‘The Vampires Diaries’ Stars Were Once Arrested Together for ‘Flashing’
When cast and crew members of The Vampire Diaries were arrested, it threatened to derail the TV drama before it gained steam. Thankfully, the incident didn’t prevent TVD from staking its claim in the realm of pop culture TV dynasties.
In the early aughts of the cult favorite series, several cast and crew members — including Nina Dobrev — earned themselves mugshots for breaking the law.
Mystic Falls was set in Georgia
Foggy landscapes, moonlit skies, and well-kept houses that served as the backdrop of Mystic Falls, Virginia actually were captured in filming locations near Atlanta, Georgia.
Much of the show was filmed in Covington, a small town roughly 35 miles east of the city where one can still find Vampire Diaries-themed tours. However, other sites around the state were also used for filming.
The Lockwood mansion, Elena Gilbert’s house, and the Mystic Grill are all Covington hot spots for visitors, as are certain shooting sites for The Originals and Legacies. The real-life Salvatore mansion used to lie only a short ride from Atlanta.
Though a bulk of the show was shot in Covington, some of the cast members lived in Atlanta and would commute or be transported to set.
Nina Dobrev, Candice Accola, and Aunt Jenna were arrested
Four actors behind some of The Vampire Diaries’ most beloved characters were nabbed by the police in August 2009 in Georgia.
Dobrev, Accola (now King), Sara Canning (who played Aunt Jenna), Kayla Ewell (who played Matt’s sister Vicki), actor Krystal Vayda and photographer Tyler Shields were arrested for posing a safety hazard.
What did they allegedly do? Monroe County deputies caught them “dangling from a bridge,” and numerous drivers called 911 to report the women were flashing their chests from an interstate overpass. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, they were booked on disorderly conduct and were released.
Officers checked Shields’ camera and found images of the women hanging onto or straddling the bridge in Forsyth.
The ‘Vampire Diaries’ cast denied they bared their bodies
For some fans, the arrest controversy was an introduction to the series as it dropped its first episode in September 2009. Ewell did an interview with Entertainment Weekly that month and explained the incident wasn’t what it seemed.
She said after they stopped to take photos on the bridge, police approached and stated they received complaints that people were flashing. “And we’re like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. The only thing that’s flashing is our camera,” Ewell told the outlet. She added they were given tickets for loitering.
She noted the flashing accusation came out of left field. “We are not the type of girls who flash our breasts. In all honesty, the size of my breasts aren’t necessarily something people would be interested in. It’s so ridiculous. I would never do that.”
The TVD crew did wind up paying some fines, and somewhere in the annals of the internet archives, their six mugshots can still be found.
