Vampire Diaries star Steven R. McQueen makes rare public appearance after seven years

After nine years out of the spotlight, Steven R. McQueen has made a rare appearance at a Vampire Diaries event.

Fans of the popular TV show will know McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert, the adoptive brother of Nina Dobrev's character Elena.

He starred in six seasons of Vampire Diaries as Jeremy before his shock exit in its sixth season when he went off to pursue his calling as a vampire killer.

Speaking after his exit, McQueen expressed his relief that he wasn't killed off. "What I really enjoy about this goodbye is this time, I’m alive," he said to Entertainment Weekly in 2015, adding: "I can come back for an episode or two."

McQueen continued at the time: "It was nice because I knew at the beginning of the year that this was what was coming, so I took the time to say goodbye to everybody and really enjoy my last couple moments there."

And he did in fact reprise his role of Jeremy briefly for Vampire Diaries finale in March 2017.

Since his exit from the TV show, McQueen has largely kept himself to himself. One of his last public appearances was in 2019 at the Thirst Project’s 10th Annual Thirst Gala, but the 38-year-old actor recently delighted and in Paris, France, by showing his face at a Vampire Diaries convention.

Fans took to social media to discuss how pleased they were to see him. Commenting on a photo of him at the convention on Instagram, one person said: "I had been waiting to meet Steven for a long time so I booked this con specifically to meet him. I am so glad he felt the love from us all, we were all so happy he came! Can’t wait to see him again soon."

"Love to see Steven again with fans," said another.

"He was my fav character and absolutely adored him so much," wrote a third, adding: "Seeing him again brought back those feelings."

Somebody else echoed: "It was lovely to meet him today for photo and auto. So glad you got to host him and ease back into convention world."

After Vampire Diaries, McQueen joined the cast of Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. for two seasons. His last onscreen role was in 2020.

He never officially announced his departure from acting, but it's clear he's taken a step back. Something that may have played a part in that is the death of his father in 2024. According to Us Weekly, his dad died from organ failure after sustaining an injury four years prior.