Bethany Joy Lenz Compares Her New Hallmark Channel Character to Haley on ‘One Tree Hill’ | Bethany Joy Lenz, Hallmark Channel, One Tree Hill | Just Jared: Celebrity News and Gossip

Bethany Joy Lenz was drawn to her role in Savoring Paris because it reminded her a bit of her past on One Tree Hill.

The actress is playing a woman named Ella in the new Hallmark Channel movie, which finds her taking a big leap in her life. In a new interview, she explained that Ella’s story felt similar to Haley James Scott, who she played on the classic series.

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“When I got to read the script, I was really intrigued by playing a character who kind of reminded me of who Haley was from One Tree Hill, like all those years ago,” she said during an interview with TV Insider.

Bethany continued, saying, “[Haley] evolved into a character who was much more confident and bold over the years. I just thought I haven’t done that since I was so young, in my early 20s. I usually get called to play more tough girl kind of roles, so I was excited by the opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone of feeling like a natural leader and allow myself to sort of emotionally sit on the sidelines.”

She explained that this offered her a chance to “be more quiet and more still and more observant and not have to take charge in any given situation. I took this opportunity not just as an actor, but as a human, to experience that.”

As to why she was drawn to that, Bethany said: “I’m a single mom. I have to step into a leadership role all the time and in so many rooms, so to be able to let myself just relax and let other people take charge for a while and see what it felt like to live in that skin, that was really cool.”

IF you missed it, Bethany recently revealed the One Tree Hill costar that she kissed off screen.