Chad Michael Murray

On the basketball court in One Tree Hill (2003), Chad Michael Murray's brooding has a purpose. His Lucas Scott faces James Lafferty's Nathan, and their family connection makes losing harder to bear. We were surprised by how much we cared about the games, because the actors made defeat feel personally humiliating. Murray is effective here, with a physical contest to occupy him and hurt that does not need another conversation to explain it.

The early casting repeatedly made use of that mixture of adolescent resentment and vulnerability. One Tree Hill was his breakthrough lead; Freaky Friday (2003) put him on a motorcycle as Jake, its romantic interest. As Austin Ames opposite Hilary Duff in A Cinderella Story (2004), he had the charm for the more wholesome version of the teenage romantic lead. It was a recognisable line of work, though House of Wax (2005) also gave his physical presence a place in horror.

Later work included Officer Ingram in Fruitvale Station (2013) and television's Agent Carter (2015–16). But Freakier Friday (2025) returns him to Jake and makes the difficulty of revisiting an old heartthrob plain. Ganatra gives him, like the other returning supporting actors, a pause for recognition that brings the film to a halt. The welcome is kindly meant, but the scene has to offer something beyond the opportunity to recognise him. We felt impatient with those pauses; the film was waiting for applause rather than getting on with the story.

That is a limitation of the material rather than a reason to dismiss the actor. Nor does One Tree Hill escape criticism: its repeated family quarrels and almost complete lack of humour keep our recommendation firmly for soap devotees. Still, it gives Murray a rival in Lafferty and something immediate to lose, which is more useful than another fond reintroduction. Start there if teenage melodrama appeals; allow for rather more solemn conversation than the basketball requires.