Vampire Diaries Flashback: 9 Future CW Stars Who Passed Through Mystic Falls

Sure, you know Stephen Amell as the green-hooded savior of Star City, but what about the brief time he spent as a werewolf in the forests of Virginia?

In lieu of fresh programming, much of which won't return until the new year, many TV fans are filling their fall schedule with rewatches, bingeing their favorite comfort shows to help them escape from all things 2020. But when we decided to dive back into The Vampire Diaries — a surprisingly comforting show, considering its high mortality rate — we weren't expecting to see so many future CW stars getting sucked into the Salvatores' vampire drama.

Our list includes a warrior queen from The 100; a man who broke Supergirl's heart (several times); the Legends of Tomorrow's resident witch; an iZombie troublemaker; a psychic bartender from Roswell, New Mexico; the Dynasty reboot's original Cristal Carrington; a Flash-y detective; an ill-fated Charmed lover; and, of course, a hooded vigilante with an affinity for Arrow(s).

(Disclaimer: A few of these actors did appear on other CW shows before guest-starring on The Vampire Diaries. But we'd argue that their post-TVD roles on the network were more significant than what came before, so we're giving ourselves a pass.)

Keep scrolling to see how these nine future CW stars fit into the Vampire Diaries universe, then drop a comment with your favorite familiar faces below. Any we should add to our list?

When The 100's warrior queen first stepped onto the battlefield, diehard Vampire Diaries instantly recognized her as Nandi, the witch who helped Damon recall his past in New Orleans.*

*Yes, we realize that Nandi never technically visited Mystic Falls, but it came to her, so we're counting it.

After stealing fans' hearts (and a few characters' lives) as murderous psychopath Kai Parker, Wood went on to assume considerably more heroic roles on Supergirl and Julie Plec's short-lived pandemic drama Containment.

(Though Kai was Wood's breakthrough CW role, the actor technically made his network debut in six episodes of The Carrie Diaries.)

Long before falling in love with Ray Palmer aboard the Waverider, Ford played a Duke University graduate student who didn't believe in the existence of vampires... until she met Damon Salvatore. (To be fair, wouldn't the mere sight of Ian Somerhalder turn you into a believer?)

Anders may have been well-known to Alias and Heroes fans when he joined The Vampire Diaries, but the role of Elena's "uncle" still marked his CW debut. Little did we know, we'd eventually spend five years loving to hate (or hating to love?) him as iZombie's Blaine DeBeers.

Five years before she found herself mixing drinks at the Wild Pony, Hemmens got mixed up with some dangerous vampires, playing Enzo's ill-fated lover Maggie in the show's fifth season.

(Like Wood, Hemmens made her CW debut on an earlier series — the short-lived cheerleading drama Hellcats.)

The Dynasty reboot's first Cristal Carrington (of three!) was originally introduced to CW viewers as Sybil, a seductive siren who attempted to make Damon forget about Elena in the show's final season.

After getting to know Cosnett as a literal mad scientist on The Vampire Diaries, we barely recognized him when he was reintroduced on The Flash as clean-cut Central City detective Eddie Thawne. (OK, fine, we totally recognized him — but you get the point.)

Ser'Darius Blain nearly survived an entire season of The CW's Charmed reboot, which is more than his Vampire Diaries character can say; a member of Klaus' hybrid army, Chris was killed after just one episode in Season 4.

Just one year before donning the Green Arrow's iconic hood, Amell played a werewolf named Brady, one of the more impulsive members of Tyler's uncle Mason's dangerous pack.