‘One Tree Hill’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Credit: Carley Margolis/FilmMagic

‘One Tree Hill’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Looking back. It's hard to look back at teen dramas without remembering One Tree Hill. Between the relationships, the friendships and the shocking deaths and dramas, it has become one of the most memorable in history. The series, created by Mark Schwahn, aired for nine seasons from 2003 to 2012. It premiered on The WB then moved over to The CW in 2006 when The WB was discontinued. The show was set in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, where two half-brothers, Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan Scott (James Lafferty), struggle to both exist in the same town, high school and basketball team. Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush, Bethany Joy Lenz, Paul Johansson, Craig Sheffer, Moira Kelly, Antwon Tanner, Lee Norris and Barbara Alyn Woods made up the main cast when the series debuted. Throughout the show, the main love triangle existed between Lucas, Brooke (Bush) and Peyton (Burton). However, in 2020, Burton explained that in her mind, Peyton and Brooke's friendship was always the main "love story" on the show. [jwplayer U3nHwVzE] "The love stories with all the boys, those were fun, those were important, but Sophia and I had to fight for our own friendship,” the author said at the time. "A lot of people wanted to pit us against each other. You know, it’s like, ‘Oh, Hilarie won’t do this, but Sophia will,’ and ‘She’s the pretty one,’ and ‘She’s the this one.’ There’s so much comparison that, as a young person, it’s hard to navigate. She and I now can look back at it and be like, ‘All those bastards. No, no, no. We’re the love story.' The female friendships were important on that show." The timeline hopped around through the nine seasons. High school ended at the end of season 4 and when season 5 returned the following year, four years had passed and the characters had already graduated from college and were now around 22 years old. In season 7, there was another timeline jump, with story skipping ahead 14 months to give a better explanation for the exits of Murray and Burton. Burton later revealed that a big reason for her exit from the show was creator Schwahn. In 2019, Burton, Bush and 16 other women involved in the show came forward and accused the producer of sexual harassment. Over the nine seasons, multiple other actors joined the show including Stephen Colletti, Danneel Harris, Lisa Goldstein, Robert Buckley, Austin Nichols and Shantel VanSanten. Scroll through the gallery below to see where the cast is today. [podcast_block]

Credit: Carley Margolis/FilmMagic

‘One Tree Hill’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Looking back. It's hard to look back at teen dramas without remembering One Tree Hill. Between the relationships, the friendships and the shocking deaths and dramas, it has become one of the most memorable in history. The series, created by Mark Schwahn, aired for nine seasons from 2003 to 2012. It premiered on The WB then moved over to The CW in 2006 when The WB was discontinued. The show was set in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, where two half-brothers, Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan Scott (James Lafferty), struggle to both exist in the same town, high school and basketball team. Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush, Bethany Joy Lenz, Paul Johansson, Craig Sheffer, Moira Kelly, Antwon Tanner, Lee Norris and Barbara Alyn Woods made up the main cast when the series debuted. Throughout the show, the main love triangle existed between Lucas, Brooke (Bush) and Peyton (Burton). However, in 2020, Burton explained that in her mind, Peyton and Brooke's friendship was always the main "love story" on the show. [jwplayer U3nHwVzE] "The love stories with all the boys, those were fun, those were important, but Sophia and I had to fight for our own friendship,” the author said at the time. "A lot of people wanted to pit us against each other. You know, it’s like, ‘Oh, Hilarie won’t do this, but Sophia will,’ and ‘She’s the pretty one,’ and ‘She’s the this one.’ There’s so much comparison that, as a young person, it’s hard to navigate. She and I now can look back at it and be like, ‘All those bastards. No, no, no. We’re the love story.' The female friendships were important on that show." The timeline hopped around through the nine seasons. High school ended at the end of season 4 and when season 5 returned the following year, four years had passed and the characters had already graduated from college and were now around 22 years old. In season 7, there was another timeline jump, with story skipping ahead 14 months to give a better explanation for the exits of Murray and Burton. Burton later revealed that a big reason for her exit from the show was creator Schwahn. In 2019, Burton, Bush and 16 other women involved in the show came forward and accused the producer of sexual harassment. Over the nine seasons, multiple other actors joined the show including Stephen Colletti, Danneel Harris, Lisa Goldstein, Robert Buckley, Austin Nichols and Shantel VanSanten. Scroll through the gallery below to see where the cast is today. [podcast_block]

