’s supernatural bloodline.

Richard’s brother Mason (Taylor Kinney) then becomes a more active father figure to Tyler and explains to him the details of being a werewolf. In Teen Wolf, Pralgo plays another complicated but more protective father. This is David Whittemore, Jackson’s (Colton Haynes) adoptive father, who moves to London with his family to get away from the stigma of all the strange events resulting from Jackson’s werewolf transformation.

8

Todd Kashwick

Played Kieran O’Connell (TO) & Henry Tate (TW)

Father Kieran O’Connell has an interesting if short-lived character arc in The Originals. He is Camille O’Connell’s (Leah Pipes) uncle and a representative of the human community in New Orleans, liaisoning with supernatural leaders. Kieran develops a kind of friendship with Marcel Gerard (Charles Michael Davis) and tells Marcel about the witches’ Harvest ritual, hoping he can stop it. The witches place a hex on Kieran in revenge, which drives him out of his mind, and he is eventually killed by Klaus.

Todd Kashwick’s Teen Wolf character is equally interesting in the context of a dark supernatural series. Henry Tate is a grieving father Scott and Stiles Stilinski (Dylan O’Brien) meet when they are investigating the alleged deaths of Henry’s wife and daughters. They discover that Henry’s daughter Malia (Shelley Hennig) accidentally killed her mother and sister and has been living in the woods in her animal form ever since. Scott helps her change back and returns her to her father, who doesn’t know the full story but is happy to have her home.

7

Todd Williams

Played Connor Jordan (TVD) & Dr. Geyer (TW)

In The Vampire Diaries, Todd Williams plays Connor Jordan, a vampire hunter who arrives in Mystic Falls early in season 4. He serves as a new threat amid the many moving pieces of this season, including the continued presence of the Originals and Elena adjusting to life as a vampire. Connor notices Jeremy’s potential to become a hunter like him but is killed by Elena to keep him away from her brother. Elena then experiences hallucinations of Connor due to the Hunter’s Curse.

In Teen Wolf, Williams is Dr. Geyer, who works alongside Melissa (a nurse) in the ER. He has some interesting interactions with her because he realizes that there is no scientific explanation for some of the injuries he sees, but notices that Melissa is not fazed by anything. The show doesn’t go into detail about whether he ever realizes the full extent of the truth, but he manages to remain calm and keep treating patients in Beacon Hills to the best of his ability.

6

Javier Carrasquillo

Played Jared (TVD) & Nick the Bartender (TW)

Javier Carrasquillo also plays side characters in the two teen supernatural TV shows, as well as the character Matias in The Walking Dead. He appears in two episodes of The Vampire Diaries as Jared, a high school student who is friends with Vicki Donovan (Kayla Ewell) and is killed by Damon shortly after the latter’s return to Mystic Falls. He also makes a one-episode appearance in Teen Wolf as a bartender who briefly interacts with some of the main characters, offering one of them relationship advice and refusing to serve them drinks because they are underage.

5

Susan Walters

Played Carol Lockwood (TVD) & Natalie Martin (TW)

Ironically, Susan Walters plays the mother of a supernatural teenager in both The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf. Carol Lockwood surprisingly turns out to be one of the best parents in The Vampire Diaries; after her husband’s death, she continues to represent the Lockwood family on the Founder’s Council. However, when Tyler forces her to watch his transformation, Carol realizes she was wrong about all supernatural individuals being evil and agrees to help save Caroline Forbes (Candice King). After that, Carol is completely supportive of Tyler until her death.

Walters also plays main character Lydia Martin’s (Holland Roden) mother Natalie in Teen Wolf. Natalie is unaware that Lydia is a banshee, with powers inherited from her paternal family. When Natalie finds out the truth, she is briefly in denial. However, she later starts working with the supernatural characters to protect her daughter and the local students.

4

Adam Fristoe

Played Ruben Morris (TO) & Adrian Harris (TW)

Ruben Morris is a single-episode character in The Originals. He is a witch who is briefly consulted by Marcel and Rebekah Mikaelson (Claire Holt), resulting in a confrontation between him and Marcel. Rebekah saves his life, and he never appears on the show again. In contrast, Adam Fristoe plays the antagonistic, recurring Teen Wolf character of Adrian Harris, a Beacon Hills high school teacher.

Harris is somewhat similar to William Tanner (Benjamin Ayres), the unpopular history teacher at the very beginning of The Vampire Diaries, who is killed and replaced by Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis). However, Mr. Harris has some knowledge of the supernatural and inadvertently or randomly allies with other characters to launch attacks on the packs of Beacon Hills. For many years, he is believed to have been sacrificed by Jennifer Blake (Haley Webb) after he started working with her. He is found alive before being incarcerated at a mental health treatment facility.

