“I can’t talk much about it yet,” says executive producer Julie Plec, “but one of the big surprises is that Katherine comes face to face with Elena.”

    How does Nina feel about playing both Elena and her 19th century doppelgänger in the same scenes? “I will have to ask for a second pay check,” kids the 21-year-old, who as a child marveled over Lindsay Lohan‘s dual performance in The Parent Trap. While special effects have advanced a thousandfold since Elizabeth Montgomery’s Samantha/Serena face-offs on Bewitched, Nina is still worried about emoting opposite a stand-in tennis ball when the series resumes production in July. “It will be difficult because a lot of acting is reacting to the other person, but it’ll be fun to step out of my comfort zone.”

    Nina’s not the only one who’ll be given a tough acting assignment. Having the look-alike ladies in the same town will also force Ian Somerhalder to play two different sides of Damon. “It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster for me,” Ian predicts. “Damon, with Katherine, is this youthful wide-eyed fun guy who is so intrigued by her — so different from the maniacal, more mature Damon you see with Elena.”