Who Plays Hope Mikaelson And How Did She Get The Role?

There’s something about Hope Mikaelson that always makes me stop scrolling and just grin — she’s literally the bridge between the Originals and the newer generation. In family terms, she sits one generation down from the original siblings: she’s the daughter of Niklaus (Klaus) Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall. That makes Klaus and Hayley her parents, and puts her squarely as the granddaughter of the original patriarch and matriarch, Mikael and Esther. In simpler family-tree speak: Mikael + Esther → Klaus (one of their children) → Hope. As for aunts and uncles, Hope is the niece of Elijah, Rebekah, Kol and Finn (Henrik was the tragic youngest who died before becoming one of the originals). So she’s part of that immediate Mikaelson clan by blood and sits in the lineage that carries all the family baggage — immortality, curses, witch-magic, and frankly, a lot of dramatic history. A big twist is that Hope is referred to as the first tribrid, which mixes witch, werewolf and vampire lines; that’s where her unique place in the family tree becomes story-critical. She’s the living outcome of the Mikaelson legacy and the werewolf line through Hayley. I still get chills thinking about how her existence rewrote so many family dynamics in 'The Originals' and then carried over as a central thread into 'Legacies'. For me, Hope is both heir and a new branch — she’s the Mikaelson legacy walking forward, but also someone who has to make her own choices beyond the weight of those famous ancestors.

Danielle Rose Russell, the talented and beautiful actress, played the character 'Hope Mikaelson' in the TV series "Legacies." She gracefully brought to life a tribrid character who is a cross between a vampire and werewolf, or witch. With her strong acting, which embodies both Hope's strength and also a hint of weakness in face pain, the magnificence of the series rises to another level completely. Danielle is the soul of show, just spectacular.

As someone who’s followed 'Someone To You' religiously, I’ve gotta say Hope Mikaelson’s love life is one heck of a rollercoaster. The show dives deep into her emotional journey, and her eventual pairing feels like the payoff to years of tension. By the final season, Hope ends up with Landon Kirby—but it’s far from a straightforward fairytale. Their relationship is messy, heartbreaking, and beautiful in equal measure. Landon’s the underdog with a heart of gold, and their bond starts as this slow burn of mutual understanding. He sees her for who she is, not just as the tribrid or the girl with a legacy of monsters in her bloodline. The way they lean on each other through victories and disasters makes their connection feel earned, not forced. What’s fascinating is how their dynamic evolves. Landon’s not just the love interest; he’s her anchor. When Hope’s darkness threatens to consume her, he’s the one pulling her back, not with grand gestures but with quiet, stubborn faith. Their chemistry isn’t flashy—it’s in the way they bicker over trivial things or how Landon calms her storms with a single touch. The show doesn’t shy away from putting them through hell, though. Betrayals, resurrections, and even a stint as supernatural adversaries test their love repeatedly. Yet, they always find their way back. The finale seals it with a poignant moment where Hope, usually so guarded, finally admits she can’t imagine a future without him. It’s raw and real, which is why fans latched onto them so hard. Now, let’s talk rivals. Josie Saltzman’s arc with Hope had potential, and some fans rooted for them, especially during those charged moments of shared magic and lingering glances. But the show pivots back to Landon, emphasizing that sometimes love isn’t about fireworks—it’s about who stays when the fire burns out. And Landon? He stays. Even in death, he leaves echoes of himself in Hope’s life, pushing her toward growth. Their ending isn’t perfect, but it’s perfectly them: two flawed people choosing each other, again and again. That’s the magic of 'Someone To You'—it makes you believe in messy, enduring love.

Honestly, whenever the topic of Hope Mikaelson comes up in my friend group, we spiral into a ten-minute debate — and I love it. On paper she’s not just a vampire: she’s a tribrid, which means vampire + werewolf + witch. That combination alone makes her fundamentally different from almost every other vampire we see in 'The Vampire Diaries' universe. Vampiric traits give her immortality, speed, and physical resilience, while the witch blood is where she truly diverges. Witch power can rewrite rules, manipulate reality, and channel large-scale effects that mere physical vampirism can’t. So comparing her to a straight-up powerful vampire like an Original is comparing two toolkits: one built for raw, honed killing efficiency, the other capable of bending the playing field itself. Age and experience matter a lot here. Original vampires like Klaus and Elijah have centuries of combat experience, cunning, and a terrifying baseline of supernatural strength. Hope, by contrast, is young and emotionally complicated. Her raw potential (especially on the witch side) likely eclipses many elder vampires once she learns to control and focus it. But until that mastery is in place, she can be outmaneuvered. I also think personality plays into power: Hope’s empathy and moral compass sometimes limit the things she’ll do, while older vampires can be ruthless. Put simply, in a straight fistfight an Original might win, but in a magical confrontation or in terms of eventual ceiling, Hope has the better long-term upside — she can change the rules of engagement entirely, which is terrifying and brilliant. I always end up rooting for characters with untapped potential, and Hope feels like that rare hero who could surpass the legends if she keeps learning and doesn't let trauma shut her down. It’s exactly the kind of messy, powerful growth story I binge-watch for.

