Chad Michael Murray ruled our TV screens in the early 2000s, delivering swoon-worthy heartthrobs and unforgettable storylines that defined an era. Now, after stepping back from Hollywood for family life, he’s back in the spotlight with Freakier Friday and season 3 of Sullivan’s Crossing.

Chad Michael Murray is one of those rare actors whose early work became a cultural time capsule. After years of teen dramas, rom-coms, and even horror flicks, he seemed to slip into the background, focusing instead on his personal life with wife Sarah Roemer and their three kids.

But as summer 2025 rolls in, dubbed the “summer of the remake” with The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Naked Gun, and Freakier Friday all hitting screens, Murray’s renaissance couldn’t be better timed.

Now 43, Murray is no longer playing the boy next door, sneaking glances at his crush in a high school hallway. Instead, he’s thriving in mature, complex roles that reflect his evolution. With Freakier Friday out now and Sullivan’s Crossing season 3 arriving on Netflix, fans are about to experience a double dose of Murray nostalgia and fresh storytelling.

So let’s look back at the roles that cemented his place in fandom history!

Tristan DuGrey – Gilmore Girls (2000–2001)

Before he was the star of One Tree Hill, Murray’s big break came in Gilmore Girls. Though he only appeared in 11 episodes, his character, Tristan, made a lasting impression. The cocky prep-school rival to Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), Tristan embodied the quintessential early-2000s “bad boy with a smirk.”

Despite Rory’s frustration with him, sparks of a forbidden attraction gave the character a surprising depth. While Tristan was eventually written out, the role helped Murray stand out in a crowded WB lineup — and opened the door for the career-defining opportunity that came next.

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Lucas Scott – One Tree Hill (2003–2009)

For many fans, Chad Michael Murray will always be Lucas Scott. Sensitive, soulful, and constantly torn between love and loyalty, Lucas embodied the golden age of CW teen dramas. From heated basketball rivalries to unforgettable romantic entanglements with Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton) and Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush), Lucas’s journey was equal parts angst and heart.

Murray played the role for six seasons before departing in 2009, but his presence still looms large over the series. The real-life drama, including his whirlwind marriage and divorce from co-star Sophia Bush, only added to his pop culture mystique. To this day, One Tree Hill marathons remain a go-to for fans craving a dose of early-aughts nostalgia, and Lucas Scott is at the center of it all.

Jake – Freaky Friday (2003)

Who could forget Jake? With his tousled hair, leather jacket, and acoustic guitar, Murray was every teen’s dream crush in the 2003 Disney hit Freaky Friday. Opposite Lindsay Lohan, he played the charming love interest caught in the chaos of a mother-daughter body swap between Lohan’s Anna and Jamie Lee Curtis’s Tess.

The film gave Murray one of his most recognizable movie roles and a cult-favorite moment when Jake swoons to Anna’s (really Tess’s) guitar solo. Now, 22 years later, Murray is reprising Jake in Freakier Friday, bringing his fan-favorite character full circle for a whole new generation.

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Austin Ames – A Cinderella Story (2004)

If Lucas Scott made Murray a household name, Austin Ames made him a teenage dream. Starring opposite Hilary Duff, Murray played the popular quarterback who secretly longs for something more than high school popularity. Their anonymous online chats, masked-ball reveal, and that unforgettable rain-soaked kiss cemented the movie as a staple of millennial rom-coms.

The film may have been a lighthearted teen romance, but it solidified Murray as the leading man of the early 2000s — the kind of actor who could make “Prince Charming” feel both timeless and relatable.

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Cal Jones – Sullivan’s Crossing (2023–Present)

Today, Murray has traded high school lockers for small-town landscapes. In Sullivan’s Crossing, he plays Cal Jones, a mysterious newcomer to Nova Scotia who becomes entangled with Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan) as she returns home to face her past. The role reunites him with Gilmore Girls alum Scott Patterson (Luke Danes), creating a full-circle moment for longtime fans.

Critics have praised Murray for his ability to bring warmth and gravitas to Cal, blending the emotional vulnerability of his earlier roles with a more grounded maturity. Season 3, dropping August 11 on Netflix, is already one of the summer’s most-anticipated TV returns.

Chad Michael Murray’s career has always been defined by reinvention — from prep school troublemaker to small-town basketball hero, from rom-com royalty to horror survivor, and now, a leading man of heartfelt dramas.

With Freakier Friday and Sullivan’s Crossing set to dominate August, Murray’s comeback is more than just nostalgia; it’s proof that he’s grown alongside his fans. The roles may have changed, but the connection remains the same: Chad Michael Murray will always have us rooting for him.

Photo Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic