Nina Dobrev [1] rose to fame with her many roles [2] on The Vampire Diaries [3], but now she's putting all that behind her and making a new name for herself. Since the series wrapped [4] earlier this year, the 28-year-old has been busy starring in new projects [5], going on fun adventures with her friends [6], and using her social media presence to voice her opinions about the current POTUS. Even though she has a lot of plates spinning at the moment, the actress managed to squeeze in a little time to grace the cover of Harper's Bazaar's September issue [7]. Aside from looking absolutely gorgeous [8], per usual, she also opened up about her addiction to trying new things [9], why she left TVD, and how her immigrant background has shaped her political views. See her best quotes ahead.
![On leaving The Vampire Diaries: "That was the plan from the get-go. If anything, the fact that [leaving] terrified me drove me even more. I needed to feel that fear of 'Oh, my God, what if I never get a job again?' That just made me want to work five times as hard to make sure that didn't happen."
On what kind of roles she wants to do now: "The things I want to do aren't necessarily the things that are expected of me. I don't want to play a teenager anymore. I want to play adult roles and be challenged and work with great filmmakers and tell incredible stories, and that has meant being really picky."
On living life on the edge: "My rule of thumb is, I'll try anything once. I have a healthy — or possibly unhealthy — obsession with trying things for the first time. Nobody imagines me to be by myself backpacking, so they just think, 'It can't be her.'"](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/ps-image-unavailable.png "On leaving The Vampire Diaries: \"That was the plan from the get-go. If anything, the fact that [leaving] terrified me drove me even more. I needed to feel that fear of 'Oh, my God, what if I never get a job again?' That just made me want to work five times as hard to make sure that didn't happen.\"
On what kind of roles she wants to do now: \"The things I want to do aren't necessarily the things that are expected of me. I don't want to play a teenager anymore. I want to play adult roles and be challenged and work with great filmmakers and tell incredible stories, and that has meant being really picky.\"
On living life on the edge: \"My rule of thumb is, I'll try anything once. I have a healthy — or possibly unhealthy — obsession with trying things for the first time. Nobody imagines me to be by myself backpacking, so they just think, 'It can't be her.'\"")
- On leaving The Vampire Diaries: "That was the plan from the get-go. If anything, the fact that [leaving] terrified me drove me even more. I needed to feel that fear of 'Oh, my God, what if I never get a job again?' That just made me want to work five times as hard to make sure that didn't happen."
- On what kind of roles she wants to do now: "The things I want to do aren't necessarily the things that are expected of me. I don't want to play a teenager anymore. I want to play adult roles and be challenged and work with great filmmakers and tell incredible stories, and that has meant being really picky."
- On living life on the edge: "My rule of thumb is, I'll try anything once. I have a healthy — or possibly unhealthy — obsession with trying things for the first time. Nobody imagines me to be by myself backpacking, so they just think, 'It can't be her.'"
- On speaking out against Donald Trump [10]: "I come from an immigrant family, and I think it's unacceptable to treat anyone like that. Hopefully he'll get impeached. Or indicted. Or both. He just doesn't act like a president. He acts like a reality star on a terrible, horrible show that should never be aired. And he's responsible for incredibly important decisions for the country that I live in, so my opinion does matter whether or not I had a chance to vote."
- On how she lost fans over supporting Hillary Clinton: "Whenever I did one of those posts, I was inundated with negative comments, some of the most horrific things I've ever seen written. But I'm entitled to my opinion, and if you don't want to see the things I'm saying, don't follow me."
- On how her precious dog Maverick saved her: "I call her the world's chillest dog. She rescued me as much as I rescued her. I was so lost after Lynx passed, but Maverick brought me back to life."