What have Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, Hilarie Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz and Sophia Bush been up to since leaving the TV show?
Ten years ago, Mark Schwahn introduced us to the lives of a group of teenagers in the popular drama ‘One Tree Hill’. Little did we know that these athletes and cheerleaders would become a source of comfort for an entire generation of viewers over the next decade.
At first the show revolved around the strained relationship between half-brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott. As the squabbling pair both played for the Tree Hill Ravens team, viewers all over the world were divided into two camps – ‘Team Lucas’ and ‘Team Nathan.
However, united by their hatred towards their father Dan, Lucas and Nathan soon found themselves bonding and became quite the unbreakable unit alongside their friends Peyton, Brooke and Haley.
Over One Tree Hill’s nine season run, the show pushed the boundaries of teen drama and often left viewers on tenterhooks. Who could forget the pivotal episode which saw Jimmy Edwards take a gun to school, resulting in the murder of Lucas’ uncle Keith? Or Peyton’s traumatic pregnancy?
With Lucas Scott himself, Chad Michael Murray, taking the lead role in ‘The Haunting of Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia’, we thought we would take a trip back down memory lane and see what the rest of our ‘One Tree Hill’ favourites have been up to since the end of the show.
Chad Michael Murray as Lucas Scott
Chad Michael Murray left the show at the end of series six, but returned briefly for a cameo in the final series. Murray’s exit was rather controversial as he was caught on tape stating that he was not returning to the show because “they wanted to save money”.
Since leaving the series Murray starred in the critically acclaimed film ‘Day One’ where he portrayed ‘To Write Love on Her Arms’ founder Jamie Tworkowski. As well as playing the lead in the upcoming ‘The Haunting of Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia’, he also currently has four films in post-production – ‘Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas’, ‘Other People’s Children’, ‘Cavemen’ and ‘Left Behind’. He also wrote the graphic novel ‘Everlast’.
James Lafferty as Nathan Scott
Lafferty starred as Nathan Scott during every series of ‘One Tree Hill’, although his role was significantly reduced during the final season. He was a fan-favourite due to his development from high-school bad boy to doting father and, of course, for his relationship with Haley.
Since the show’s end Lafferty has filmed ‘Oculus’, a horror movie alongside Karen Gillan, which received rave reviews at TIFF, and ‘Lost on Purpose’ with Octavia Spencer. Quite interestingly, ‘Lost on Purpose’ has just been digitally released after raising funds on Kickstarter. Lafferty currently also has a War film in pre-production, ‘Citizen Soldiers’, to be released at the end of next year.
Hilarie Burton as Peyton Sawyer
Burton left the show at the end of season six alongside Chad Michael Murray as star-crossed lovers Lucas and Peyton headed off to start a new life with their newborn baby. Peyton was at the heart of some tragic storylines, including the death of her mother and being attacked by a man pretending to be her long-lost brother.
Since leaving Burton has starred in a number of TV Movies and has recently had recurring roles in ‘White Collar’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Hostages’. She also gave birth to a son, Augustus, in 2010. She’ll next be seen in a made-for-tv movie ‘Christmas on the Bayou’ alongside old co-star, Tyler Hilton.
Bethany Joy Lenz as Haley James-Scott
Since her last day of filming, Lenz has appeared in ‘Men at Work’, ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ and ‘Sock Monkee Therapy’. She also had a recurring role in the final season of ‘Dexter’ as Cassie Jollenston.
Lenz has also continued to sing, just as her character Haley did, and has teased fans to expect an album soon stating that she will sell hard copies at an upcoming One Tree Hill convention. She also seems keen to perform live, recently asking her supporters where she should play on a hypothetical tour.
Sophia Bush as Brooke Davis
Bush continued working right after ‘One Tree Hill’ ended and had a leading role in comedy series ‘Partners’ alongside David Krumholtz, Michael Urie and Brandon Routh. However, the show was cancelled after filming thirteen episodes. Bush has since joined the cast of ‘Chicago PD’ as Erin Lindsay which is due to air in the US in January.
During her run on ‘One Tree Hill’, Bush was known for being an activist and has continued to promote issues including cancer awareness, poverty, oil spills and same sex-marriage. She broke up with her co-star, Austin Nichols, shortly after they finished filming the series in 2012.
Source: Rachel MacGregor Yahoo omg! UK
 Oct 23, 2013  James, One Tree Hill  Can  1 comment |