Paul Wesley (full name Paweł Tomasz Wasilewski) went vegan over a decade ago, citing his compassion toward animals, and he has been a powerful advocate for avoiding animal products ever since.  He initially became known for his acting role in The Vampire Diaries, and subsequently went on to direct and then produce the series.  He has appeared in a variety of movies, including Mother’s Day, Convergence, and The Baytown Outlaws.  More recently, he joined the cast of the CBS series Tell Me a Story.

The news of his vegan diet became public when he co-hosted the Humane Society of United States’ H-Couture 2012 event, a fashion show that features vegan designers.  Since then, he has been seen attending a variety of animal-rights events hosted by Mercy for Animals and other organizations to help spread the word about veganism and the need for better treatment of animals.

In 2020, Wesley drew attention towards factory farming and encouraged his 4.2 million Twitter followers to go vegan in 2021: “Factory farming is, in my opinion, one of the most important issues of our time. If not the most important. The unimaginable suffering imposed on living beings, the cause of numerous diseases/ pandemics, and the greatest contributor to climate change. Join me & go vegan in 2021,” he tweeted.

On Earth Day 2021, Wesley educated his 11.9 million Instagram followers about the link between diet and planet, saying, “A plant-based diet is hands down THE single biggest way to reduce your impact on this earth. “I encourage you all to try to reduce your dependence on animal products. Not only will we be saving the planet, but we’ll also be saving many animals from the unnecessary suffering that is a sad reality of today’s industrialized food system.”

He shares that he likes to consume small simple meals throughout the day, with toast and juice in the morning, rice and vegetables for lunch, a vegan protein shake for a snack and a veggie rice bowl with a salad for dinner.  He likes helping others to switch their diet too.