'Vampire Diaries' Star Katerina Graham Recalls Best Moment of Her 'Humble Career'

Katerina Graham wants you to know she's different from her 'Vampire Diaries' character, Bonnie Bennet -- but she loves it.

In PopEater's chat with Graham, she tells us that "being able to play a character who is totally different from me and my style and how she speaks and what her relationships are" is a great part of the 'Vampire Diaries' experience.

The actress is also a singer -- and her cover of 'Cold Hearted' got the attention of Paula Abdul who loved it. "That was really incredible and one of the best moments of my very humble career," she says, of learning Abdul's thoughts.

Katerina also talks about filming in Georgia, being friends with the cast and what she wants for everyone she works with.

How is the second season?
Really good, and really fast ... We're moving. It's been really great and really exciting. The storylines have been incredibly shocking and it's just a really great show to be a part of.

What's ahead for Bonnie?
I can't really say. I can say that Bonnie is really standing up for herself ... and I'm really happy about it. She's becoming a lot more empowered and stronger and not letting everyone walk all over her, which is awesome.

It's nice that she's this strong, female character.
Absolutely. It's all about girl power.

What's the best experience about this show for you?
I will say that because of the show, I've been able to reach people that I would never have imagined -- just in terms of having an international fan base ... And also, being able to play a character who is totally different from me and my stlye and how she speaks and what her relationships are and getting to work with a really great cast, really young and focused and strong. I really love working with them.

The series was a big hit from the start -- how did that feel?
We've been [filming] in Georgia. There's good press here, but it's not like L.A. or New York. So we've been kind of under the radar out here. When I go to New York or when I went to L.A., I would get so crazy thrilled when I would see a billboard of [co-star] Nina [Dobrev]. I'd text her and be like "Oh my God!" I would just get really thrilled. Even after the show was a hit, We don't really see it -- we don't feel the magnitude of it out in Georgia. It's when we go to L.A. and we get paparazzied when it's real.

Do you like being away from all of it?
I just like being around good people. Either way, we'd all be friends and we'd all be close. I also want everybody -- whether it's the crew or the directors or the writers -- to really feel appreciated as well. Any place where they would feel completely adored and appreciated, I'm all for.

It must make work easy that you are all friends.
It would suck if we were fighting.

Yes, but that would make for better news stories.
We don't want that. We'd rather not have coverage at all. We all got along from the jump. The most important thing is that everyone's happy on set and everyone is able to do their jobs to the best of their ability and it's great to have girlfriends. I went to home school and I didn't have that many girlfriends and out here I have four.

You also recently released a cover of 'Cold Hearted.'
I did. When I did it, I just thought it was a cool idea. My mentor and I were talking and he was like 'Why don't you do a cover of 'Cold Hearted Snake.' I didn't even know what would become of it. I remember that we talked about releasing it ... as a cool thing to do ... It wound up getting the attention of Paula Abdul, who said she loved it. That was the most shocking thing to me because I make art, and I kind of forget that once it's out there people really watch it. And they really have opinions. I just kind of make art to make art and just to be fierce and fun. That was really incredible and one of the best moments of my very humble career.