'The Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley talks Season 3 'torment and heartbreak'

"The Vampire Diaries" returns on Sept. 15, and we're all dying to know what happens with Stefan, Klaus, and their murderous tour of the south. Paul Wesley and the rest of the cast came to San Diego Comic-Con to talk Season 3, and though they couldn't give away too many details, we always love to hear how excited Wesley is to explore this new side of his character.

"It's nice, because last Comic-Con, it was like, 'Can you talk about how much he loves Elena?' This year it's 'Let's talk about how you're completely out of your mind,'" he says, grinning. "No, it's nice. I mean, for me, as an actor, obviously we all selfishly want to do... versatile roles, so for me it's a fantastic opportunity to do something else."

As exhilarating as it is to watch Wesley play Stefan's dark side, and as much as we love the new twist, we'll probably find ourselves missing the "good" Stefan as we watch his downward spiral continue. "It's going to be a season that has a lot of torment as well, and heartbreak," Wesley explains. "He loses himself, but he always has that soul, that good soul that remains, and I think it's going to be one of those things where we just hope any minute that he's going to use it."

Though, in many ways, he's found himself playing a whole new character, he keeps the past two seasons in mind as Stefa and Klaus continue their ripper rampage. "It's important to sort of not completely forget the good guy, the soul that he has, that Stefan that we've all known for two years. You have to kind of walk that fine line."

We can look forward to exploring some different eras in Stefan's life through flashbacks -- and we won't be returning to 1864 any time soon, so the flashbacks will be a whole new adventure. "I think that's gonna be badass!" Wesley says. "I think we keep hearing about this guy that did all these things, and it's like he can't even believe it himself. It's gonna be great."

We know these vamps are easy on the eyes, so we've included video of the brief interview, though we'll warn you that in the loud press room, the audio isn't great. Stay tuned to Zap2it for plenty more "Vampire Diaries" coverage from Comic-Con.