In fact, the Marvel actor feels relieved in having passed on the role of Stefan Salvatore, which eventually went to Paul Wesley in the CW teen drama that ran for eight seasons from 2009 to 2017.

“They offered me Paul Wesley’s role,” Stan recalled on the Oct. 5 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “And I had just come off Kings and I sort of felt really burnt out from that not working out and just sort of the idea of thinking, ‘Oh, I’m just going to sign up again for something that probably is not going to get to the second season.'”

Fresh off from his starring role in the 2006’s The Covenant, Stan also didn’t want to be boxed into “that supernatural world” at the time.

“And then the show went on to be super successful,” the 44-year-old quipped of The Vampire Diaries, before explaining that he has no regrets in his decision. “Now looking back, I feel grateful in a way ’cause I don’t know if I was really ready for that kind of exposure when I was younger, to be honest.”