My favorite thing about playing a vampire is the stunts. It's just a new, fun thing to do. Especially as a girl, being able to be all dolled up in heels and little outfits and be able to kick boys' butts, I think it's a really fun, make-believe world to play.

With 'The Vampire Diaries,' it's not just a tease, especially with the relationships. You're not sitting there going, 'God, I wish they'd get it over with and kiss!' There's no teasing, they jump right into the action.

I burn very easily, so if I forget sunscreen, I will be a tomato by the end of the day. I'm very big on sunscreen and hats. I grew up in Florida, and I love the beach, and I think it's healthy to get a little bit of color.

When you're watching television, you don't want to watch a show where everything just works out. You don't want to see a relationship that's just blossoming and everyone's happy and sunshine and roses all the time. That's also not true in life.

I hope that more children have the same opportunities as me, with the same parents as me, that let me be an individual, who gave me freedom, and taught me to believe in myself before anyone else would believe in me.

People need hope and inspiration desperately. But hope and inspiration are only sustained by work.

I have a purpose and a meaning in life, and I have to fulfill that. Being a champion is great, but more importantly than that, you get to be an inspiration and a role model to other people.

Despite his dodgy politics, Yeats remains an inspiration for his genius and the simple fact that the older he got, the better he wrote.