The Real Reason Nina Dobrev Left The Vampire Diaries Will Surprise You

Nina Dobrev left The Vampire Diaries at the height of the show's popularity after season 6. But like the show, she went on...only without vampires, doppelgängers, and werewolves. She said that it was her own decision to leave, but in a new interview, she explained that part of why she decided to walk away was fear, E! reports.

Not the jump scares and supernatural fears of the show, mind you. Instead, Dobrev explained that she was driven by the possibility of never working again. So instead of wondering whether or not she could find work after The Vampire Diaries, she left the show to do just that.

"That was the plan from the get-go," Dobrev told Harper's Bazaar. "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."

After ditching Elena Gilbert in 2015, Dobrev went on to take a few guest roles (on Robot Chicken and Workaholics) as well as two film roles (Let's Be Cops and XXX: The Return of Xander Cage). That may sound sparse, but Dobrev says that she's "picky" about her work and that her time on The Vampire Diaries taught her to be that way and even instilled the idea that being picky was an option. In addition to learning that she didn't have to take every role tossed at her, Dobrev explained that she had some trepidation associated with playing a teenager the rest of her life.

"The things I want to do aren't necessarily the things that are expected of me," she said. "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."

With three films already in the can, it looks like Dobrev's risky move is coming to fruition. With vampires in the rear view, she's focusing on doing what she wants without fear. It doesn't get more badass than that.