James Lafferty Reveals He Experienced a 'Wake-Up Call' After 'One Tree Hill'

James Lafferty starred on One Tree Hill from 2003 to 2012 but still struggled to land jobs afterward — exclusive interview

After portraying Nathan Scott on The CW’s One Tree Hill for nine seasons (appearing in 182 of the series’ 187 episodes), James Lafferty thought it’d be simple to land another role on TV. He quickly learned that he was wrong — one of the many things he based his character on in his new comedy Everyone Is Doing Great.

The Hulu comedy, which Lafferty, 35, wrote and costars in with Stephen Colletti, follows the life of a group of actors in Los Angeles who attempt to find their paths five years after starring on an incredibly successful TV series.

James Lafferty Reveals the Wake-Up Call He Had After One Tree Hill Ended — James Lafferty Alberto Terenghi/IPA/Shutterstock

“I can relate to where [my character] Jeremy is in our show from my own experience, just coming off of One Tree Hill and just being so young on that show, and I guess, naive. I thought that when that show ended, things would be pretty easy for me, that it would be easy to work again in television. Coming out of One Tree Hill, I think it was a real reality check. It was a real wake-up call as to how incredibly competitive it is out there,” Lafferty told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting Everyone Is Doing Great. “I probably should have been doing a lot more work earlier in my career while I was doing One Tree Hill [in Wilmington, North Carolina] to build a foundation for myself back in Los Angeles.”

The Right Stuff star added, “I just remember being sort of slapped in the face with that for a few years there and realizing that this is going to be much tougher than I ever gave it credit.”

Others in the Everyone Is Doing Great cast can relate as well. Colletti, 34, joined One Tree Hill in season 4 and appeared in 58 episodes. After the show wrapped, he overheard a casting director say refer to him as a “One Tree Hill whore” before he entered the room.

James Lafferty Stephen Colletti on Everyone Is Doing Great — James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti on Everyone Is Doing Great Endeavor Content

Alexandra Park, who plays Jeremy’s wife in the show, also detailed what she went through after playing the leading role of Princess Eleanor on E!’s The Royals from 2014 to 2018.

“I really struggled in Australia before I moved over here. The industry there is very cliquey, and I found it really hard,” the Home and Away alum, 31, explained. “Then coming over here and then having the wonderful experience I did on The Royals with consistent work and then coming off and again, thinking that things would be easier, but they were not. It was quite the opposite. … It really is a mystery every single time you have an audition, like, sometimes it’s great! You’ll go in and it’s one of those experiences where there’s hardly anyone in the waiting room and everyone’s really friendly. Then you’ll go in and you’re told it’s a call-back and you’re really being considered for this role and then whoever’s in the room with you is texting the whole time.”

The Australia native added that sometimes, “You walk out, burst into tears and [think] it’s all over. Then you pull yourself back up!”

Season 1 of Everyone Is Doing Great debuts on Hulu Wednesday, January 13.

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This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Emily Longeretta