Nina Dobrev Was ‘Terrified’ To Leave ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ Shares Unhealthy Obsession

Nina Dobrev may have left “The Vampire Diaries” long before the series ended, but that doesn’t mean that the actress doesn’t think about her big decision and how it made her feel.

The former CW actress told harper by Harper’s BAZAAR that she always knew she was going to leave the series, however, she did admit that the choice to do so wasn’t the easiest. “That was the plan from the get-go,” she told the publication.

“If anything, the fact that [leaving] terrified me drove me even more. I needed to feel that fear of ‘Oh, my God, what if I never get a job again?’ That just made me want to work five times as hard to make sure that didn’t happen,” she explained.

When Dobrev left the show in 2015, she told The Hollywood Reporter that staying on the series until the end was never her goal. “I just knew I wanted to go on this journey with these characters, and their lives…it’s a vampire show,” she explained.

“It’s been a great journey, but at the end of the day, I’m not actually a vampire. The fairy tale has to end, and the next chapter has to begin. I knew this was my time, and I’m excited for the next step.”

Since leaving the show, the actress has landed several movie roles, however, she admits that she has been “picky” about the jobs she decides to take on. “I don’t want to play a teenager anymore. I want to play adult roles and be challenged and work with great filmmakers and tell incredible stories, and that has meant being really picky,” Dobrev told harper by Harper’s BAZAAR.

Dobrev explained that she likes to explore diverse characters, which are hard to come by because “the things I want to do aren’t necessarily the things that are expected of me,” she said.

One thing that may be unexpected of the actress is her constant desire to travel and try out new hobbies. “My rule of thumb is, I’ll try anything once,” she stated.

From rock climbing to skydiving, Dobrev revealed that she is not afraid of a little adventure. “I have a healthy—or possibly unhealthy—obsession with trying things for the first time,” she said.

Despite her dare devil nature, the actress admits that she almost chickened out when she tried bungee jumping for the first time. “Every cell in your body is like, ‘Why would you do this?’” Dobrev said.

“Plus, unlike skydiving, you can see the rocks clearly and imagine what would happen if you went splat,” she added.

The “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” actress also confessed that she has been able to travel around the world without getting noticed by fans. “Nobody imagines me to be by myself backpacking, so they just think, ‘It can’t be her.’”

Aside from her unique hobbies, Dobrev has been hard at work on various films. She is currently filming “Departures” and will next appear in “Flatliners,” which is scheduled for a September release.