Cast and characters
Joseph Morgan as Klaus Mikaelson: The self-proclaimed King of the French Quarter of New Orleans and the Original Hybrid: half-Original Vampire and half-werewolf. As the son of a witch and a werewolf alongside being a vampire by magic, Klaus is one of the most powerful and feared supernatural beings in history – he is over 1000 years old. He has a soft spot for his family, especially Rebekah and Hope, his daughter with Hayley. He is the adoptive father of Marcel, his former protégé whom he saved from slavery. He eventually develops feelings for Cami, a bartender and psychology student. The character is introduced in The Vampire Diaries season 2.
Daniel Gillies as Elijah Mikaelson: An Original Vampire and Klaus's older maternal half-brother. He is shown to be extremely suave, always sporting a suit and level-headed, compared to Klaus's more heated tendencies. He is also known as the "Noble Brother", always promising his "word". He harbours deep romantic affections for Hayley, which she returns. The character is introduced in The Vampire Diaries season 2.
Claire Holt as Rebekah Mikaelson (season 1; special guest star seasons 2–5): An Original Vampire and Klaus's younger maternal half-sister. She is Klaus's favourite sibling and the youngest of the Mikaelson siblings after the death of Henrik. The character is introduced in The Vampire Diaries season 3.
Phoebe Tonkin as Hayley Marshall: Originally a werewolf, later a hybrid, who conceived a daughter with Klaus named Hope, following a one night stand in Mystic Falls, creating the first ever tribrid – witch (from Klaus' mother) Vampire/hybrid (from Klaus) and werewolf (from Hayley and Klaus). The character is introduced in The Vampire Diaries season 4.
Charles Michael Davis as Marcel Gerard: A vampire and former slave. He was turned by Klaus, his adoptive father and former mentor. He has a romantic past with both Rebekah and Cami. His relationship with the Mikaelsons is complicated due to his history with them and philosophical differences. They are often adversarial as Klaus and Marcel constantly struggle for power over the French Quarter of New Orleans, but always care for one another. The character was introduced in The Vampire Diaries backdoor pilot.
Daniella Pineda as Sophie Deveraux (season 1): A powerful witch of the French Quarter, Monique's aunt and Jane-Anne's sister. She kidnaps Hayley to use as leverage over the Mikaelson's. The character is introduced in The Vampire Diaries backdoor pilot.
Leah Pipes as Cami O'Connell (seasons 1–3; special guest star seasons 4–5): A human bartender with a psychology degree who acts as a therapist and eventually becomes romantically involved with Klaus Mikaelson. For decades, her family has helped protect the human locals of the French Quarter from all things supernatural, with dark objects owned by Kol centuries ago. Before developing feelings for Klaus, Cami was in a relationship with Marcel. She is often the voice of reason for Klaus, and is his compelled therapist for a period of time. The character is introduced in The Vampire Diaries backdoor pilot.
Danielle Campbell as Davina Claire (seasons 1–3; special guest star seasons 4–5): An extremely powerful orphan young harvest witch and Marcel's adoptive daughter who becomes Regent of all witch covens in New Orleans. She is 16 at the beginning of the series.
Yusuf Gatewood as Vincent Griffith (seasons 2–5; guest star season 1): A witch once possessed by Finn, the eldest brother among the Mikaelson siblings. He is the ex-husband of Eva Sinclair, the witch Rebekah possessed, who was previously possessed by the Hollow.
Riley Voelkel as Freya Mikaelson (seasons 3–5; recurring season 2): Klaus's long-lost maternal older half-sister and an immensely powerful and skilled thousand-year-old witch. She is the eldest of the Mikaelson siblings.
Danielle Rose Russell as Hope Andrea Mikaelson (season 5): The teenage daughter of Klaus and Hayley and the Original Tribrid, an extremely powerful supernatural being holding the three-fold lineage of vampire, werewolf and witch. She is fifteen years old in season 5 and a student at the Salvatore School, struggling to cope with her family's legacy.
Young Hope is portrayed by Summer Fontana (recurring season 4, guest season 5).
Baby Hope is portrayed by uncredited infant actors in seasons 1–3.
Steven Krueger as Josh Rosza (season 5; recurring seasons 1–4): A visitor college student to New Orleans who is soon turned into a vampire by Marcel. He is sarcastic but has a very strong sense of loyalty, friendship and love towards his friends.
