Steven Krueger and girlfriend Candice King both had big roles in The Vampire Diaries universe — but fans only remember one of them.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Krueger, 35, joked about the reaction when he and King, 37, are spotted in public, saying, “Anytime I’m walking around with Candice, it’s always like, ‘Oh my God Caroline!’ And then they do a double take and they’re like, ‘Oh, right. yeah. And what was your character’s name again? From The Originals?’ I’m like, ‘Yep, that was me.’”
Krueger noted his appreciation for The Vampire Diaries fans. “I’m always amazed at how many people still recognize me from The Originals [though]. That show hasn’t been on in five years,” he quipped. “People can watch it all over the place, which is great. That’s one of the beautiful parts of that whole Vampire Diaries universe is it’s really had some staying power and it’s continuing to garner new fan bases just with it being available on streaming.”
The best part has been connecting with viewers — regardless of what project they know him from.
‘The Originals’ Cast: Where Are They Now?
“Yellowjackets is a little bit more in the zeitgeist right now and at the top of people’s minds. It’s definitely Yellowjackets at the moment,” Krueger said about being recognized for his role as Coach Ben Scott on the Showtime series. “But I love interacting with fans. It’s been so fun. You go back 10 or 15 years and you tell yourself when you’re first thinking about getting into this industry that somewhere down the line you’re going to walk down the street and people are going to say, ‘Hey Steven, I know you from this.’ That experience and that phenomenon is still mind-blowing to me. I feel incredibly grateful that I’m in a position like that.”
Before Yellowjackets, Krueger rose to fame playing Josh Rosza on The Originals. After The Vampire Diaries came to an end, Krueger found love with King, who played Caroline Forbes on TVD from 2009 to 2017. The couple confirmed their romance in December 2023 and have continued to support each other’s projects — including King with Krueger’s role on the hit series.
“Candice is a fan of the show and she wanted to murder me if I gave her any spoilers this season. She loves watching it and that was a thing that she discussed with me before we left to film. I thought she was joking at first, but she was like, ‘Look at my face. I’m dead serious. I don’t want to know anything,’” he recalled to Us. “And I’m like, ‘Well, how do I talk to you about work?’ She’s like, ‘Maybe you don’t talk to me about work.’ She is very serious about not wanting to know what happens in the show. She wants to find out for herself.”
Krueger recalled an instance where he accidentally broke the promise by calling King from set.
A Guide to Every Offscreen Couple From ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Universe
“Nobody wants a spoiler because the way that the story is told is so damn entertaining and so just edge of your seat that it kind of ruins it when you find out something in advance. I remember I FaceTimed Candice at one point and I was in my trailer but I did have on wardrobe and costume,” he shared. “She saw something, a tiny little thing as part of my wardrobe, and was like, ‘Oh, I cannot believe you are on FaceTime.’ So it’s little stuff like that. But that’s the beauty of this show. There’s little Easter eggs just all over the place and that’s what makes it so fun.”
Despite meeting through their individual involvement in The Vampire Diaries universe, Krueger and King have yet to share the screen. They aren’t ruling it out though, with Krueger telling Us, “We joked around about it. Part of the beauty of this industry is you never know what’s going to happen. We do have a lot of the same friends who are producers and writers so I’m sure that at some point somewhere down the road, that’s definitely a possibility.”
Krueger has no doubt he and King “would crush it” as costars.
“It’d be really fun. We’re not the kind of people that are super precious about, like, ‘Oh, I need my space. I need to work and focus and all this,” he noted. “I’m sure that’d be a great time. If you want to write a movie for us, by all means, go for it.”
While Krueger waits for the perfect project to work on with King, he is celebrating the return of Yellowjackets. Season 3 picks up six months after Coach Ben removed himself from the group stranded in the wilderness.
“The really interesting thing about the beginning of season 3 is the juxtaposition between how the girls were living and how Coach Ben is living. Obviously he is on his own now. He is fully focused on survival at this point. He has very few resources,” Krueger noted. “He has found this shelter, which is great. And that’s kind of been what’s keeping him alive and he’s been able to make do with what he has. But when they cut to the girls and what they’ve been able to accomplish, it’s night and day.”
How ‘Yellowjackets’ ’90s Cast Compares to Their Present Day Counterparts
Krueger is excited to explore the “really interesting dichotomy” between the groups. “You really see what somebody goes through when they are forced to just survive off of very minimal resources vs. when you have a team of people that really do come together and work together,” he continued. “The glow up that happens to the girls at the beginning of this season … they’re kind of thriving in a way vs. when you cut to Ben Scott. I don’t know how much longer this guy has.”
The actor isn’t just interested in the onscreen aspect of Yellowjackets. Krueger, who directed the short film Leaving the Light, is hoping to keep working behind the camera — even on Yellowjackets.
“Directing has been something I’ve been interested in for years now, all the way back to my days on The Originals. The thing that I loved about The CW is that they were so great about letting actors explore other areas of the production process — specifically directing,” Krueger recalled. “I missed out on that because our show ended before I was able to get in there. … If Yellowjackets continues, it would actually be a dream come true to be able to get on the other side of the camera and work with all the people that I’ve gotten to know and love over the course of these past few years. That would be an absolute dream come true.”
Yellowjackets is available to stream on Paramount+ Fridays and airs on Showtime Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
