“Well, you know, you open up the cover page of season three, episode one, and it’s, like, the first half a page, Damon’s already naked,” Somerhalder told Entertainment Weekly.

“So I’d spent almost two days on set completely naked, which is kinda awesome, because as if I wasn’t close enough to our crew members, I feel really close after that.”

Somerhalder went on to describe a prank that he and the episode’s first assistant director played on the actor’s fellow castmembers, including co-star Nina Dobrev.

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So he’s not thrilled to finally have a shot with Elena?
No. I don’t think he ever saw being stuck in Mystic Falls, taking care of this young, beautiful creature he’s totally in love with … he is totally in love with this girl, but he can’t have her. A) She doesn’t want him, and B) it’s his brother’s girl. Even Damon’s not gonna stoop that low. So he’s thinking, alright, so she’s 18, right? She’s gonna live another 70 or 75 years, with modern medicine, so he’s thinking, “Sh*t man, I’m stuck in Mystic Falls for another three-quarters of a century, taking care of this girl that I can’t have.” That is not something that I think sits very well with him. He wants to take care of her, he wants her to be happy, he wants her to live a full, amazing life — but she wants Stefan back.After last season’s huge cliffhanger finale — hell, cliffhanger season – we’re now faced with some big changes over at ‘The Vampire Diaries.’ Stefan is bad, Damon is good … oh, this is gonna be fun.

I caught up with star Ian Somerhalder to talk all about Damon’s latest dilemma: Having to take care of the girl he loves but can never have.

He also teased some more Damon drama in Season 3 (premieres Thurs., Sept. 15, 8PM ET on The CW), including how “pissed off” he is that his brother Stefan has taken off with that “prick” Klaus, and why Damon’s annoyed with the idea of spending another three-quarters of a century in Mystic Falls.

Then we dished about the status of the Damon-Alaric bromance, all the nude scenes he’s had this season and how, personally, he’s enjoying the simple pleasures in life with his on-screen temptress and off-screen girlfriend Nina Dobrev.

What can you tease about the Season 3 premiere? Anything that will set the tone for this season?
Um, well Damon’s naked. [Laughs] That sets a tone. I spent a couple of days naked on set, which always brings you closer to your fellow grips and electricians … which is pretty awesome. [Laughs] Such a strange statement.

[Laughs] Well it sounds like you all have been listening to your fans …
I’ve had my head so buried in working! But the premiere is so indicative of ‘Vampire Diaries’ — a lot happens in the 48 minutes that the show airs. Season 1 was just incredible storytelling, and Season 2 was a season of a lot of mythology — it set up a lot of what we’re doing for the next 80 episodes or whatever we get, provided they don’t cancel us. But I think ultimately, Stefan and Klaus pose very serious issues. Stefan’s gone to that other place, and Damon’s seen this before … he knows, he’s seen his brother. So one thing that Damon’s feeling, in all honesty, plain and simple is he’s pretty annoyed. He’s pretty pissed off. He’s angry because I don’t think he ever saw his life ending up this way.

So he’s not thrilled to finally have a shot with Elena?
No. I don’t think he ever saw being stuck in Mystic Falls, taking care of this young, beautiful creature he’s totally in love with … he is totally in love with this girl, but he can’t have her. A) She doesn’t want him, and B) it’s his brother’s girl. Even Damon’s not gonna stoop that low. So he’s thinking, alright, so she’s 18, right? She’s gonna live another 70 or 75 years, with modern medicine, so he’s thinking, “Sh*t man, I’m stuck in Mystic Falls for another three-quarters of a century, taking care of this girl that I can’t have.” That is not something that I think sits very well with him. He wants to take care of her, he wants her to be happy, he wants her to live a full, amazing life — but she wants Stefan back.

And that could take a while, getting Stefan back, right?
Yeah, and Damon’s a little more realistic about how long it’s actually gonna take to get Stefan back to the place where we need him to be. So, you know, Damon’s got to do things he doesn’t want to do. It’s not a role or job that he wants to accept, and so I think there’s kind of a big misconception there. He keeps getting pushed into sort of this hero role, and he doesn’t want it. It’s the sort of thing where, when Damon’s frustrated and annoyed, what does he do? It’s pretty sadistic to say, but he goes and rips some beautiful girl’s neck open and gulps her down. But he can’t do that anymore, and that pisses him off!

