Ian Somerhalder faced 'extraordinary challenges' directing V Wars episode

Ian Somerhalder faced "extraordinary challenges" while directing an episode of V Wars.

The 40-year-old actor directed three episodes of his previous TV show, The Vampire Diaries, in which he starred as Damon Salvatore, and he wanted to do the same on his new Netflix series V Wars, but he only signed up to helm one because he had so much on his plate working as a producer and portraying Dr. Luther Swann.

"I only directed one, by design, because I had so much to do onscreen," he explained to Cover Media. "This is a brand-new character, this isn't a character I've been playing (for ages). When I directed Vampire Dairies, I came in to direct in season six and the show was such a hit and such a well-oiled machine at that point that I could be written lightly into an episode where I could prep, I could be written lightly into an episode I was directing, and I could be written lightly in the third episode while I went to L.A. for post-production.

"That wasn't the case here. There was no break. It never let up. And so those are amazing, extraordinary challenges, to make sure you get through... you really push hard at every angle - you want to make sure that the crew feels great, that everyone is fed and happy, you want make sure the lights are being moved as quickly as they can be and you want to just make sure you're getting what you need. And it's an amazing puzzle piece. You just have to trust your team and love your crew and put your head down and get through these days and enjoy them while they're happening."

Ian also explained that it was a challenge to set up the characters and the world, based on the Jonathan Maberry books and comics, within just 10 episodes. Accordingly, he hopes the team gets a chance to explore more storylines in a second season.

V Wars is now streaming on Netflix.