Chad Michael Murray

Chad Michael Murray
Murray at the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End premiere at Disneyland Park in Southern California, 2007
Born	Chad Michael Murray August 24, 1981 (1981-08-24) (age 28) Clarence, New York, United States
Other name(s)	Chad Murray
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999-present
Spouse(s)	Sophia Bush (2005–2006)

Chad Michael Murray (born August 24, 1981) is an American actor, former fashion model and spokesperson. Murray became an international household name after landing the lead role in The CW television series One Tree Hill where he portrayed Lucas Scott for six seasons. In addition, he is popular among teenagers and young adults for starring in the commercially successful films, Freaky Friday, A Cinderella Story and House of Wax. Murray has the record for the most Teen Choice Award nominations and has posed on the cover of numerous mainstream magazines; his magazine covers include Rolling Stone, People, Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly.

Early life

Murray was born in Buffalo, New York. He is the son of Rex Murray, an air traffic controller.^[1]

In 1999, Murray headed for Hollywood where he supported himself modeling for such clients as Skechers, Tommy Hilfiger and Gucci.

Career

Murray appeared in several guest-starring television roles, including an episode of Diagnosis Murder and an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In 1999, Murray was cast as Tristin Dugray on Gilmore Girls; the role was one of the main characters in the first season of the series and then became a recurring character thereafter. Murray then appeared in several television films, such as Aftermath and Murphy's Dozen. Later that year, he portrayed the role Charlie Todd on the successful television series Dawson's Creek.

In 2003, Murray appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures feature film, Freaky Friday alongside Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. The film was a major box office success, garnering a total of $110,222,438 in the United States alone. Critics were mostly positive in their reviews of the film, and the film garnered a "B" grade on Yahoo! movies and an 88% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Murray also appeared in the television movie The Lone Ranger where he portrayed the role of Luke Hartman.

Later that year, Murray won the main role of Lucas Scott in the successful The WB television series One Tree Hill. The series quickly became the channel's biggest hit with over 4.50 million viewers on the first season's finale. The series was The WB's most successful and top rated television program when it first aired in 2003 and continued receiving top ratings for The CW. The series also earned Murray numerous awards, including eleven Teen Choice Awards, and spawned a book series which was successful among critics who praised the cast's performances and the original storylines. After Murray gained mainstream fame and media exposure, he also became a spokesperson for several high-profile deals. He and his One Tree Hill co-stars were the official endorsers for MasterCard and K-Mart.^[2][3] In addition, they endorsed the Cingular wireless and Chevy Cobalt.^[4]

Following Murray's starring role on One Tree Hill in 2003, he appeared on the cover of several mainstream magazines such as Rolling Stone and People. That same year, he was voted as one of "TV's Sexiest Guys" in People magazine.^[5]

In 2004, Murray starred in the romantic comedy A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff. Though the reviews were mostly negative, the film went on to become a moderate box office hit, and critics were impressed by Duff's performance.^[6][7] A Cinderella Story earned $70.1 million worldwide and was a commercial success.^[8] The film led to many 2006 Teen Choice Awards wins for many categories. Later that year, Murray was named one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" by People magazine and appeared on the cover of the magazine.

In 2005, Murray starred in House of Wax. The film grossed $12 million in its first day and was a commercial success. Though most film critics gave the film negative reviews, House of Wax earned over $68,766,121 worldwide. The movie led to Murray receiving many 2006 Teen Choice Awards wins for many categories including "Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure/Thriller".

In 2008, Murray won a Teen Choice Award for Best TV Actor in a Drama and was nominated for several other awards. In May 2009, The CW announced Murray would not be returning to the series for its seventh season.^[9][10] Murray appeared in six seasons of the series.

Personal life

Murray married One Tree Hill co-star Sophia Bush on April 16, 2005 after almost two years of dating. Five months after the wedding, Bush filed court papers to have their marriage annulled. After the annulment was finalized, Murray began dating Kenzie Dalton, a former cheerleader extra on One Tree Hill and the first runner-up in the 2005 Miss North Carolina Teen USA pageant. They later became engaged.^[11]

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chad Michael Murray

• Chad Michael Murray at the Internet Movie Database
• Chad Michael Murray interview