Summary

• The CW has created some of TV's top supernatural shows, including Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries, sharing overlapping characters. Both shows ran simultaneously.
• Numerous actors appeared in both Supernatural and TVD, often in recurring roles, showcasing their talent across multiple seasons in these popular shows.
• Lauren Cohan, Candice King, and other actors had significant roles in both Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries, contributing to the success of both series.

The Vampire Diaries share a lot more in common than just vampires, with both shows prominently featuring some overlapping characters. The CW has created some of the best supernatural shows on TV, with both Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries coming from the network. While Supernatural began in 2005, and TVD started four years later in 2009, both shows were released simultaneously throughout TVD's entire run.

In the 15 years and 15 seasons that Supernatural was being released before the finale came out in 2020, TVD aired 8 seasons before ending in 2017. With so many seasons and so much time that each show was on for, numerous actors were cast across both shows, often in recurring roles. In addition, Supernatural's procedural format meant that the show was frequently bringing in new actors to cast in prominent roles for a single episode.

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14 Lauren Cohan

Playing Bella Talbot (SN) and Rose-Marie (TVD)

Lauren Cohan may be best known for her role as Maggie in the popular AMC series and its spin-offs, The Walking Dead, but she has had an active career in TV before TWD. Between 2007 and 2008, Cohan played Bela Talbot on Supernatural in a total of six episodes. Bela was a prominent figure in season 3, who befriended the boys, before being exposed as someone who was working for demons.

In TVD, Cohan had another brief but important role, playing Rose-Marie, often shortened to Rose. Rose appeared in five episodes of season 2, where she was presumed dead, and eventually mercifully killed by Damon. She then returns as a ghost to visit Jeremy in season 3. Rose was a vampire and the best friend of Trevor while still alive.

13 Candice King

Playing Amanda Heckerling (SN) and Caroline Forbes (TVD)

Candice King is best known for playing Caroline Forbes in The Vampire Diaries, where she appeared in every episode. However, she also had a brief stint on Supernatural in 2009 during season 4. There, she plays an old high school girlfriend of Dean Winchester's named Amanda Heckerling. She is only featured in one episode, but not many people can claim to be Dean's girlfriend in Supernatural.

She also appeared briefly in the spin-off shows, The Originals and Legacies

On TVD, King played Caroline, who is best friends with Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett. Throughout the series, Caroline is brought more into the world of danger and mystery, before ultimately being turned into a vampire and marrying Stefan Salvatore. She also appeared briefly in the spin-off shows, The Originals and Legacies.

12 Annie Wersching

Playing Susan Thompson (SN) and Lily Salvatore (TVD)

Annie Wersching has also had a prolific career in TV and video games, with regular roles on shows like 24, Runaways, and she was the voice of Tess in the popular video game The Last of Us. But about five years after beginning her acting career, Wersching landed a part on Supernatural, while the show was only in its second season. Wersching played Susan Thompson, a distressed hotel owner whose hotel was haunted.

Several years later, in 2015, Wersching landed a prominent recurring role on TVD as Lily Salvatore, Damon, and Stefan's mother. She appeared regularly in season 6 and season 7 before meeting her demise and being laid to rest by her sons. Lily Salvatore had been a vampire for a long time before ultimately being killed, but most of that time was spent away from her children.

11 Courtney Ford

Playing Nora Darhk (SN) and Kelly Kline (TVD)

Courtney Ford's most prominent role was in DC's Legends of Tomorrow, where she played Nora Darhk. However, like most people on this list, she has had an active and healthy career in television since the early 2000s. Ford only appears in seven episodes of Supernatural, but she is also one of the most important small parts to ever appear.

She is a major part of the story in season 12 and then has brief appearances in seasons 13 and 14

Ford plays Kelly Kline, the woman who gives birth to Jack in season 12 before ing away. She is a major part of the story in season 12 and then has brief appearances in seasons 13 and 14. Six years earlier, she had a minor part on TVD, where she played Vanessa Monroe in season 2. Monroe is a young researcher with a focus on the supernatural, who aids Elena and Damon with uncovering details about the Sun and Moon Curse.

