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Chad Michael Murray was the epitome of teen heart throb in the mid-2000s. He starred in the teen drama, One Tree Hill, played the leading man in teen films, and was a staple of magazine covers of the time. What girl didn’t have him on his wall? Since today is his birthday, I thought it’d be only fitting for us to make him our focus this week. So let’s take a look back and see where this actor ended up.
Born in Buffalo, NY, Murray moved to Hollywood following high school and first supported himself with modeling gigs from Tommy Hilfiger, Sketchers, and Gucci. His career took off once he scored the role of Tristan DuGrey on Gilmore Girls in 2000. He played the role two seasons.
This was followed by more television appearances in shows like Undressed, Diagnosis: Murder and a role in Dawson’s Creek as Charlie Todd in 2001.
2003 was a great year for Murray with his role as Jake in Freaky Friday alongside Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. The film was a box office success raking in $160 million worldwide.
Due to the success, Murray was able to win the role of Lucas Scott on the CW teen drama One Tree Hill. It ended up being a ratings success with over 4.50 million viewers for the season one finale. This led to him landing the covers of numerous magazines like Rolling Stone and Teen People.
In 2004, Murray starred in A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff, becoming a moderate box office success and a cult favorite. It also helped him to win several awards at the Teen Choice Awards.
Murray starred in House of Wax in 2005. It made $12 million but pulled in negative reviews from critics. Also during this time, Murray married his One Tree Hill co-star, Sophia Bush only for Bush to divorce him after five months following allegations of cheating. It’s rumored he cheated with Paris Hilton who was also his co-star in House of Wax.
Murrary left One Tree Hill in the ninth season in 2009 citing budget cuts made by the show. In 2010 he appeared as Alicia Keys‘ love interest in the music video for Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready).
After leaving the TV drama, Murray took on smaller roles in TV movies and television series. However, he switched gears and released a book in 2011 titled Everlast.
In 2013, he appeared in Fruitvale Station, which won two awards at Sundance. He also starred in the television series Agent Carter as Jack Thompson in 2015.
That year, he began starring in the online series Chosen. There he met his wife Sarah Roemer. The pair announced their marriage January 2015. They have two children together, a boy and a girl who was born March 2017.
Murray most recently appeared in Sun Records that aired on CMT. Originally intended to be a three-night event, it was extended to be an eight episode mini series.
Murray is no longer the teen hear throb he once was, choosing instead to lay low and enjoy his life as a family man.
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