LOS ANGELES — Matt Davis started playing Alaric Saltzman in 2009 on The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries.” During that time he continued to play the role on “The Originals” and now reprises the character for “Legacies.”
At the end of “The Vampire Diaries,” Saltzman decided to start a boarding school for his twin daughters, born from a very dark witch coven, when he began to see signs they could have problems controlling their powers. Saltzman is now headmaster of The Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted, where witches, vampires and werewolves must wrestle with whether they will become heroes or villains. Locals think it’s a school for troubled rich kids.
Davis has seen his life go through a lot of ups and downs during the years he has been playing the character.
“I lost my father. My engagement fell apart. People I know have had kids. People have passed away. It’s just that whole life gestalt,” he says. “It was absolutely great in the best and worst times to have the character to play. That consistency in a complete world of change is very appealing, healing and grounding when there is so much churning out there.
“Coming into my 40s, I’ve grown so much and learned so much about myself and life in general that I feel like a different sort of gravity, a different sort of weight in my personal life and my creative perspective.”
Davis eagerly agreed to be the connection between the new series and the vampire shows in his past because it would continue to give him continuity in his creative life. He also was not ready to give up playing the character because in his eyes, the complete story of Alaric Saltzman had not been told.
Executives at The CW were in agreement. The top brass bought the show without seeing a single frame of the series.
Davis’ connection to the three shows has been very different than other jobs. Before joining the world of vampires, he starred in a variety of projects including “What About Brian,” “Cult,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Legally Blonde,” “Blue Crush,” “Tigerland” and “BloodRayne.” Every role has taught him something.
“Each time I left a show, it was because it didn’t work. But, I believe the story of the character of Alaric is alive and well in the hearts of the fan base that isn’t over the story yet,” Davis says. “So I think no matter hard I tried, there was this gravitational pull that kept pulling me back in and. That’s because the story isn’t finished.”
The role he sees his character playing in the new series is to be the conduit for those who were fans of the previous two shows. Saltzman will continue to provide the human element that will make him vulnerable in this unsettled world.
