Ian Somerhalder wanted to quit The Vampire Diaries after season three of the show.

The 46-year-old actor played Damon Salvatore on the teen drama series between 2009 and 2017, but Ian has revealed that he actually became disillusioned with the direction of his character after season three.

In an excerpt from I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries - which has been shared with Variety - Ian explains: "I was so upset about the trajectory of Damon, so much so that at one point I was sitting across from Julie [Plec, the show's creator] in her office in Atlanta almost in tears -- actually, my eyes were quite misty -- and asked out of the show.

"I was so angry about it. I wanted off. Because I saw the writing on the wall. Damon was heading toward the love-interest role."

Ian worried that Damon was being turned into a "sappy character" and he wanted to quit the show at the time.

The actor shared: "I was like, 'S***, I'm in my early thirties, I've got a lot of this heat because of this show, I'm sure I could go find something that's really cool and dark and edgy'. I was like, 'They're going to turn me into a sappy character.'"

However, Julie did her best to calm Ian's fears and to encourage him to commit to the TV show.

Ian said: "Julie was like, 'You're not leaving the show. First of all, you're one of the stars and one of the parts of the beating heart of the show; and two, you signed a six-year contract, so that's not happening; and three, don't worry, there has to be layers.'"

Meanwhile, Ian previously admitted that he considers his acting career to be "in the rearview mirror".

The TV star turned his back on Hollywood in order to pursue a life of farming, and Ian insisted that he doesn't have any intention of returning to the entertainment industry.

Speaking about his acting career and whether he might return to the business, Ian told People: "I think it's in the rearview mirror. I do."