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  "path": "/chad-michael-murray-one-tree-hill-nathan-scott/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-01T12:35:39.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.brit.co",
  "tags": [
    "One tree hill",
    "Pop culture",
    "Entertainment",
    "Tv",
    "teen dramas",
    "Leighton Meester",
    "Adam Brody",
    "characters",
    "Sophia Bush",
    "Hilarie Burton",
    "Chad Michael Murray",
    "Gilmore Girls",
    "says",
    "Season 2, Episode 20"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nSome casting decisions are literally so good they feel like fate, which is the case for _a lot_ of our favorite teen dramas. Can you imagine anyone besides Leighton Meester playing Blair Waldorf? Or anyone besides Adam Brody as Seth Cohen? If you ask us, all of _One Tree Hill_ 's characters are just as perfect.\n\nThe core cast of the show (Sophia Bush as Brooke, Bethany Joy Lenz as Haley, Hilarie Burton as Peyton, Chad Michael Murray as Lucas, and James Lafferty as Nathan) are meant to be. But did you know that almost wasn't the case?\n\n* * *\n\n## Turns out, the _One Tree Hill_ team originally wanted Chad Michael Murray to play Nathan Scott instead of Lucas!\n\n### Chad Michael Murray opens up about Lucas & Nathan Scott on 'One Tree Hill'.\n\n\n\n\n\"Originally, they asked me to play Nathan because I played Tristan Dugray [on _Gilmore Girls_], who is a bad boy, and then I went to play Charlie Todd on _Dawson's [Creek]_ who was also the bad boy,\" Chad Michael Murray says during a Liverpool Comic Con panel in 2022. Since Nathan is a bad boy at the beginning of _One Tree Hill_ , Chad's work on those other shows made him seem like a perfect fit for the role.\n\n\"When I read the scripts, I just wrote, 'This show has legs,' which means I feel like it can go a long time, it can go the distance,\" he continues. Type casting is a very real thing in the entertainment industry, and Chad wanted to do something different — especially if the show did end up lasting for a long time (spoiler: it went on for nine seasons!). \"And thus Lucas was the choice for me. And so it was a moment where I think I made a career decision and I put my foot down and I just said, 'Guys, I really wanna play Lucas. Like, this is the character.'\"\n\nWhile Lucas isn't as much of a traditional bad boy as Nathan is at the beginning, both characters are rough around the edges in different ways. They really do complement each other! However, if you're someone who likes the idea of Chad Michael Murray as Nathan Scott, you can get a glimpse of that alternate reality by watching Season 2, Episode 20 — Nathan dreams about what life would have been like if his life been switched with Lucas'!\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLater on in the panel, when asked whether he prefers playing the villain, Chad Michael Murray admits it's easier for him than playing any kind of heroic, romantic lead.\n\n\"The villain is always more fun because there's less boundaries,\" he says. \"When you are the moral compass or a particular archetype, you have these boundaries, these walls, around you that you can't go outside of, you know? Be it the way you articulate, the way you send a message, your mannerisms...Playing the leading man is much more difficult for me than being an insane person. I don't know why I identify with the insanity — it just comes naturally!\"\n\n**Would you have liked to see Chad Michael Murray's Nathan Scott, or are you glad he got cast as Lucas? Let us know in the comments and check out our Entertainment page for more fun facts about _One Tree Hill_ ,_Gilmore Girls_ , and the rest of your favorite shows!**\n\n_This post has been updated._",
  "title": "Chad Michael Murray Almost Played Nathan Scott on 'One Tree Hill' Instead of James Lafferty"
}