After 10 years as a successful but under-the-radar TV actor, Paul Wesley is suddenly everywhere.  Last summer his face was on more than 30 “Vampire Diaries” posters at the Century City/Westfield mall alone, not to mention billboards over seemingly every major boulevard in Hollywood. A Twitter search brings up a dozen of “his” accounts (none of which, by the way, are run by Wesley or his representation).  L.J. Smith’s “Vampire Diaries” novel series, first published nearly 20 years ago, is now being reprinted with images of Wesley and his co-stars, Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder, on the covers.

Still, none of it seems to have gone to his head. There’s no third-party publicist on the line when he calls me during a short break from filming in Atlanta, and he mentions that he’s only recently gotten himself a Los Angeles-based cellphone number. “I kept my New Jersey number literally until a year ago,” he says. “There’s something comforting about it.”

Now that “The Vampire Diaries” has returned from its extended fall hiatus, Wesley’s character, 162-year-old vampire Stefan Salvatore, is struggling to come to terms with his girlfriend becoming friends with his brother, the bloodthirsty and often maniacal Damon. Paul let me in on his dream role, Stefan’s potential dark side, and how Stefan might handle Katherine’s possible return.

Before we talk about what’s up next on “The Vampire Diaries,” I wanted to ask you about “24.”  You’re playing Jack Bauer’s son-in-law. We haven’t seen a lot of your character, and obviously you’re busy out in Atlanta, but do you have any plans to return to “24″?

Not that I’m aware of. I’d auditioned for the show so many times over the years, and one day this character came about and they offered it to me, without an audition.  I said “Absolutely.”  When we shot my first two episodes of “24,” I didn’t even know that I had “Vampire Diaries.” I love the show, I’m a huge fan, and I think the acting is so good. The writers are great. If they were to expand the character, and I could make time for it, it’d be fantastic.

Read the entire interview here