The Reason Elena's Appearance in Vampire Diaries Differs From the Books

The Vampire Diaries has significantly altered the way Elena Gilbert is portrayed in the L. J. Smith books. The novel series depicts the protagonist as an exceptionally beautiful girl with long silky blonde hair and blue eyes. When The CW first announced the show, L. J. Smith readers expected an actress fitting that description to be cast in the role.

The show's creators initially considered staying faithful to the book's canon, as two blonde actresses, Ashley Tisdale and Ashlee Simpson, were in the running for the lead role. However, to the surprise of all fans, the dark-haired, dark-eyed Nina Dobrev was eventually cast in the role. It was largely Dobrev, or rather her second audition tape that made the show creators change their mind.

The fact is the young Canadian actress's first audition was a failure.

‘It was one of my first auditions, and the first time, I did it sick and I didn’t really do that well. When I went back to Canada, I retaped for it,’ Nina Dobrev told The Hollywood Reporter.

Nina's second audition tape impressed everyone so much they cast her without a second thought.

‘[Nina] put herself on tape, which then got sent to us and it was so magical and so perfect that she basically had the job from that minute forward,’ co-creator Julie Plec told Entertainment Weekly.

But Dobrev's impressive second audition was not the only reason the showrunners decided to alter Elena's appearance from the books, even at the risk of fan backlash. L. J. Smith's universe features angels, and the book version of Elena was a half-angel on her mother's side, which explained her extreme beauty, blonde hair, and blue eyes. The CW show removed angels from their supernatural pantheon and made Elena fully human. That allowed them to disregard the book's description of the character when auditioning actresses for the role.

Apparently, what the writers were looking for in their Elena first and foremost was her relatable, girl-next-door vibe, rather than a bombshell look.

‘[Co-creator Kevin Williamson] specifically told me that the angle we wanted to go for was the relatable, nice, girl next door who the audience roots for. So he made a conscious decision to change that,’ Dobrev told PopSugar (via Looper).

Going in that direction also changed Elena's character. In the book series, she comes across as self-serving and mean. In the show, she is loyal and sweet. The showrunners' decision to make Elena more relatable paid off in the end. Even though the book's author and fans were sceptical about Nina Dobrev at first, she soon won them over with her brilliant performance and positive vibes.

‘I really, really like the Elena that they picked, Nina Dobrev. Even though she's brunette, and not blond, which took some getting used to for me, she's a great actress,’ L. J. Smith told MTV.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly , Looper, MTV.