INTERVIEW: Katerina Graham (Bonnie) from The Vampire Diaries
October 19th, 2010 by thetvchick
The Vampire Diaries is off to an amazing start to its second season. Any concerns (not from this TV Chick) of a sophomore season slump have been wiped away. There are crazy doppelganger hijinx, proving that Nina Dobrev really can do no wrong, and of course some incredibly sexy vampires and werewolves (I’m looking at you Uncle Mason!) One of the characters that has really come into her own this season is Bonnie. Her witch powers are developing and she isn’t afraid to take on the vampires to protect her loved ones. I recently had the chance to chat with Katerina Graham at New York Comic Con, and she talked about Bonnie’s powers, her motivations and maybe even a possible love interest.
One thing we learned from the panel is that Bonnie’s powers continue to grow. What can you tease about where she’s going to go in the next few episodes?
They develop and there’s a positive to it and a negative to it. So you’ll be able to see both sides of that instead of just kind of this already evolved witch whose evolution kind of came out of nowhere. The five episodes kind of placed her evolution when she was with her family from last season. You get to see her dealing with her growth for the first time, really, which I think is important to see. So the good and the bad, you’ll get to see.
How much does she blame herself for Caroline turning?
I think enough to really make her want to help her and do what she can to make Caroline’s situation better. But at the end of the day, I stand by Bonnie, and her [thinking] “If these vampires hadn’t come to town, my grandma would still be here.” And people think Bonnie makes these decisions knowing the end of the episode — these are characters that have no idea what’s going to happen from the actions that they do. And I think that if Bonnie knew that Caroline was going to become a vampire, I don’t think she would have pressured Damon to give her the blood. But she didn’t know. She had no idea Katherine was going to go in there and do that. She had no idea that Tyler Lockwood was going to get into an accident and crash the car and Caroline would be in the hospital. These characters — people forget that they have no idea what’s going to happen if they do certain actions. So I think she feels — obviously as guilty as you can when you know you made a mistake — but at the same time — she made a mistake but she’s spending more time trying to figure out how do we fix this? How do we make this better?
What motivates Bonnie this season?
Well I think one of the things that motivates Bonnie is compassion. And I think that she’s definitely the most — besides Damon although Damon’s getting a lot more compassion — she’s a very misunderstood character of Mystic Falls. I think she’s probably the most misunderstood character on the show. So, compassion. She really loves Elena. She loves her, [she’s] her best friend. Losing her grandmother — I don’t know how many people are close with their grandmother — but when you don’t have a mother and you only have your grandmother, she becomes your mother figure in your life. So when that got taken away from her, she kind of — loses a lot of that tolerance. I would.
Bonnie is coming across as very powerful right now, especially in that scene with Damon. And Damon sort of let’s her have that power, whereas he might have killed someone else. Are we going to see that backfire?
I think that however that looks, Damon had to protect her because he made a promise. And even in the episode of History Repeating, he mentions to Bonnie at the parking lot of the school that he wants to protect her, believe it or not. And I think it’s important to pay attention to that. But I think they’re going to go at it — again. But I also think that she’s doing what she came to do. She wouldn’t let him know that she’s weak in any way, even if she was weak, she’s not going to let Damon know that she’s got any weaknesses, because he’ll use it against her. People forget that he tried to kill her. He went for her throat, while she was being possessed. He took me out, or tried to, and vice versa. We’re going to keep going at it.
In more ways than one?
In more ways than — hey!! (laughs)
There are a lot of Bonnie and Damon fans out there…
Yeah, and Julie [Plec] has a great line that she wrote in one of the episodes for Katherine and Stefan where Stefan was like “But I hate you!” and Katherine was like “Well that sounds like the beginning of a love story, not the end of one.” So we’ll see. I know the fans really, really love it. So maybe eventually. We’ll see. I love doing scenes with Ian, though. He’s so fun and creative.
Will Bonnie ever get a love interest?
Yeah.
But Bonnie does tackle Mason in an upcoming episode. She sort of does a vampire mind meld on him. How does that relationship come about?
Well basically, you guys have to watch the episode to see how much Mason was involved and what he does. But if Bonnie’s taking him down, it’s got to be for some reason. He did something wrong. I can’t say what he did.
How important is the fan reaction to the show?
Oh, I live by the fans. They know that though. A lot of them in there probably know me. We’ve probably all gone to dinner. I’m really close with them. I scour the forums and blogs and obsess over what they say.
One thing I wondered about Bonnie — has she come into her powers on her own? Or was there something with the grandma passing — did the powers pass on to her? Or did she learn them from someone we haven’t met yet?
That’s a great question. That’s kind of in the Bonnie development thing that’s probably in line with the other developing things. We’ll see. That’s a Kevin question. I’m just the actor. But I definitely think a lot of Bonnie’s stuff is instinctual. She can feel things, that’s just a part of who she is, and it comes from a very organic place right now.
The Vampire Diaries airs Thursday nights at 8 pm on the CW.
