Where One Tree Hill's stars are now, including main cast member who had earnings stolen by cult
One Tree Hill is inarguably one of the biggest cult classic shows of the 00s, developing a huge fanbase in the UK as the series aired on E4.
The celebrity cast of the show changed a fair bit from season one to the final episode, however the core five cast members, and a few of the early season’s supporting castmates, are undeniably what made the show as successful as it was.
This success has led to an upcoming Netflix reboot, with Peyton and Brooke’s actress Hilarie Burton and Julia Bush reported to be returning for a sequel TV series.
Whilst a look back at nearly any celebrity cast 20 years on from finding fame can illicit some pretty wild stories, One Tree Hill is wilder than most. Main cast members have spoken out about poor treatment on the set, opened up about being in a cult for most of the show and how that led to them losing all their earnings, and in typically One Tree Hill fashion have married, cheated on each other, and divorced.
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Here’s what the main cast (and a few special supporting cast members) of One Tree Hill are up to now.
Chad Michael Murray – Lucas Scott
One Tree Hill may be an ensemble show, but Lucas is the pretty undeniable centre of the story until Chad left the series at the end of season six.
If watching the show however you thought that him and Brooke’s actor Sophia Bush had pretty great chemistry you’d be spot on however, as the pair began dating during season one of the show and eventually got married in 2005.
Chad was later plagued with rumours he cheated with Paris Hilton, which have never been confirmed, and the pair were divorced by December of 2006.
More recently he has continued a steady career in TV and Film, including a small role on the only series more mental than One Tree Hill, Riverdale, and has also been the lead in Canadian series Sullivan's Crossing. He also appeared alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday and the sequel Freakier Friday. He has been married to fellow actor Sarah Roemer for eleven years, sharing three children with her.
Sophia Bush – Brooke Davis
Brooke is an absolute icon in the show, and Sophia Bush went on to star in a number of other TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Chicago P.D. and Love, Victor.
After her failed marriage with Chad, Bush married again, to Grant Hughes, however they divorced in 2023.
Shortly after this she became linked to USWNT player Ashlyn Harris, with many online suggesting both had cheated on their respective spouses with each other. She released a personal essay denying these rumours and publicly confirmed their romance and came out as queer in the process.
She is also a partner in a majority African American and women-owned venture capital firm Union Heritage, runs a podcast Work In Progress, and sits on the board of the Human Rights Campaign.
Hilarie Burton – Peyton Sawyer
Burton left the show after season six, and unlike Chad did not return for the series finale where he made a cameo appearance as Lucas.
Though she started a rewatch podcast with Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz, Drama Queens, and is taking part in the upcoming sequel show, she left the series due to the sexual harassment and assault from the showrunner.
Speaking out in 2017, she alleged that showrunner Mark Schwahn had sexually harassed and assaulted both her and other women on the set, kissing her without consent and touching her inappropriately. Burton sent a letter alongside 17 other women making these allegations.
Now known as Hilarie Burton Morgan after her marriage to Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan, she played the iconic ‘Lucille’, the late ex-wife of his character Negan. Though she has not fully retired her acting is far more rare nowadays, helping work their family’s farm in New York and hosting the true crime show True Crime Story: It Didn’t Happen Here.
Bethany Joy Lenz – Haley James Scott
The now 45-year-old actor was beloved for years for her role as Haley, initially best friend to Lucas and later wife to his brother Nathan.
Behind the scenes however she was recruited into a cult which controlled her life choices for decades. This went to the extreme lengths during the eight years she was in the cult, which was never publicly named, covering her experiences in the book Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult!).
She revealed that several of her co-stars tried to help pull her out the cult, however she lost $2 million in earnings from her time on the show to the cult.
Lenz continues to act on the Hallmark+ show Hope Valley 1874 and will soon be releasing her debut fiction book The Betrayal of Cora Wexford. Asked about a return to One Tree Hill for the reboot she admitted she had ‘no information’ about it, adding: “I wish I did. I wish for all the fans that we could just have great news, but I have nothing concrete or meaningful to say about it.”
James Lafferty – Nathan Scott
James Lafferty stayed on as Nathan throughout the entire show’s run, and continues to work as an actor and creative to this day.
Lafferty created the show Everyone is Doing Great after an Indiegogo campaign, getting picked up by Hulu and later broadcast on Netflix.
In 2024 Lafferty was part of an organised basketball reunion charity game, with several fellow co-stars showing up and Gavin DeGraw singing during half time.
He married fellow actor Alexandra Park in 2022, welcoming their first child last year.
Where are One Tree Hill's main supporting cast members now?
The show had a pretty huge cast over its nine seasons, so we’d be here all day if I told you what all of them are up to.
One huge update for fans will be that at the show’s reunion game Bryan Greenberg, who played Jake, was reunited with his on-screen daughter all grown up, leading to this adorable side-by-side. Greenberg recently appeared as a main character on the short lived Suits: LA.
Antwon Tanner who plays Skills continues to act, tours with The One Tree Hill Live Tour across the US. Lee Nair, who starred as Mouth in over 170 episodes, has quit acting completely, not appearing in a project since 2020 and living a quiet life in North Carolina with his wife.
Craig Sheffer, who plays Keith, also left Hollywood for a few years to care for his late mother and brother before they passed away, but has appeared in a few indie projects.
Meanwhile Paul Johanson, Moira Kelly, Barbara Alyn Woods, and Barry Corbin, who play Dan, Karen, Deb, and Whitey, all continue to be active in TV and Film to various degrees.
One Tree Hill is available to watch on Netflix now.
Topics: Netflix, Nostalgia, Celebrity, TV and Film, TV
Michael Slavin