Vampire Diaries actor is new Penshoppe model

Fans of Ian Somerhalder will, I guess, not mind being “bitten” by him when he arrives in Manila tomorrow for a pictorial as the newest addition to Penshoppe’s growing roster of A-list endorsers. He plays the dashing vampire Damon Salvatore in the hit show The Vampire Diaries.

This piece of good news was relayed to Funfare Update by PR Asia Worldwide’s lead publicist Joyce A. Ramirez in an official statement: We are pleased to confirm that actor Ian Somerhalder has accepted our offer and is now (officially) part of Penshoppe “All Stars.”

The brand’s A-list includes Ed Westwick of Gossip Girl, Thai popstar Mario Maurer (now shooting a movie titled Suddenly It’s Magic for Star Cinema with Erich Gonzales) and Zac Efron (whose billboards are all over the metropolis and whose latest film, The Lucky One, grossed more than $76 million worldwide) whom The STAR interviewed last March in L.A. during the Penshoppe pictorial.

“I hope to visit the Philippines soon,” Zac told The STAR.

Ian is staying for one week to shoot the campaign at an environment-friendly resort. He will also attend a press conference

“Penshoppe is very excited to work with Ian and our team is doing everything to make this a truly memorable visit for him,” said Joyce who also finalized negotiations with Westwick and Efron. “Hopefully, Ian gets a chance to meet his Filipino fans who have supported him in The Vampire Diaries for the last two top-rating seasons. He will visit a flagship Penshoppe store.”

For the shoot with Ian, Penshoppe has once again secured the expertise of Hollywood A-list photographer Darren Tieste, author of The Beauty Book featuring some of the world’s biggest stars led by actress Scarlett Johansson on the cover.

In The Vampire Diaries, Ian stars opposite Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev. The show is returning for its third season in middle of September. Based on the books by L.J. Smith the show revolves around Elena Gilber, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers, with Ian as the older and far more dangerous of the two brothers who share a long and bitter history.

The first season of the show premiered to the CW’s highest ratings and won the 2010 People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama. Ian won the 2010 Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Villain for his portrayal of Damon. At the 2011 Teen Choice Awards, The Vampire Diaries was the winner for the Choice Sci-Fi TV Show. 

Ian is also well-known for his role as Boone on J.J. Abrams’ critically-acclaimed drama Lost (aired regionally on AXN Asia) from 2004 to 2010. He won the 2005 SAG Award as part of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series while Lost won the 2005 Emmy Award for Best Television Series-Drama. The show was also nominated for the 2004 Golden Globe Award and the 2004 People’s Choice Award. He later returned to the show for its final season in 2010.

Ian recently starred in the Sci Fi Channel’s TV movie Lost City Raiders opposite James Brolin, which premiered to record ratings and was the Sci Fi Channel’s fifth most-watched movie event of 2008. He also starred in the Hallmark Channel’s mini-series Marco Polo where he played the title character opposite Brian Dennehy and B.D. Wong. Written by Ron Hutchinson, the film traces the Venetian adventurer’s journey to Mongolia where he was an envoy to the court of Kublai Khan.

It’s Ian’s first trip to the Philippines and maybe not the last.