Credit: Getty Images (2)

Sophia Bush

Bush took on the role of Brooke Davis, the sexy, confident and popular cheerleader at Tree Hill High. Throughout the series, she grew into a determined entrepreneur who, by the end of the series, was married to Julian (Nichols) and was a mother to twins. The actress went on to star in multiple hit films including John Tucker Must Die and The Hitcher, led NBC’s Chicago P.D. for four seasons and is an activist. In 2017, she signed a development deal with 20thCentury Fox TV. She also appeared on an episode of This Is Us in 2020 and landed a recurring role on Hulu's Love, Victor. In 2021, she launched a rewatch podcast with Lenz and Burton.

The Good Sam star dated her Chicago P.D. costar Jesse Lee Soffer from 2014 to 2016. She moved on with entrepreneur Grant Hughes in 2020. The couple got engaged in August 2021 while on vacation in Italy. Us broke the news that Bush married Hughes on June 11, 2022. Burton was in attendance alongside Harris.

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Chad Michael Murray

Murray was well-known before landing the role of Lucas Scott, Tree Hill’s brooding basketball player. After being featured on Gilmore Girls and Dawson’s Creek, he joined One Tree Hill for six seasons, briefly returned in season 7, then again for the final season in 2011. While on the show, he starred in feature films including House of Wax and A Cinderella Story. He returned to TV as a lead in CMT’s Sun Records in 2017. He also married Sarah Roemer and the pair have two children. He was a recurring star on season 3 of Riverdale and stars in multiple Hallmark Channel movies each year.

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James Lafferty

One Tree Hill was the breakout role for Lafferty, who starred as bad-boy-turned-loving-husband Nathan Scott. After the show wrapped, he went on to star in numerous films, including Oculus, Waffle Street and Small Town Crime. He also directed multiple episodes of E!’s The Royals. In 2017, he and One Tree Hill costar Stephen Colletti wrote a pilot, Everyone Is Doing Great. The show debuted on Hulu in 2021.

Lafferty proposed to Alexandra Park in September 2020 after meeting in 2015 when he directed an episode of The Royals. Us exclusively confirmed in May 2022 that the couple tied the knot in Hawaii.

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Hilarie Burton

After starting her career as VJ on MTV’s TRL, Burton landed her first TV role on Dawson’s Creek, leading to her starring role in One Tree Hill as artsy, angsty cheerleader Peyton Sawyer. After leaving the show with Murray following season 6, she went on to appear on White Collar, Grey’s Anatomy and Lethal Weapon. The actress wrote her first memoir, The Rural Diaries, in 2020. In 2021, she launched a rewatch podcast with Lenz and Bush.

Burton married longtime partner Jeffrey Dean Morgan in October 2019. They share two children, son Gus and daughter Georgie. The couple launched a spirits brand, MF Libations, in April 2022.

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Bethany Joy Lenz

Lenz’s TV career kicked off when she landed a leading role on Guiding Light until 2000. After appearing briefly on Charmed and Felicity, she landed the role of Haley James (later Scott) on One Tree Hill, the nerdy girl in school who falls for the star athlete. Lenz also launched her music career on the show and put out five albums from 2002 to 2013. She went on to star in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., American Gothic and Colony. She stars in multiple Hallmark Channel movies each year. In 2021, she launched a rewatch podcast with Bush and Burton.

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Lee Norris

Before One Tree Hill, Norris was best known as Stuart Minkus on Boy Meets World, a role he played from 1993 to 1994. However, his breakout role as an adult was One Tree Hill, taking on the role of Marvin “Mouth” McFadden, the smart, sideline reporter, obsessed with Ravens basketball. Following the show, he reprised his role of Minkus on Girl Meets World and also appeared on The Walking Dead.

Credit: Shutterstock; Courtesy of Bevin Prince/Instagram

Bevin Prince

Prince portrayed Tree Hill cheerleader Bevin Mirsky, who dated Skills during high school. The North Carolina native went on to star in the short film It’s All About Me and appeared on episodes of Sublets and Power before stepping back from acting in 2017. Two years later, the University of North Carolina alum opened her own cycle studio, Recess, in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The former actress married Will Friend in May 2016. Prince’s pal Odette Annable confirmed in July 2022 that Friend died earlier that month at the age of 33. According to a report from the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, Friend was struck by lightning near the couple's home in Wilmington.