TV Guide.com's Insider
December 15, 2003
Rules Star Tackles Cancer
by Daniel R. Coleridge
No doubt Ian Somerhalder is a looker. But the actor worries that he appeals to a very specific fanbase. "I have 14-year-old girls and women in their mid-to-late 30s come up to me," he tells TV Guide Online. "They usually know me from The Rules of Attraction or Life as a House. And [the WB's old series] Young Americans. After I did that show, I'd come out and find teenage girls sitting on my car! It was frightening."
The ex-model will likely earn himself even more youthful admirers on Smallville. Somerhalder, 25, is now in Vancouver shooting his six-episode stint on the Superman show as Lana Lang's mysterious new love interest. His first airdate is Jan. 14. More dish on that later, we promise!
For now, his indie film Changing Hearts was just released on DVD and VHS. It co-stars Lauren Holly and Faye Dunaway as two women living with cancer. Hand these two acting divas a disease to play out, and we're guessin' drama ensues? "Yeah, lots of it," Somerhalder chuckles. "I'm a young orderly who falls in love with Lauren Holly, who's dying of breast cancer. Basically, I'm this depressed kid and I meet this woman who's actually dying — and she's a million times happier than I could ever be, even though I'm healthy. And I don't understand it.
"There's a lot of people in life like that," he continues. "A lot of us who are healthy and don't have [a serious illness] to worry about are somehow miserable, and it just doesn't make sense. So there are people around you who teach you to appreciate life."
For Somerhalder, this story hits close to home. "I hadn't experienced cancer in my life until one of my closest, best friends in the world — who's my mentor and I love her — she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 10 months ago," he shares. "She's in show business but she'll remain unnamed. That's when it nails you."
Fortunately, his friend is currently in good health. "She's doing great," he says. "We're all about to go to Hawaii for a week and just sit on the beach and get massages. It's something to rejoice and celebrate."
Seven percent of the proceeds from Changing Hearts go to cancer research at City of Hope. For more details, visit the film's website.