James Martin Lafferty (born July 25, 1985) is an American actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Nathan Scott on The WB/CW teen drama television series One Tree Hill (2003–2012).

James Lafferty
Lafferty in 2013
Born
James Martin Lafferty

(1985-07-25) July 25, 1985 (age 38)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
Years active1997–present
Spouse
(m. 2022)
RelativesStuart Lafferty (brother)

Early life edit

Lafferty was born in Hemet, California, to Angelica and Jeffrey Lafferty, who own a local construction company.[1] He has a younger brother, actor Stuart Lafferty.

Having worked as an uncredited extra on television shows including Beverly Hills, 90210[2] and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,[3] Lafferty received his first significant acting role in a school play when he was 10 years old. Lafferty attended Hemet High School (where he played on the school's basketball team) until 2003, after which he enrolled at California State University, Long Beach. At age 18, he moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, having been cast as Nathan Scott in One Tree Hill.

Career edit

In 1997, at age 12, Lafferty made his small-screen acting debut with a voice-over role in the made-for-television film Annabelle's Wish. Lafferty has since made guest appearances on television series' such as Once and Again, Get Real, and Boston Public. In 2002, Lafferty starred in the ESPN made-for-television film A Season on the Brink, an adaptation of the book of the same name by John Feinstein. The film centered on the 1985–86 season of Indiana University's college basketball team.

In 2003, Lafferty was cast in his breakout role of Nathan Scott on The WB/The CW teen drama series One Tree Hill. The series follows two estranged half-brothers, Nathan and Lucas Scott, who are put on the same basketball team, jeopardizing Nathan's position as the star player. In May 2011, The CW renewed the series for a ninth and final season, for which Lafferty chose to return on a recurring basis rather than in a full-time starring role.[4] Over the course of the later seasons, Lafferty directed four episodes. He received four Teen Choice Award nominations throughout his time on the series.

In February 2008, Lafferty was cast in the straight-to-DVD sequel to the cult film Donnie Darko.[5][6] Titled S. Darko, the film was released in May 2009, and received mostly negative reviews from critics.[7] In April 2011, Lafferty was confirmed to star alongside One Tree Hill castmate Stephen Colletti and brother Stuart Lafferty in a planned adventurous reality television series entitled Wild Life: A New Generation of Wild, for which he was an executive producer. A pilot episode was filmed, but the series failed to find a network.[8] In 2013, Lafferty was cast in the NBC crime thriller series Crisis, as Mr Nash. This was followed by landing the lead role of Jimmy Adams in the independent movie Waffle Street, alongside Danny Glover, and being cast in a recurring role during the first season of WGN America's slave drama Underground.[9] In August 2015, Lafferty directed an episode of the second season of E! drama series The Royals, and returned to direct a few more episodes during season three.[10] In 2018, James along with costar and friend Stephen Colletti started an indiegogo campaign for their show Everyone is Doing Great [11] The show was acquired by Hulu in 2020 [12]

Personal life edit

Lafferty currently resides in Los Angeles, California. For four years until 2015, he was in a relationship with Irish actress Eve Hewson.[13] He began dating Australian actress Alexandra Park in 2015 after meeting on the set of The Royals, when Lafferty directed several episodes. The couple became engaged on September 7, 2020. They got married on May 23, 2022, in Hawaii.[14]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Annabelle's Wish Buster Holder Voice
2003 Boys on the Run Joe Ferguson
2009 S. Darko Justin Sparrow
2011 The Legend of Hell's Gate: An American Conspiracy Eigson Howard
2013 Lost on Purpose Fever
2014 Oculus Michael Dumont
2015 Waffle Street Jimmy Adams
2017 Small Town Crime Tony Lama
2024 Red Right Hand Lazarus

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Get Real Billy Episode: "The Last Weekend"
2001 Emeril James Lagasse Episode: "Pilot"
2001 Boston Public Michael Scott Episode: "Chapter Eighteen"
2001–2002 Once and Again Tad 4 episodes
2002 Prep Jackson Unsold television pilot
2002 First Monday Andrew Episode: "Pilot"
2002 A Season on the Brink Steve Alford Television film
2003–2012 One Tree Hill Nathan Scott Main role
2012 One Tree Hill: Always & Forever Himself Behind the Scene Extras
2014 Crisis Mr. Nash Main role, 13 episodes
2016 Underground Kyle Risdin Recurring role, 6 episodes
2018 The Haunting of Hill House Ryan 4 Episodes
2020 The Right Stuff Scott Carpenter Main role
2021 Everyone Is Doing Great Jeremy Davis Main role
2022 All American Connor Murphy Episode: "Got Your Money"

Other works edit

Year Title Role Notes
2009–2012 One Tree Hill Director 4 episodes
2010 Hours Before Executive producer Short film
2015–2018 The Royals Director 5 episodes
2017 Everyone is Doing Great Director, executive producer, co-writer 8 Episodes
2022–2023 All American Director 2 episodes

Awards and nominations edit

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2004 Teen Choice Awards Choice Breakout TV Star – Male One Tree Hill Nominated
2005 Choice TV Chemistry (with Chad Michael Murray) Nominated
2010 Choice Scene Stealer – Male Nominated
Choice Parental Unit (with Bethany Joy Lenz) Nominated

References edit

  1. ^ Fine, Audrey (April 9, 2006). "Getting to know: James Lafferty". Seventeen.
  2. ^ "Instagram photo by James Lafferty • Dec 25, 2014 at 9:32pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  3. ^ "Instagram photo by James Lafferty • May 20, 2016 at 2:14am UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  4. ^ Masters, Megan (May 17, 2011). "Breaking: The CW Renews Nikita, One Tree Hill, Axes Hellcats". TVLine.
  5. ^ Hidek, Jeff (June 2, 2008). "James Lafferty cast in 'Donnie Darko' sequel". StarNewsOnline.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (May 9, 2008). "Donnie Darko sequel S. Darko starts shooting May 18". ScreenDaily.
  7. ^ "S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  8. ^ Mackenzie, Carina (April 27, 2011). "'One Tree Hill's James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti leave their comfort zone with 'Wild Life'". Zap2it.
  9. ^ "James Lafferty Heads to WGN America's 'Underground' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  10. ^ "Instagram photo by James Lafferty • Jun 23, 2016 at 4:59pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  11. ^ "One Tree Hill's James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti Reunite for a Show About Struggling Actors".
  12. ^ "Hulu Acquires James Lafferty & Stephen Colletti Comedy 'Everyone is Doing Great'; Releases Teaser Trailer". 15 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Is Eve Hewson married? The Luminaries star and Bono's daughter". Entertainmentdaily.co.uk. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  14. ^ Jackson, Dory (May 26, 2022). "'One Tree Hill''s James Lafferty Marries 'The Royals' Star Alexandra Park in Hawaii". People. Retrieved November 12, 2022.

External links edit