At the helm of both film and television, Kevin Williamson has established himself in Hollywood as a true visionary whose unprecedented success created immediate attention. He has garnered respect not just as a writer, but also as a producer and director whose visions have resulted in some of the most lucrative franchise vehicles ever made.

Williamson’s first foray into television was the series “Dawson’s Creek,” a show that instantly became a pop culture phenomenon. The show launched then-unknown actors James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams into instant stardom.

Preceding his success in the world of network television, Williamson’s rise into the spotlight began in 1996 with the modern cult-classic feature film “Scream” and its 1997 sequel “Scream 2”. Drawing on his childhood love of scary movies, Williamson created and wrote the franchise that reinvigorated the horror genre and also tapped into the previously ignored market of teen viewers. The Miramax/Dimension Films would go on to become the highest grossing horror films of all time, amassing more than $345 million worldwide. With his self-referential wit and biting dialogue, Williamson was quickly named one of Entertainment Weekly’s Entertainers of the Year for 1997 and listed on the 1998 Premiere Magazine Power 100 list.

On the heels of his “Scream” success, Williamson also wrote and created the Columbia Pictures hit thriller “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” featuring debut performances of some of the hottest young actors in Hollywood, including Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe. Immediately following that success, Williamson produced “Halloween: H2O,” which starred Jamie Lee Curtis and one of his “Dawson’s Creek” stars, Michelle Williams. Next, he collaborated with director Robert Rodriguez on the hit sci-fi thriller “The Faculty.” Looking for the next challenge in his career, Williamson made his feature film directorial debut in 1999 with “Teaching Mrs. Tingle.” This black comedy centers around a group of students who hold their teacher hostage after a series of innocent events turn dangerous. Helen Mirren starred in the title role along with Katie Holmes. The project was shot from the first script Williamson ever wrote and was inspired by comments from his real-life English teacher, who repeatedly predicted Williamson would never amount to anything.

More cast bios: Nina Dobrev (Elena/Katherine) – Ian Somerhalder (Damon Salvatore) – Paul Wesley (Stefan Salvatore) – Katerina Graham (Bonnie Bennett) – Steven R. McQueen (Jeremy Gilbert) – Sara Canning (Aunt Jenna) – Matt Davis (Alaric Saltzman) – Michael Trevino (Tyler Lockwood) – Zack Roerig (Matt Donovan) – Candice Accola (Caroline Forbes) – Kevin Williamson (Executive Producer) – Julie Plec (Executive Producer) – Take a look at our gallery of images of the Vampire Diaries cast!