The Vampire Diaries: 17+ Best Damon Salvatore Quotes

Damon Salvatore, the dark, brooding brother of Stefan Salvatore, has some of the best lines in Vampire Diaries. He is just as likely to share his philosophical thoughts on corrupted morality as he is to come up with witty one-liners and biting retorts to the other characters’ dialogue.

Although the series ended in 2017, some people still consider it one of their favorite vampire shows. The dramatic storyline and smoking hot actors definitely contribute to people’s love for the show, but the writers’ ability to craft memorable lines for characters like Damon makes the show hard to forget.

Here are some of the best quotes uttered by Damon Salvatore during the Vampire Diaries 8 season run.

Meet Damon Salvatore

So who is this smoldering vampire? Damon Salvatore, played by Ian Somerhalder, is the brother of Stefan Salvatore, played by Paul Wesley. Where Stefan is kind, affectionate, and caring, Damon is dark, malevolent, and brooding. While one is the darkness, the other is the light. 

While he is introduced as a malevolent, unfeeling vampire, if you stick around for all 8 seasons of Vampire Diaries, you’ll start to see a glint of kindness and compassion begin to develop as, over time, Damon has a change of heart. He becomes friends with Bonnie Bennett and Alaric Salzman, and eventually captures the heart of his true love.

At the beginning of the show, he falls in love with Elena, a recently orphaned teenage girl who looks just like a vampire he used to love, Katherine Pierce. Elena Gilbert’s actress, Nina Dobrev, plays both characters.

Damon can give thanks for his original transition into a vampire to Katherine. He willingly drank her vampire blood so they could be together beyond just human life. So that Stefan can join them as well, Katherine bites him without his consent, sealing his fate as a vampire.

Unfortunately, his brother Stefan is already deeply in love with Elena. The show follows the Damon and Stefan competition to win her heart as she falls in love with them both. Elena and Damon officially begin dating in Season 4, and reunite after she wakes from her sleeping spell in the final season.

Damon Salvatore’s Best Quotes

During his life, Damon Salvatore has a number of deep, thought-provoking quotes and an equal amount of hilarious one-liners. Here are the best of the best of Damon Salvatore’s quotes.

“Our life is one, big proverbial coin toss.”

Interesting concept. While it’s a nice thought that all ideas are good, texting your ex after a few drinks is always a bad idea, which proves his theory incorrect.

Elena Gilbert: “Please don’t do anything stupid.”

Damon Salvatore: “Yeah, but stupid’s so much more fun!”

Fair. But listen to your girlfriend on this one, buddy.

“There is no such thing as a bad idea. Only poorly executed awesome ones.”

Meredith: “Tell me that is not a bomb.”

Damon: “Okay, it’s a kitten. It’s an adorable, exploding kitten!”

Tomatoh, tomahto, bomb, exploding kitten. It’s all about branding.

Katherine: “Bad day?”

Damon: “Bad century.”

Mood. We’ve all been there.

“Gotta run. Have a murder to plan. Busy day.”

While I personally have never committed or plotted a murder, it does seem like a task that would take up most of your day.

Caroline Forbes: “Hey, how come you don’t sparkle?”

Damon: “Because I live in the real world where vampires burn in the sun.”

Throwing shade at Twilight always makes for some good quotes.

Quotes on Morals and Violence

After living almost two centuries of kicking ass, taking names, and drinking blood, Damon Salvatore has an interesting take on morality. His views on ethics definitely leave room for violence. 

Like, a whole lot of violence.

Some of his views are impacted due to the fact that Damon turned off his humanity twice, a power vampires have to control their emotions. As a vampire, your senses are heightened, and the human power to feel becomes heightened as well. So much so that it can overcome you completely.

Here are some of the best Damon Salvatore quotes detailing his thoughts on a moral code and his ability to inflict violence.

“I do believe in killing the messenger. Know why? Because it sends a message.”

What a delightfully violent play on the original saying. It’s almost Shakespearean to think of how the one who delivers the message becomes the message themselves.

“I do not go behind people’s backs and torture them. I like my enemies to look me in the eye and see the depth of my rage.”

If you’re going to do something, give it your all.

“If you’re going to be bad, be bad with a purpose or else you’re not worth forgiving.”

“See, I don’t mind being the bad guy. Because somebody has to fill that role and get things done. You do bad things for no reason. You do them to be a dick.”

Doing things with purpose is one of Damon Salvatore’s main moral tenets. Don’t do things just to cause pain and chaos. But if pain and chaos are a means to an end, then you do what you have to to make it happen.

“I will shove this ring so far up your ass, you’ll really have something to choke on.”

Poetic. That’s one place Jeremy Gilbert could put a daylight ring.

Quotes on Love and Life

Dramatically pining over women constitutes a large portion of Damon Salvatore’s time. Over the centuries, he’s developed some equally dramatic thoughts on what love looks like, some of which is pretty bleak.

Here are his broody ponderings on life and love.

“What happens if the one who breaks your heart is the only one who can fix it?”

Been there, Damon. Quite the conundrum. 

“I’ve been in love. It’s painful, pointless, and overrated.”

Now put that on a Valentine’s Day Hallmark card. It’ll be a bestseller, I’m sure.

“The best way to not get your heart broken is to pretend that you don’t have one.”

“True love will triumph in the end – which may or may not be a lie, but if it is a lie, then it’s the most beautiful lie we have…”

It’s nice to believe in happy endings. Even if it doesn’t come true, it gives us hope for the future.

“Vampires can’t procreate. But we love to try.”

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn about anyone else.”

“You can’t just sit there and wait for life to come to you, you have to go get it.”

As the famous Ferris Bueller quote goes, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

“Some girls just can’t resist my good looks, my style, and my charm, and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift.”

Yes, the four main qualities a girl looks for in a man.

“Stake her…rip her head off…something poetic.”

Ah yes, my usual date night plans.

Your Favorite Vampire Diaries Quotes

So what do you think? Did we miss any classic Damon banter? Are there any fantastic Damon Salvatore quotes you think belong on the list? What are your favorite Vampire Diaries moments?

Let us know in the comments, and tell us which one is your favorite!