I've been obsessed with 'Someone To You' since I stumbled upon it while deep-diving into Hope Mikaelson fan content. The story captures her complexity in a way few fanfics do, blending her Mikaelson ruthlessness with that vulnerable humanity we glimpsed in 'The Originals'. You can find it on Archive of Our Own (AO3) under the Hope Mikaelson tag - it's got over 50k hits there, which tells you how popular it is within the fandom. Wattpad also hosts several versions, though the one by user 'VampireDiariesLover22' stays truest to Hope's character development. What makes this particular story stand out is how it explores Hope's relationships beyond the usual Klaus parallels. The writer 'Fangorn' builds this compelling dynamic between Hope and an original character who challenges her morally without falling into the overdone 'bad boy influence' trope. The action scenes read like they were lifted straight from the show, especially when Hope's tribrid powers emerge. Some chapters even include handwritten notes between characters, giving it that personal touch missing from official tie-in novels. If you're looking for physical copies, check out fanbinding communities on Tumblr. Dedicated fans sometimes bind exceptional works like this into hardcover editions. Just avoid sketchy sites claiming to sell PDFs - most fanfic authors prefer their work staying freely accessible on approved platforms where they can control updates and content warnings.

I still get a little giddy thinking about how Hope's whole identity is set up — she isn't becoming a tribrid in the middle of the story, she literally is one from the start. Her status as the first known witch-werewolf-vampire hybrid is established by the mythic family lineage in 'The Originals' and then carried into 'Legacies'. That said, ‘becoming’ a full tribrid heroine is more of a character arc than a single moment: she’s born with those three bloodlines, but learning to use and accept all of them takes most of the show. In practical terms, when you meet her in the 'Legacies' pilot she already has those three parts to her — but she’s raw, conflicted, and terribly self-protective. Over Season 1 she’s testing limits, hiding things, and making choices that show she’s powerful but not yet integrated. From my point of view the turning point isn’t a single episode credit but the accumulation of scenes across Seasons 1–3 where she learns to use witchcraft intentionally, shifts into werewolf rage/motion when needed, and uses vampire resilience or a vampire bite strategically. By mid-late 'Legacies' (I'd point to Season 2 and beyond for when she truly steps into heroic, leader-of-the-pack territory), Hope is operating with confidence and combining elements — refusing to be boxed into one role, protecting her found family, and making hard calls. If you want to watch her rise, start with the 'Legacies' pilot to see the tease, rewatch key confrontations and team-battle moments in Seasons 2–3 to see her blend powers, and follow through to the later seasons for the leadership beats. For me, it’s the gradual embrace — watching a baby born into destiny turn into someone who chooses to be a hero — that’s the satisfying part, not a single click where she flips from ‘not’ to ‘full’.

I still get a little teary thinking about the way the show handled Hope as a baby — it always felt like the writers were protecting a character even before she could speak for herself. Canonically, Hope didn't stay in Mystic Falls because Klaus and Hayley decided the town was too dangerous and unstable to raise a child like her. From the way things were set up in 'The Vampire Diaries' and then more explicitly in 'The Originals', New Orleans was the Mikaelson stronghold: more resources, more allies, and a family network ready to shield her. That mattered because Hope wasn't just any kid; being the first tribrid made her a magnet for hunters, witches, and power-hungry factions. On top of that, the town itself had a long, messy history of supernatural entanglements — compacts, witch wars, vampire drama — and leaving allowed the writers to give Hope room to grow in a setting where the Mikaelsons could try to control the chaos. Practically, it made sense in-universe: Klaus wanted her safe and to be raised within the web of his family and protection. Out-of-universe, it also let the story expand into 'The Originals' territory and develop Hope’s arc away from the Salvatore-centered life. For me, the move felt bittersweet but honest — a protective choice by flawed parents, and the start of a whole different story for Hope to become who she was meant to be.

I still get chills thinking about that finale. By the end of 'Legacies', Hope Mikaelson does not die—she survives and the show gives her a kind of bittersweet, purposeful send-off rather than a tragic final curtain. The last episodes lean into what Hope has always been about: carving her own path, choosing family and friends over fate, and refusing to be a victim of prophecies. You get the sense the writers wanted to honor her Mikaelson stubbornness while closing the school chapter in a way that felt earned. Watching it felt like watching a friend graduate. There are emotional beats where characters make sacrifices and tough choices, and the tone swings between tearful and oddly peaceful. If you followed her from 'The Originals' through 'The Vampire Diaries' spin-offs, it’s satisfying to see Hope come out of the storm still standing—changed, scarred, but alive and with agency. Personally, I rewatched a few scenes the next day just to soak in the small, quiet moments where Hope’s humanity really showed. It didn’t tie every loose end, but it left her future open in a hopeful way that fits her character.