One Tree Hill’s Chad Michael Murray nearly died as a teenager. Not only did it give him a different perspective on life, it also pushed him into acting. During a recent interview, the actor spoke out about how his abs hid a life-threatening condition (this really happened) and how he nearly died.
Speaking in a Sirius XM interview on The Jess Cagle Show, Chad Michael Murray recounted a tale that began with being a teenager and having washboard abs. What problems! Really though, in this case, his abs were the actual problem. He says he was bleeding internally due to his intestines twisting, and the doctors couldn’t tell because his stomach didn’t expand given he had really “tight” abs.
It got to the point where a priest even visited and he saw his father cry. Given the seriousness of the situation, it was touch and go for a while and he was in and our of consciousness during the event. Chad Michael Murray ultimately recovered, but it was those hours he spent in bed watching TV that led him to his current profession. According to the actor,
The one thing that really saved me from that moment in life where I missed Christmas and I missed New Year’s was television and film. I think it was like Scooby-Doo or something at the time for me, or The Simpsons, but these movies and television would be on and I said, 'I want to do that man. I want to give people something to smile about. That's what I want to do. I want to entertain.’ So people can stop worrying about the mundane aspects of life. Maybe you're going through something tough, I want to pull you out of it for two hours. That’s why I became an actor.
Chad Michael Murray was 15 at the time of the accident and the actor landed his first role in an episode of the TV series Undressed a few years later in 2000. He then went on to land a breakthrough role as Tristin Dugray on Gilmore Girls that same year.
Roles on Dawson’s Creek and as a lead in One Tree Hill followed, although he left that series before it ended. Since then Chad Michael Murray has worked steadily, appearing in small roles in programs like Scream Queens and in bigger gigs like Agent Carter and Sun Records. In 2019, he booked a recurring gig as Edgar Evernever in Riverdale.
In The Jess Cagle Show interview, Chad Michael Murray also credits a nurse named Sandy for saving his life, also saying,
Her name was Sandy, I'll never forget her, we took her chocolates for years after until she moved hospitals. But she got four units of blood and saved my life that night, against the grain. She just did it. She locked the door, gave me four units of blood, and saved my life.
Ultimately, if it weren’t for Sandy, who knows if One Tree Hill would really have the same place in our hearts? She certainly kept Chad Michael Murray alive and gave him a new value and perspective on his life, on food, and what he wanted to do with his career. The actor now says his entire worldview is about “putting out good love and energy in the world through my family, God and my work.”
Catch the actor next in the TV movie Write Before Christmas, which is expected to air on Hallmark on November 17 as part of the network's giant Christmas lineup this year.
