Who Is ‘One Tree Hill’ James Lafferty, Is He Married?

Quick Facts

The CW hit series One Tree Hill was a favorite of millions and while it has long ended, the stars it gave us remain dear to our hearts. One of them is James Lafferty who played the role of Nathan Scott, the half-brother of Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) and rebellious son of Dan Scott who shined at Tree Hill high as a jockey, albeit a cocky one.

As the story progressed we saw Nathan become humbled after falling in love with the good girl and songbird Haley James (Bethany Joy Lenz) whom he later married. Though we could never get tired of One Tree Hill, here is James Laferty’s real story.

James Lafferty’s Early Life and Career Growth

Jamie was born as James Martin Lafferty on the 25th of July 1985 as the son of Angelica and Jeffrey Lafferty. His dad operated a local construction company which was the primary source of his livelihood in providing for James and his kid brother Stuart Lafferty.

Both James and his brother attended Hemet High School where they both actively played for the varsity basketball team, the Bulldogs. Considering that he won an MVP in high school and how good his character on OTH was with the Spalding ball, one would wonder why Lafferty didn’t go-ahead to go pro. Well, destiny had other plans up her sleeves for him.

As kids, James’ mother encouraged him and his younger brother to take up acting as a hobby. James began acting from the age of 6 mostly making non-speaking appearances before he got his first speaking role at the age of 10. It was in the made-for-TV film Annabelle’s Wish. James had a role in the 2000 pilot of Emeril, however, the show was only short-lived.

Juggling his senior year and acting, James went on to appear in shows like Boston Public, Once and Again, First Monday, Get Real and the 2002 TV film, A Season on the Brink. James’ basketball skills definitely came in handy for the latter. The film which was ESPN’s debut TV film was adapted from a John Feinstein book of the same name. It focused on the turbulent 1985–86 season of Indiana University’s men’s basketball team as coached by the controversial Bobby Knight.

James Lafferty graduated from high school in 2003 and proceeded to California State University, Long Beach. However, his college education was only shortlived as he was called up for the role of Nathan Scott in OTH. Lafferty had originally auditioned to play Lucas Scott but the directors didn’t see much of what they wanted for Lucas in him. James left his education and relocated to Wilmington, North Carolina where filming was done.

Fortunately, OTH received rave reviews and lots of viewers making the show Lafferty’s breakthrough role. He was complimented for his ability to adapt to the character’s change on the show. OTH went on to air for 9 solid seasons, ending in 2012. His Nathan Scott role earned him 4 Teen Choice Award nominations.

James was quite inactive during his breaks from OTH scoring only a couple of other gigs. After the curtains came down on OTH, Lafferty had recurring roles in Crisis (2014) and Underground (2016). He also became more active in film, appearing as the lead in the indie film Waffle Street (2015), as well as 2017’s Small Town Crime.

In addition to acting, James Lafferty is also a director and producer. He directed 4 episodes of OTH. He has also made his own films including the short film Hours Before and the TV film, Everyone is Doing Great (2015). Lafferty has directed few episodes in the TV series The Royals which is E!’s first scripted TV show.

Is the ‘One Tree Hill’ Star Married or Dating Someone?

As common with stars of long-running shows, James Lafferty has been in relationships with a couple of his co-stars. First was Sophia Bush (Brooke Davis) whom he dated briefly in 2008/2009 much to the delight of OTH fans who followed the relationship closely.

After things ended between him and Bush, James dated Shantel VanSanten, you’ll remember her as Haley’s sister (Quinn James) on the show. Their relationship, like the first, was also short-lived lasting from 2009 to 2010.

Next up in James’ life was Irish actress Eve Hewson whom he began dating in 2010. Eve is the daughter of one of the world’s rock greatest, Bono. James’ romance with her was notoriously private with only little details available to the media.

Their relationship came to an end in 2015 after about 4-5 years. Since then, things have been quiet from James romantically speaking. And to answer the question about his marital status, James Lafferty has never been married, at least not at the time of this writing.

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