Chad Michael Murray says he looked like a ‘dweeb’ as a teen idol
Chad Micheal Murray cringes when he looks back at old teen-idol photos of himself.
“I look at my photos of myself and think, ‘What a dweeb,’” the 39-year-old said with a laugh to Page Six. “He thought he was so cool!”
“Why wouldn’t I? I was 21 years old,” he continued. “I’m just a kid from Buffalo, moved out here, took a chance and I fell headfirst into it. I remember in 2005 I was standing in Times Square doing a big ball drop for ‘TRL,’ thousands of people, and you’re the one on stage. It’s a very surreal thing but how do you really decipher where you are in your life at that age? It’s just a passing moment, I think at that age you can give it too much value.”
Murray first gained notice as rich kid Tristin Dugray on “Gilmore Girls,” which led to his breakout role as Lucas Scott in the teen drama “One Tree Hill,” which went off the air in 2009.
He says the cast is up for a reboot because “that show has affected so many people in the most positive way. I’ve seen it for years and years now. When I see that positive impact I can’t help but be in awe and feel so humbled. I don’t know if it will ever come to fruition. I have to believe at some point there will be some kind of reunion or a second edition for the new generation.”
Murray, who had a brief marriage to his “One Tree Hill” co-star Sophia Bush, is now happily married to his “Chosen” co-star Sarah Roemer. They share a 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Religion is an important part of their household.
“We pray at every meal,” he said. “That’s one of the foundations of teaching a good moral compass in our children. Having the fear of God is vital because to be honest what do you have to lose if you have no fear of that. If you have no fear of God it would be chaos here. We read the Bible, I start the day reading a chapter. We teach the kids about Jesus and who Jesus was and the story and we do church on Sundays.”
Murray can currently be seen in the Lifetime Christmas movie “Too Close For Christmas.”
The “Freaky Friday” star has a theory for the enduring popularity of those unabashedly optimistic flicks.
“People want to just feel that warmth,” he explained, “sit down and drink hot cocoa, they want to forget about any problems, they just want to chill out, maybe they want to pour a little bourbon in that coffee or Bailey’s in that hot chocolate.
“I think people want to tune out, they want to get that warm fuzzy feeling that reminds them of the holiday spirit. This is what does it, there are so many of them.”
