She Appeared in One Episode of “One Tree Hill”. Then She Ran into Chad Michael Murray 18 Years Later (Exclusive)
She Appeared in One Episode of “One Tree Hill”. Then She Ran into Chad Michael Murray 18 Years Later (Exclusive)
Victoria Edel, Sara BelcherFri, May 22, 2026 at 3:16 PM UTC
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Chad Michael Murray and Rachel Sullivan in 2026 (left) and 2008 (right)
Credit: Rachel Sullivan/TikTok
Chad Michael Murray had a sweet reunion with his former One Tree Hillcostar — kind of.
On May 18, content creator Rachael Sullivan posted a video of herself and Murray, 44, to TikTok. Over the footage, she wrote, “POV: 18 years later me and my costar recreated my first acting gig on One Tree Hill.” The pair posed together, with Murray’s arm around her, then cut to a photo of them together from 18 years earlier. In that photo, Sullivan, now 33, posed with Murray on set of the TV series.
Sullivan wrote in the caption, “What a fun reunion this weekend.”
Speaking with PEOPLE, Sullivan says she was just 15 when she was cast to appear in the season 6 premiere, a moment she says made her feel "so cool" as she held onto "the secret of the summer."
"When [the episode] aired, you could see the back of my head standing next to him. I thought it was my claim to fame and there was no telling me otherwise," Sullivan says. "Now recreating that photo is so funny to me — 15-year-old me saw the vision."
Sullivan, now an influencer with 2.4 million followers on TikTok, says she was invited to Beaches Resort for the grand opening of their new Treasure Beach Village in Turks and Caicos, which is where she and Murray ran into each other.
"The universe handed me a full circle moment, and Chad treated the bit like a legit reunion haha, iconic hand in pocket and all," she says.
When she was a teenager, Sullivan says she wanted to be a producer or director in Hollywood "so bad."
"Which is kinda funny now, seeing my job is to edit and direct my own TikTok for millions of people to see," she says.
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Though her stint on One Tree Hill was brief, it wasn't Sullivan's only moment in front of a camera. She shares that she also filmed a pilot for a show that unfortunately was never picked up.
"I really thought that was gonna be my breakthrough role, but it never got picked up," she says. "Maybe this weekend was a sign to revisit my acting era again."
From left: James Lafferty, Bethany Joy Lenz, Chad Michael Murray, Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush in 'One Tree Hill'
Credit: The WB/Nigel Perry
Murray played Lucas Scott in the series, a high school basketball player who was raised by a single mom after his father left them. Nathan Scott, played by James Lafferty, was Lucas’ half-brother and rival (who eventually turned into his best friend).
One Tree Hill also starred Hilarie Burton as Peyton Sawyer, Bethany Joy Lenz as Haley James and Sophia Bush as Brooke Davis. Paul Johansson played Lucas and Nathan’s father, Dan Scott.
The series debuted in 2003 and ran for nine seasons, airing its finale in 2012.
Murray and Lafferty, 40, reunited in 2025 for PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive issue and reflected on how even though they were competitors on-screen, off-screen they always had a strong bond.
“The only times I couldn’t stop laughing were when I was shooting scenes with him,” Lafferty said. “It was only good times,” Murray added. “Really, really good times.”
Murray also admitted which of them was actually better at basketball: Lafferty. "During auditions, I had to play one-on-one and failed miserably. I immediately got a basketball coach for the summer," he said.
Lafferty had actually played basketball in high school, but praised Murray for all the effort he put in to getting better. "Even though Chad didn’t love basketball, he loved the show and wanted it to be as good as it could be. And it showed from how quickly he learned," he said.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
