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It’s been 17 years since season three of One Tree Hill aired and as the three leading actresses rewatch the series for their podcast Drama Queens, they are reminded how much their on-screen characters impacted their adult lives.
“This was really hard for me to watch,” said Bethany Joy Lenz after watching the episode “First Day on a Brand New Planet.” “I have been in this scenario in my real life, not exactly obviously, but there are enough similarities in different relationships that I’ve had where it's just, I have been in that feeling of ‘Can we fix it? Can it get fixed?’”
Lenz’s character “Haley” spends the episode wrestling with the fallout of her broken marriage with James Lafferty’s “Nathan.” While Lenz didn’t get married while in high school, she said she feels like she has always been the fixer in her relationships. After rewatching the episode, the actress said she is reliving the emotions of her character from the early 2000’s.
“I have a muscle memory of feeling those feelings,” Lenz said. “The feelings existed in my body and I’m having to relive them again as I am emphasizing with ‘Nathan’ and ‘Haley.’”
“What a lot of pressure for you, young actress Joy figuring out her life, to constantly have her life held up against the fictional fair tale of ‘Nathan’ and Haley,’” said Sophia Bush. “That’s a lot of pressure.”
Hilarie Burton Morgan, who played “Peyton," said it was weird seeing parts of herself in her character. Because the three women were so young when they were filming the show, Morgan believes One Tree Hill, along with her character, shaped who she is. For example, the actress recalled consciously trying to be different from her on-screen role, even if it went against her personality.
“I know for a fact that because 'Peyton' cried so much, I tried so hard to be so fun outside of work,” Morgan said. “That definitely factored into my dating choices. It's crazy how your job affects these personal choices”
Bush added that the combination of filming in a small town, being on television, being lied to at a young age, and portraying “Brooke” on-screen led her to having severe trust issues and only dating people she knew.
Listen to “Haley’s Journey,” to hear the full conversation between the three lead actresses of One Tree Hill. The trio are currently rewatching season three for their podcast Drama Queens. Tune in on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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