Chad Michael Murray may have achieved teen heartthrob status early in his career, but there was a moment he was ready to walk away.
In a conversation with Interview published Wednesday, the Merry Gentlemen star reflected on being at the center of mega fandom after starring on One Tree Hill for seven seasons, as well as films such as A Cinderella Story and Freaky Friday. At the time, Murray not only experienced stardom but also tried to navigate it while growing up, which almost felt like too much.
“There was a moment where I was quitting. I was done. I just couldn’t do it anymore,” he said. “It was right after I left One Tree Hill, and it wasn’t because of the fandom. It was because, when you’re 18 to 25, these formidable years where you’re really cutting your teeth on life experiences and your brain isn’t fully developed, you make mistakes. I mean, gosh, we still screw up when we’re grown-ups. But I think it’s hard for me to see past those moments when you’re not adult enough to understand the scenarios that you’re in.”
He recalled it being “hard” for him given “there are so many eyeballs on you. And you go to the grocery store and someone points at you, ‘Oh, that’s the guy that’s on the tabloid, or that’s the guy that did this.’ Even if they’re not talking about that, sometimes your head goes to a negative place, and I know mine really did. And so I just made a big pivot at that point in my life and said, ‘You know what? This is not what I want.’”
Murray cited his overall goal as just being “a great father” and “great husband.” “I love being an actor, but at the end of the day, the real grassroots thing for me was being a family man. I had to find the right partner for that. And I had to go through the right experiences and the wrong experiences to get there,” he explained.
When looking back, Murray said he “didn’t understand the power that the industry can have, the respect that you must give it and give everyone and every moment.” He added, “So I took a lot of time to reassess it all. It took years of talking to people much smarter than me to get where I wanted to go.”
Nowadays, Murray continues to take pride in the nostalgia of his past work. He said while filming Netflix’s The Merry Gentlemen he came home to find his wife and kids watching A Cinderella Story, “watching little Chad, like, ‘Hey, there’s Dad.’” However, Murray quipped that it’s bizarre given his 9-year-old son “is closer in age to Austin Ames” than he is now. “And it’s weird to see him look so much like him. I know that sounds crazy. So these are the experiences that I’m going through,” he said.
As for his other teen hit, Murray is hopeful to “be a fly on the wall, sneak into a theater, and see people’s reactions” to Freakier Friday, in which he’s reprising his role as Jake alongside Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in the sequel to the 2003 film.
Murray described reuniting on set with everyone as “a high school reunion.” He explained, “Here we are 22, 23 years later, and the team is incredible. Nisha [Ganatra], our director, was just a ball of energy, and our new castmembers were just awesome. Then there’s Jamie, the consummate professional, queen, and leader that she is. And of course, the unbelievable talent that is Lindsay Lohan.”
As for returning for the reported One Tree Hill sequel series, Murray has admitted he doesn’t plan to be a part of it at this time. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times Murray said of he and his OTH co-star James Lafferty, “We’re not doing it because no one’s ever picked up the phone and said, ‘Hey, we’re doing this,’ so we’re not doing it.”
Despite having a long career thus far and currently starring in Netflix’s The Merry Gentlemen and the CW’s Sullivan’s Crossing, Murray is hopeful for future projects and feels like he’s just “getting started.”
“So I would say that the entire world of cinema is my oyster,” he said. “I’m open to really stretching my wings, and having some fun, and just taking some chances. Sometimes I’m going to fall flat on my face and other times we’re going to make things that really touch you emotionally. I’m just excited about that journey. It’s all just a learning opportunity for me.”
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