18 Comments
posted on October 19th, 2010 at 8:46 am
i don’t like the character and the actress’s mouth not centered is deeply bothering me when I’m watching an episode. Good thing she’s not been on screen too often this season!
posted on October 19th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I love Bonnie. People need to chill out with the Bonnie hate. She stands up for what she believes in and there’s nothing wrong with that. Just because she threatens your precious Damon, doesn’t mean she’s wrong. He is a vampire and he has done some awful things. She doesn’t look passed that like other people. I love her for that. I think she will start to trust them more and help them out more when she realizes what is happening around her with Katherine and Mason. She doesn’t know all the details like we do. She’s just trying to do the right thing. I love that Bonnie is a strong female character for young girls to relate to. She isn’t the damsel in distress. She can hold her own and that’s good for television these days. I hope they eventually explore the Bonnie/Damon relationship because I think it would be very interesting. Damon likes strong women who can take him out (ie: Katherine). Bonnie is the perfect mix of strong, yet innocent. It would be a fresh and unpredictable spin on things.
posted on October 19th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
I love Bonnie in the books and in the show. She’s my favourite character, I love her silly moments, she’s adorable. And I love witches, they’re amazing. Katerina is gorgeous, I think it’ll be wonderful when we get to see her kissing Damon. Bonnie and Damon are the sweetest thing in the books, and I truly hope they get together in the show as well.
posted on October 19th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
if you don’t love her character, why the hell, are you here? i daon’t want to be rude with…just if you don’ like her, don’t watch news about her…its a lil ridiculous
posted on October 19th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
re: “…and the actress’s mouth not centered is deeply bothering me when I’m watching an episode. Good thing she’s not been on screen too often this season!”
that’s not a nice thing to say at all. especially in light of her comment that she reads as much as she can on the web about what the fans think. mlle. graham’s statement that she reads the interwebs on fan reactions clearly says she takes our reactions seriously. knowing that, its doubly rude to mock her.
bonnie’s character is greatly misunderstood and mlle. graham does great acting as the character. brava!
posted on October 19th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
@ Malene – that’s uncalled for. Kat is gorgeous. The fact that her face is asymmetrical makes it all the more interesting, not distracting.
Anyway, I totally get it now. I used to hate on Bonnie simply because she wasn’t as in love with Damon as the rest of us, but then I think – it’s partly his fault her grandmother died. Her mother figure. And to think of how even after everything she still helped get his a$s out of the fire, makes HER the better person. She is most definitely misunderstood; I hope we understand her more in the coming episodes. We need more Bonnie love, people.
Especially as Sebastian said, she scours the internet & takes in our reactions personally. I just hope she realizes there are tons of us who really adore her & not just blindly bash her for her indifference to the vampires.
x
posted on October 19th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Bonnie is the most sane person on the show. She uses her brain, not just half of it. She’s an amazing character and to be honest, she’s the only independent woman on the show. She doesn’t give you the impression that you have to have a man to think for you. I admire that. I also love Kat Graham. It’s just a shame people feel the need to bash her for no apparently good reason other then her being the actress of a controversial character. It’s also horrible seeing negative comments knowing that she does read all these interviews/sites/forums. It’s also epically immature to bash people over the internet, but I guess some ppl can’t help but feel jealous over greatness.
posted on October 19th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Bamon is everything to me! It would be wonderful to see this couple happening on the show, Bonnie is the only character who has not forgotten the wickedness of Damon, it is not influenced by his charm or his few acts of kindness…that’s what I love about her and the couple!
posted on October 19th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Bonnie is my favorite character! she is the most credible character in the show, her feelings are real and not forced!! i love her!!!
posted on October 20th, 2010 at 4:51 am
[...] Fonte: TV Chick [...]
posted on October 20th, 2010 at 5:05 am
Love Bonnie. Love Kat Graham. Love TVD. The fans – hmmm. Some are getting scary with the other the top hatred of the character and, it seems, the actress. Shame on you. On a positive note: LOVED the interview. It was nice to see some thoughtful, relative questions being asked instead of the usual trite questions. Good job. And thanks Kat.
posted on October 20th, 2010 at 7:14 am
@malene,
I don’t usually comment on the hating however, didn’t anyone teach you that if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say nothing at all?
Have you ever created a person and breathe life into them? Did you create her? Are you are perfect human being?
If you are so beautiful and perfect,I bet you would be a model who makes millions each year. why don’t stop hiding behind a computer;show us your perfect job,face,life and body where we can all see you.
It’s understandable that we all have favorite actresses; actors are people with feelings. If you don’t like them then don’t read about them; and if you read about them, keep your hate to yourself; some of us won’t stand for it.
Too bad for you, the best person got the job, and we the fans appreciate her; guess what dear, learn some manners and deal with it because she’s not leaving the show any time soon.
Take a good look in the mirror and see your reflection; tsk! tsk! it’s time to apply some makeup that will help you mask the uglyness in your heart.
If you dislike her that much, simply forward her scenes while watching the show.
There is no reason for you to bring others down; does it make you feel better about the disappointments going on in your life?
No one is forcing you to watch; this is a Bonnie/kat lovers lounge; take your hate and childishness somewhere else.
Thanks to all Kat lovers, peace.
posted on October 20th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
I love Bonnie, she is actually my fav on the show and the fact that she’s independent and a strong female who doesn’t conform to the guys on the show. Haters gon hate. I also love Kat Graham she is such a sweet person and doesn’t deserve some of the mean things that are said about her. Obviously the teenage Damon lovers need to take a chill pill. I love the fact that she is controvesial, hey gets a lot of ppl talking.
posted on October 20th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
[...] didn’t speak much after this, but Alix Sterberg interviewed her after the panel. Read that piece here. • Attention turned to Zach Roerig when he was asked whether Matt and Tyler would remain friends. [...]
posted on October 21st, 2010 at 7:54 am
[...] Read the entire interview at The TV Chick. [...]
posted on October 21st, 2010 at 10:49 pm
[...] INTERVIEW: Katerina Graham (Bonnie) from The Vampire Diaries Source: The TV Chick [...]
posted on October 27th, 2010 at 4:55 am
[...] read the rest of this interview head on over to The TV Chick Tweet This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 at 10:55 pm and is filed under [...]
posted on January 14th, 2012 at 2:46 am
She is my favorite….and that guy Sebastian should think twice when commenting about other people.
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