Chad Michael Murray, an American actor, writer, and model born on August 24, 1981, has had a diverse career in film and television. He is known to audiences of One Tree Hill (2003), where he played the character of Lucas Scott. The model-turned-actor has also serenaded Jamie Lee Curtis with Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" in Freaky Friday (2003), became Hilary Duff's "Prince Charming" in A Cinderella Story (2004), and even watched Paris Hilton die a violent on-screen death in House of Wax (2005).
Chad Michael Murray
Murray attended Clarence High School in Clarence, New York. He became a fan of literature and played football. As a teenager, he worked at the Dipson Theatres in Eastern Hills Mall.
Early Career
In 2000, Murray guest-starred as Dan on the MTV drama anthology series Undressed. Later that year, Murray was cast in the role of rich kid Tristin DuGray on The WB television series Gilmore Girls as a recurring character in the first season which debuted on October 5 and in an episode of the second season the next year. The series became a hit and Murray would go onto become a staple actor on the network for the rest of the decade.
In 2001, he was cast in a television pilot for The WB, the family drama Murphy's Dozen, which revolved around 12 children and their parents in an Irish American family in New Jersey. Murray portrayed the role of teenage David Alexander in Christian Apocalyptic fiction film Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 which released on September 7. Murray was cast in the role of womanizer Charlie Todd on The WB's hit television series Dawson's Creek as a recurring character in the fifth season which premiered on October 10.
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Breakthrough Roles
In 2003, Murray began the year appearing in the family drama television film A Long Way Home, also known as Aftermath, playing the role of Sean in a family trying to reconcile following domestic sexual abuse. He next played the lead role of Luke Hartman on The WB's western television film The Lone Ranger which aired on February 26 and served as a backdoor pilot for a potential series run. Murray was cast in the role of love-interest Jake in the Walt Disney Pictures comedy film Freaky Friday, starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, which released in theaters on August 6. Later that year, he was cast in the lead role of Lucas Scott on The WB series One Tree Hill which debuted on September 23, 2003.
In 2004, Murray starred as Austin Ames in the romantic comedy film A Cinderella Story alongside Hilary Duff which released in July 16. He is the first person to win their awards for Breakout Actor in both the TV and Movie categories in the same year. He next co-starred as Nick Jones in the horror film House of Wax which released theatrically on May 6, 2005.
Murray was listed at #12 on AOL Television's list of "TV's 50 Hottest Hunks Ever" on November 4, 2008. In May 2009, it was reported that Murray would not be returning to One Tree Hill for its seventh season.
Alicia Keys - Un-thinkable (I'm Ready)
Collaboration with Alicia Keys
In 2010, Murray played the love-interest of Alicia Keys in her music video for "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" which premiered on BET's 106 & Park on May 12. "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" is a song by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys from her fourth studio album The Element of Freedom (2009), that features uncredited background vocals from Canadian rapper Drake, although he is credited on the official remix of the song. It was initially scheduled to be the fifth single, but it was released as the fourth single.
Alicia Keys
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The video depicts the burgeoning romance of a young interracial couple reimagined across different eras, from the 1950s through the 2000s. It won Outstanding Music Video at the 42nd NAACP Image Awards in March 2011.
The video tackles issues of interracial dating and as Keys told Rap Up magazine, "The promo clip will highlight the past and present stigmas surrounding the subject." One of the scenes depicts a blood-stained Murray fighting a group of men.
Reception of "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)"
Mariel Concepcion from Billboard magazine called the song the album's "standout track". Allison Stewart from The Washington Post said that Drake's appearance on the song is pointless, "filling some sort of unspoken requirement that every female R&B album contain an appearance by at least one cool-but-unthreatening hip-hop star." Molly Lambert of Pitchfork ranked the song as the 64th best song of the year.
Chart Performance
It was her first single to reach number one on the R&B chart in the United States since 2007's "Like You'll Never See Me Again". "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" spent twelve consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs, becoming the longest-running number-one single of 2010. On June 3, "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" topped the Adult R&B chart, giving Keys her ninth leader on this chart and extended her lead ahead of Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Brian McKnight and Luther Vandross, all of whom rank in second place with six chart leaders each. The single also reached number twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100.
The single was also broke another R&B chart record, this time on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart.
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Here's a summary of the song's chart performance:
| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | 21 |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 1 (12 weeks) |
| Adult R&B Songs | 1 |
The video made its world premiere on May 12, 2010, on Vevo and on BET's 106 & Park. The video features Keys in different decades, from the 1950s to the present.
Later Career Highlights
On August 29, 2011, The CW announced that Murray would return for a guest appearance as Lucas Scott in the final season of One Tree Hill. In 2013, Murray played the role of Officer Ingram in the biographical drama film Fruitvale Station, which chronicles the last day of Oscar Grant, portrayed by Michael B. Jordan, who was shot and killed by a BART Police officer in Oakland, California. On October 9, 2013, it was reported that Murray was cast to join action-thriller series Chosen on Crackle. Murray next co-starred in the apocalyptic thriller film Left Behind, playing the role of Cameron "Buck" Williams, alongside Nicolas Cage and Jordin Sparks.
In 2018, he played the male lead Brett Beauchamps in the drama television film The Beach House, alongside Minka Kelly and Andie MacDowell, which premiered on the Hallmark Channel on April 28.
In 2021, he starred as Joel Sheehan in the film Colors of Love which received a limited theatrical release on February 4, before premiering on GAC Family on October 23 under the title An Autumn Romance as its first original movie. He starred as Brody Bradshaw in the television film Sand Dollar Cove which premiered on the Hallmark Channel on June 26.
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