3

Joe Knezevich

Played Johnathan Gilbert (TVD) & Homeless Man (TW)

Joe Knezevich is simply credited as a “homeless man” in the season 2 premiere of Teen Wolf. He has a much more interesting role in The Vampire Diaries as Elena and Jeremy’s ancestor Johnathan Gilbert, who plays a major role in imprisoning the vampires of Mystic Falls, alongside Stefan and Damon’s father Giuseppe Salvatore (James Remar). Johnathan studied the supernatural his whole life and passed down many magical artifacts to his family members.

A running theme throughout The Vampire Diaries is the importance of the characters’ inheritance. They all rely on the magical gifts and tools passed down in their families but also contend with complicated legacies when many of their ancestors killed vampires like the ones they are now friends with. Johnathan is an especially nuanced figure; he is the beginning of the Gilbert family’s history of killing and tormenting vampires, but he was also in love with Pearl Zhu (Kelly Hu) before discovering that she was a vampire.

2

Keahu Kahuanui

Played Eddie (TO) & Danny Mahealani (TW)

Danny is a recurring character in Teen Wolf for the first three seasons as another student at Beacon Hills High School. He has an interesting position within the genre’s typical formula because the other characters act as though Danny is unaware of the supernatural until he tells them multiple seasons into the show that he has known the whole time. By that point, most of his friends and his boyfriend are supernatural, and he would have had to be very oblivious to not figure it out. He then disappears from the show without explanation.

Keahu Kahuanui also plays the human partner of a supernatural character in The Originals. Eddie is briefly Josh Rosza’s (Steven Krueger) boyfriend, appearing in only one episode. Josh later says that he broke up with Eddie because him being human was too complicated and Josh wanted to keep Eddie safe.

1

Bianca Lawson

Played Emily Bennet (TVD) & Marin Morrell (TW)

Bianca Lawson has a forceful presence in The Vampire Diaries as Emily Bennett, one of the most significant and powerful women in the Bennett witch line. She is the most interesting ancestral character of the show and is referenced by many people outside the Bennett family due to her huge influence on Mystic Falls’ history. Emily is both an empowering and terrifying spirit to her descendant Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham).

Similarly, in Teen Wolf, Lawson portrays a therapist and powerful druid who plays by her own rules. She operates largely on her own, allying with and betraying the other supernatural residents of Beacon Hills according to how she can protect people. She later becomes the de facto supernatural therapist, helping many of the supernatural characters work through their experiences. In particular, Lawson’s Teen Wolf character has interesting implications for her The Vampire Diaries character and vice versa.

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  The Vampire Diaries

  Where to Watch

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  Based on the novels by L.J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries is a story about the developing love triangle between Elena Gilbert and two vampiric brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Set in the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, the show follows the trio from high school through college as they battle for one another’s affection.

  Cast

  Nina Dobrev
  , Ian Somerhalder
  , Steven R. McQueen
  , Paul Wesley
  , Kat Graham
  , Michael Trevino
  , Michael Malarkey
  , Zach Roerig
  , Candice King
  , Matthew Davis

  Seasons

  8

  Network

  The CW

  Writers

  Julie Plec
  , Kevin Williamson
  , L.J. Smith

  Showrunner

  Julie Plec

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  The Originals

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  Spinning off from the popular CW series The Vampire Diaries, The Originals is a supernatural drama series that follows three vampiric siblings of the first vampire family known to exist. With the eldest sibling, Klaus being a hybrid of werewolf, witch, and now vampire, the three find themselves attempting to help with the delicate balance of powers in the New Orleans French Quarter as they deal with their own family troubles.

  Cast

  Joseph Morgan
  , Charles Michael Davis
  , Phoebe Tonkin
  , Danielle Campbell
  , Daniel Gillies
  , Leah Pipes

  Seasons

  5

  Network

  The CW

  Writers

  Julie Plec

  Showrunner

  Julie Plec

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  Teen Wolf

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  A take on the concept of the original film, Teen Wolf is a fantasy action-horror series created for MTV. When high school student Scott McCall is attacked and bitten by a werewolf, he transforms into one himself. Now forced to juggle his school life and new nightlife, Scott will struggle to understand and control his new powers while fending off new supernatural threats attacking his town.

  Cast

  Holland Roden
  , Tyler Posey
  , Dylan Sprayberry
  , Melissa Ponzio
  , Tyler Hoechlin
  , Arden Cho
  , Crystal Reed
  , jr bourne
  , Shelley Hennig
  , Colton Haynes
  , Dylan O’Brien
  , Linden Ashby

  Seasons

  6

  Network

  Paramount

  Writers

  Jeff Davis

  Showrunner

  Jeff Davis