Julian Sands, Jonathan Rhys Meyers... Ian McShane?!?

Like all fans of The Vampire Diaries, Daniel Gillies has some ideas on who ought to portray Klaus. But while we need to wait a few weeks for that discovery, the countdown is officially on for the January 27 return of this exhilarating show.

How will Gillies' Elijah continue to make an impact on it? The actor teased a bit of what's ahead in a recent EW interview, excepts from which are below.

On Elijah: He’s incredibly learned. I think he already has a very broad knowledge of the area. He definitely does, it’s revealed precisely how later on. But it’s quite possible that he’s bored out of his mind at this function, but the thing that fuels him is his desire to lure Klaus.

On his relationship with Jenna: He will be using Jenna... I think he’s enjoying the fact that whenever he’s around her, Alaric and everybody is kind of getting terrified... I think he derives something sexual from the terror he instills from just being around people. If he’s charming somebody, and somebody else is frightened, that’s a particular turn on for him.

On interaction with John Gilbert (who returns February 3): There is definitely some stuff approaching with us. My take on it is, Elijah’s gonna know who he is. This guy knows everything. He knows the machinations of the town. From the moment he discovered Elena there, I think he went crazy researching exactly what’s going on.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.