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TV Line
After playing Elijah Mikaelson for almost seven years — don’t forget he started on The Vampire Diaries! — Daniel Gillies is finally stepping behind the camera on Friday’s Originals (The CW, 8/7c), an opportunity he calls “a bit of a gift horse.”
“To be a participant in a show and to have played a character for as many years as I have, I know the universe and the mythology, as well as the tone of the show,” Gillies tells TVLine. “Just by osmosis, you inherit a complete understanding of what needs to be delivered in an episode. It’s a beautiful thing for an actor who has aspirations of directing, because you have training wheels. You’ve also developed a degree of intimacy with the crew, which is another hurdle you don’t need to leap as a guest director. There are so many things stacked in your favor.”