In a new interview, David Gallagher discusses how he landed a role on The Vampire Diaries, and previews his character! He also reveals which character he originally auditioned for back in season 1. Beware of spoilers regarding his character arc.

EW spoke to Gallagher about his recurring role on the show as werewolf Ray Sutton, whom Klaus seeks out in the premiere:

They’re actually hunting for me, so when I finally encounter them, I get swept into Klaus’ master plan that he has developed around Ray. It’s not the friendliest of encounters. I think the audience is really gonna eat it up. It really has to do with Klaus’ vision of the future.

We’ve heard so much about this master plan of Klaus’, and it’s cool to see that the former 7th Heaven star will be somehow involved!

In the interview, Gallagher also revealed that he read for the pilot of the show:

There was debate as to whether I was a Stefan or I was a Damon. I had read for both. I think ultimately, it was sorta difficult to place me because lately in my career, I’ve been leaning toward things with a little bit darker sensibility, and that clashed with the work people knew me for at the time.

Executive Julie Plec also weighs in on the decision to not cast Gallagher originally, but keeping him in mind for the role of Ray:

He impressed us so much originally, and we said, ‘Gosh, he’s really a good actor, but that whole 7th Heaven thing… I wonder if he’ll ever be able to get past that.’ [But] I was just so impressed by the choices he’s making as an actor and how committed he is, that when he came into read for the Ray part, there was no hesitation wanting to get him into this world and play with us. And he did a great job.

Finally, both actor and exec admit that Ray’s 2-episode arc doesn’t end well. Plec reveals:

Poor Ray. That does not end well for him. It has a lot to do with what I call Klaus and Stefan’s ‘great summer ripper road show,’ and where Stefan is in his relationship with Klaus. Ray comes into that story line and puts Stefan in a position where he has to show his loyalty to Klaus at the expense of this other person.

Wow. We think we know where this is going – too bad, we could get used to having him around.

Read the full interview here at EW!