She’s got the magic in her. 🪄 Beyond being our fav character in The Vampire Diaries, Kat Graham (she/her) is the star of Netflix’s Love in the Villa. The rom-com (emphasis on the “com”) follows Julie, a type-A gal who has her life—and upcoming trip to Verona—completely planned out. But things quickly take a turn when her itinerary quite literally falls apart, which means 2 straight hours of Kat being her naturally silly, bubbly self.

Below, the actress describes what she’s learned from the characters she’s played, how she broke a camera lens with a block of pecorino, and the scene from TVD that stuck with her most.

When you first read the script for Love in the Villa, what excited you most about it?
I’m somebody who believes in winks from the universe, and this was totally one, because I had my own history with Verona, my ex-fiance is also named Brandon (like Julie’s in the movie), and my current guy is allergic to cats. So I was just like, “Universe, what are you doing?!”

Have you ever felt that way with a project before?
No! I’m usually playing someone I’m nothing like. But just like Julie, I’m a very type-A personality (I’m a triple Virgo), and I find it very difficult to relax and go with the flow. So I am absolutely like her, which means if people hate my character, they’d probably hate me in real life. And people do hate her! But also, the more spiritual I become, the better I get at letting the universe guide me.

You are very spiritual. Can you expand on that?
When playing Bonnie, there were times when I’d have to talk to the writers and say, like, “Hey, you can’t burn this, this is a Torah,” or, “You can’t rip up this prop.” But I think God uses these characters to teach me things, because I’m so stubborn that I won’t listen to anything that’s not in a script. So through Love In the Villa, I learned about relaxing and letting go of control. With The Vampire Diaries, I learned about finding my power and trusting that it’s in me the whole time. They’re lessons that come to me in ways that feel like kismet.

What’s the funniest story you have from the set of Love in the Villa?
Well, during the food fight scene, I threw the pecorino and it literally cracked the glass of the camera lens. It’s the one time I’ve had aim in my life.

Ok, we have to ask: What was the most memorable scene you ever shot on The Vampire Diaries?
The themed dances were always fun, but the scene that stuck with me the most is actually not a pleasant one. My grandmother had been sick, and then I had to shoot the scene where Bonnie’s grandmother dies the day after my actual grandmother’s burial. I was f*cking done. But there’s this woman named Ivana Chubbuck that Ian [Somerhalder] kept talking about at the time—she’s the biggest acting coach in the world and he had been working with her.

I bought her book, and in it, she talks about using the most difficult, heart-wrenching moments in your life for your acting. So I did, and it was my big breakthrough as an artist. Thirteen years later, she’s coached me on every project, and I literally have her initials tattooed on my ankle. Vampire Diaries in general was not an easy show, but it did make me realize that I can tap into magic during my performances, and that is an otherworldly feeling.