Movies Gallery Ian Somerhalder through the years By EW Staff Published on December 8, 2016 02:11PM EST Trending Videos Close this video player 01 of 39 Happy birthday, Ian Somerhalder! FOX via Getty Images; Reisig and Taylor/ABC/Getty Images; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic Born in Louisiana on December 8, 1978, Ian Somerhalder celebrates his 40th birthday Saturday. The actor got his start in his 20s, landing early roles in Young Americans, Life as a House, The Rules of Attraction, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Somerhalder then held a six-episode arc on Smallville as Adam Knight before joining Lost as Boone Carlyle and picking up his most well-known role to date as The Vampire Diaries' Damon Salvatore. He's played the brooding vampire since 2009, earning People's Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards for his work along the way. In honor of the actor's 40th birthday, see photos of him through the years, ahead. 02 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Mark Famiglietti and Katherine Moennig Filming Young Americans on May 24, 2000 Justin Lane/Liaison/Getty Images 03 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the Life as a House Premiere on October 24, 2001 Steve Granitz/WireImage 04 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the 4th Annual Young Hollywood Awards in Hollywood on May 5, 2002 Robert Mora/Getty Images 05 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Kate Bosworth at the Rules Of Attraction Screening on September 24, 2002 Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage 06 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at Sony Ericsson's Hollywood Premiere Party on January 9, 2003 Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage 07 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Amy Smart at the GQ Lounge at White Lotus in Hollywood on March 1, 2003 Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage 08 of 39 Ian Somerhalder on Lost on July 28, 2004 Reisig & Taylor/ABC/Getty Images 09 of 39 Ian Somerhalder on Lost on July 28, 2004 Reisig & Taylor/ABC/Getty Images 10 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills on January 16, 2005 Kevin Winter/Getty Images 11 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the Costume Institute's Gala Celebrating Chanel at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 2, 2005 Gregory Pace/FilmMagic 12 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the Launch Of Frank Gehry's Premier Collection On Rodeo Drive on March 26, 2006 Steve Granitz/WireImage 13 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at Unruly Heir's Spring Summer 2008 in New York City on September 9, 2007 David X. Prutting/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images 14 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Lydia Hearst at Unruly Heir's Spring Summer 2008 in New York City on September 9, 2007 David X. Prutting/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images 15 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at Tisch School of the Arts' Totally Tisch in New York City on November 12, 2007 Joe Sschildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images 16 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at Global Green USA's 5th Annual Pre Oscar Party in Los Angeles on February 20, 2008 Charley Gallay/WireImage 17 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at The Live Party at the Viceroy in Palm Springs on April 26, 2008 Alexandra Wyman/WireImage 18 of 39 Ian Somerholder at the CW Upfronts in New York City on May 21, 2009 May 21, 2009 Christopher Peterson/BuzzFoto/FilmMagic 19 of 39 Ian Somerhalde at the Second annual Golden Globes Party Saluting Young Hollywood in West Hollywood on December 8, 2009 Jason Merritt/Getty Images 20 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at Spike TV's Scream 2010 at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on October 16, 2010 Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic 21 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Paul Wesley at Vampire Diaries Season 2 Cast Tour at Hot Topic in Miami on October 23, 2010 Gustavo Caballero 22 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Selena Gomez and Nina Dobrev at the 22nd Annual MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto on June 19, 2011 George Pimentel/WireImage 23 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards in California on August 7, 2011 Steve Granitz/WireImage 24 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on September 18, 2011 Frazer Harrison/Getty Images 25 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Paul Wesley at the 2012 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles on January 11, 2012 Frazer Harrison/Getty Images 26 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Matt Davis and Michael Trevino at the Bloody Night Con Press Conference in Barcelona on May 4, 2012 Miquel Benitez/Getty Images 27 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the CW Network's 2012 Upfront in New York City on May 17, 2012 Kevin Mazur/WireImage 28 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at DIRECTV's Super Saturday Night in New Orlean on February 2, 2013 Neilson Barnard/Getty Images 29 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at The CW Network's New York 2013 Upfront Presentation on May 16, 2013 Taylor Hill/FilmMagic 30 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles on August 11, 2013 FOX via Getty Images 31 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the Noah Premiere in New York City on March 26, 2014 Taylor Hill/FilmMagic 32 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at Heifer International's 3rd Annual "Beyond Hunger: A Place At The Table" Gala in Beverly Hills on August 22, 2014 Michael Buckner/Getty Images 33 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Nikki Reed at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on December 28, 2014 Noel Vasquez/GC Images 34 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Nikki Reed at the Youth Premiere at the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2015 Ian Gavan/Getty Images 35 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at the Vampire Diaries Panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego on July 12, 2015 Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images 36 of 39 Ian Somerhalder With Nikki Reed at the 2016 InStyle and Warner Bros. Golden Globe Awards Post-Party in Beverly Hills on January 10, 2016 Gregg DeGuire/WireImage 37 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at WE Day in California on April 7, 2016 FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images 38 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at The CW Network's 2016 New York Upfront on May 19, 2016 Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage 39 of 39 Ian Somerhalder at PTTOW! Sessions and Worldz' Kickoff Party in New York City on November 1, 2016 Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images