Enzo talks Elena! Fans of The Vampire Diaries are still upset about Nina Dobrev’s departure after season 6 — but so are her costars! Michael Malarkey, who made his way to Mystic Falls in 2013, recently told Us Weekly that the entire cast — even those not in the episode — came out to support the Canadian actress at her very last table read.
“It’s always going to be bittersweet when you lose someone in the ranks, but at the same time I think it’s the right decision for her to make,” Malarkey, 31, told Us. “She made the decision ages ago. We kind of knew about it a while back. But especially at the table read through the last episode she definitely got choked up a couple of times. It was a real good community kind of moment at the table reading because everyone was there and there was a real buzz in the air.”
The handsome star plays devilish Enzo on the vampire teen drama. His character is an old friend of Elena’s boyfriend Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), who will be left heartbroken when the once-human Elena leaves for good.
“To be honest I really had no idea,” he said of how Elena Gilbert’s story line will end. “Midway through the season I was like, ‘Oh God, how is this going to happen? Maybe she’ll change her mind!’ But no, I think it’s a really, really clever the way [they did it] and it’s tastefully done. It leaves a really great cliffhanger for the end of season 6 and moving into season 7…So hopefully people will get past the fact that they’re losing their leading lady and interested about the story lines that are going to be surfacing.”
He added: “You’ll see in the final episode it’s definitely sad, but definitely kind of bittersweet because we see a lot of her relationships with the characters. It’s a lovely way to say goodbye.”
In the meantime, Malarkey and the rest of his costars are cherishing their last few days with Dobrev while filming in Atlanta, Ga. Earlier this month, the cast and crew sent her off with a special bash. (Michael Trevino — who plays Tyler Lockwood — won’t be leaving for good, but will be appearing less in season 7.)
“We all love to hang out. The thing about being on location is that we are each other’s best friends,” Malarkey told Us. “For Nina and potentially Trevino’s going away kind of party we all went to a lake house up in Lake Lanier, which is gorgeous. It was just a real celebration of all of our time together as opposed to a sad thing. I think that’s a real testament to how connected everyone is.”
The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on The CW.