Because Stefan is doing it for him. It’s almost like one of them is forced to behave if the other one is being bad — that’s their balance.
Damon tried for two seasons to get his brother to do that exact thing! To run around and eat every sorority girl and just destroy everything in their path, to no avail. Stefan wanted nothing to do with it. Now Stefan’s running around doing that exact thing with Klaus, who’s a prick. Damon hates him — he tried to kill him! So you can see the world of frustration in which Damon is living.

If Damon is so frustrated, how much time does he have to take advantage of having Elena all to himself?
Yeah, you know, it’s definitely crossed his mind. When the cat’s away, the mice will play. But he’s doing the right thing. He’s trying to get him back. And, you know what’s cool about this? Damon and Elena, their banter … sometimes they sound like a little old married couple. They fight back and forth with each other, and it’s pretty darn cute. Damon gives her something, I think, that Stefan doesn’t necessarily anymore: he makes her smile.

Obviously a lot of the first part of the season will be tracking down Stefan and Klaus and protecting Elena, but who else has Damon gotten to play with.
Really just Elena. Well, Elena and Alaric. The bromance continues!

[Laughs] People were actually hoping that maybe a Tyler-Damon bromance might build as well, out of all the tension.
That would be fun, man, because he could do all these cool hybrid things!

Well, on a personal note, I’m so happy that you and Nina are finally talking about being a couple in real life. You’ve kept things under wraps for so long, is it kind of a sigh of relief that you can finally just admit you’re dating?
[Laughs] Well, I will say that when you spend that much time around someone … this is like a family. We spend a lot of time doing what we do. And in whatever capacity we hang out, it’s very nice to simply enjoy the simple pleasures of life with the people that you hold dear and want to spend time with. It could be a lot worse.

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Returning for its third season on September 15^th, The Vampire Diaries is the story of two vampire brothers, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder), who are both obsessed with Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev). As Stefan sinks deeper into the dark side, Damon and Elena struggle with the guilt of their growing bond, even as they work together to bring Stefan back from the edge that Original vampire Klaus (Joseph Morgan) has brought him to.

During a recent interview, actor Ian Somerhalder talked about how his character Damon Salvatore will change this season, the push-pull between what Damon truly is and who everyone else wants him to be, the effects of the Season 2 finale kiss between Damon and Elena, Damon’s relationships with Bonnie (Katerina Graham) and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), and making sure that his character maintains his edge, even if he does end up an anti-hero. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Question: With Stefan having departed, what role will Damon have in Season 3? How will he change?

IAN SOMERHALDER: Honestly, it’s a television show and these characters evolve. I would rather just remain the bad-ass dude that gets all the great lines and rips everybody’s heads off. That’s what I would prefer. I know it sounds a little sadistic, but it makes for a better character. But, I don’t think that’s the way life is. Kevin Williamson basically sat me down and said, “Just shut up and listen. Life is not one-dimensional. We change.” It’s that push-pull. He’s fighting against what he truly is, and that’s what makes the story dynamic. He is an anti-hero. He doesn’t know how to do all this stuff, so I think he’s going to have some trials and tribulations.

Ultimately, he’s not happy with the way things have turned out. He tried, for two seasons, to get his brother to do what he wanted him to do, which is to be what he is. He wants them to just eat and destroy everything in their paths. Now, Stefan is running around with a guy that Damon hates and tried to kill him. He’s effectively left Damon in this town with this girl who’s 150 years younger than he is, that he’s in love with, but can’t have because she doesn’t want him and it’s his brother’s girl. He’s just sitting there, thinking to himself, “This sucks!” But, I think he’s going to rise to the occasion. He’ll have the same grin on his face, if he’s ripping your head off or saving a kitten. He feels the same way about both things.

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The foundation is currently focusing on deforestation. It recently collaborated with Conservation International to save over 300 acres of forest. “We have to stop cutting these forests,” Somerhalder says. But he also realizes, “We must answer the question: Where and how will we get the resources that we need out of those forests?”