10 Sean Faris

Playing Julian Duval (SN) and Ben McKittrick (TVD)

Sean Faris has mainly appeared in minor TV roles throughout his career, with a few producer credits as well. In Supernatural, he plays a werewolf by the name of Julian Duval. Julian features in a single episode in season 9, where he wants to start a war between shapeshifters and werewolves.

In TVD, Faris played Ben McKittrick, who was a prominent football player at Mystic Falls High School. After graduating, Ben got a job at the Mystic Grill, where he was positioned as a spy for the vampire Anna. Ben had already been turned into a vampire but was pretending to be human to get information for his mistress. However, he was soon killed by Stefan later in season 1.

9 Sebastian Roché

Playing Balthazar (SN) and Mikael (TVD)

Sebastian Roché has been appearing on TV since the mid-1980s, with almost 120 credits to his name. His most prominent role was as Jerry Jacks in the soap opera, General Hospital, where he appeared between 2007 and 2015. He also had a significant role in Supernatural during season 6, where he played Balthazar, an angel who turned his back on heaven. He appeared in six episodes before being killed by Castiel.

He also played a prominent role in TVD during season 3, where he played Mikael. Mikael is the father of vampires and a powerful vampire hunter. As a result, his role was further expanded in the spin-off series, The Originals, where he is the primary antagonist during season 2.

8 Cindy Busby

Playing Jenny Klein (SN) and Brooke Fenton (TVD)

In TVD, Busby has the unique privilege of being one of the first two characters to appear on-screen

Cindy Busby has an active career starring in Hallmark rom-com movies where she frequently plays the romantic lead. In season 7 of Supernatural, Busby played Jenny Klein, a kindly and shy woman who worked for Don Stark. However, she had the misfortune of getting hexed and almost being killed. Sam and Dean manage to save her, but in season 8, Crowley kills her in an attempt to get the boys to stop performing the Trials of God.

In TVD, Busby has the unique privilege of being one of the first two characters to appear on-screen. She plays a woman named Brooke Fenton in the pilot episode who is seen in a car with her partner. However, they have a run-in with a shadowy figure on the road who turns out to be Damon Salvatore. Then, as quickly as she arrives, she is killed by Damon.

7 Sara Canning

Playing Lydia (SN) and Jenna Sommers (TVD)

Sara Canning played a major recurring role in TVD, as well as having appeared in major Hollywood productions like War for the Planet of the Apes. But, just a few years into her career in 2012, Canning appeared on Supernatural as an Amazonian woman tasked with getting pregnant for her tribe. Lydia mates with Dean Winchester and gives birth to his daughter, Emma, the next day.

While she may be the mother of Dean's child in Supernatural, she featured prominently in the first two seasons of TVD as Jenna Sommers. Jenna is the legal guardian of Elena and Jeremy Gilbert, and she cares for them both after their parents were killed in a car accident. She dies in season 2 by Klaus' hand and is the means by which he activates his hybrid powers.

6 Christopher Cousins

Playing Dr. Garrison (SN) and Joshua Parker (TVD)

One of Christopher Cousins' most popular roles was as Ted Beneke in the hit series, Breaking Bad. In Supernatural, Cousins plays the role of Dr. Garrison in season 3. Garrison has been unlucky in love, with his first wife ing away after giving birth to their daughter, and his second wife trying to poison their child.

In TVD, Cousins is assigned to play a role in an equally unfortunate family. As Joshua Parker, he is the leader of the Gemini Coven. He appears in four episodes in total, where it is revealed that his son, Malachai, killed four of his other children and made an attempt to murder the youngest pair of twins to try and take control of the Coven.

5 Kendrick Sampson

Playing Max Banes (SN) and Jesse (TVD)

Kendrick Sampson has appeared in several TV shows in major roles, but most of his larger roles did not come until 2015 or later. In Supernatural, Sampson appears in two episodes as Max Banes, a natural-born witch and a hunter who is in attendance at the wake of Asa Fox. During his brief stint on the show, his sister Alicia is killed, and he shows off his impressive powers.

In season 5 of The Vampire Diaries, Sampson plays Jesse, a student at Whitmore College who is incredibly charming. However, over the course of five episodes, Jesse is captured and experimented on by Dr. Wes Maxfield, before being killed by Elena. Despite his short appearance, he leaves a lasting impression.