Chad Michael Murray (born August 24, 1981) is an American actor, former fashion model and spokesperson. Murray became an international household name after playing Austin Ames in the movie A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff. He also played the lead role of Lucas Scott in The CW teen, young adult drama series One Tree Hill. In addition, he is popular among teenagers and young adults for starring in the commercially successful films Freaky Friday 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.

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

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 Tristan 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 film 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 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 two 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. In addition, they endorsed the Cingular Wireless and Chevy Cobalt.

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.

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. A Cinderella Story earned $70.1 million worldwide.^[7] 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. Though most film critics gave the film negative reviews, House of Wax earned over $68,766,121 worldwide. The film led to Murray receiving many 2006 Teen Choice Awards wins for many categories including “Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure/Thriller”.

In May 2009, The CW announced Murray would not be returning to One Tree Hill for its seventh season. A video of Murray was recorded in which he was telling fans that they didn’t want him back because they wanted to save money. However, Mark Schwann said in an interview that he had been offered “great things” to return to the show.

In 2010, Murray played Alicia Keys’s love interest in her music video for “Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)”.

Murray will be co-starring in a movie named Ex-mas Carol with Ashley Benson and Christina Milian. The movie will be an ABC Family Original Movie and will be “more or about a comatose girl who visits her Christmas past, present, and future.”

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