Lucas Scott

Lucas Eugene Scott is a fictional character and the main protagonist from The WB/CW television series One Tree Hill created by Mark Schwahn and portrayed by Chad Michael Murray. Lucas is a talented basketball player and writer. He is rival to half-brother Nathan Scott and the relationship between the two has become one of the series’ cores, changing a lot and evolving to the point the two will become best friends and eventually begin considering each other true brothers. While striving for his dreams, he must balance his tumultuous relationships with his father, Dan Scott, and is initially the centre of a love triangle designed between him and best friends and female leads of the series Peyton Sawyer, whom he’s actually loved for years even before the series’ events, and Brooke Davis. In the end, Peyton turns out to be the one for him and his one true love, no matter what, while their relationship has become another of the show’s central themes. His best friend since childhood is the third female lead, Haley James. The character has been described as popular among teenagers and young adults, not only for his skill at basketball but for his romantic aspirations. Specifically regarding the character's impact on female viewers, Entertainment Weekly stated that his soulful eyes contributed to the show's success. Character development Casting Chad Michael Murray was the first person to be cast for One Tree Hill.<ref name="casting">{{cite video|title = Building a Winning Team: The Making of One Tree Hill|medium = Documentary|location = One Tree Hill: The Complete First Season|publisher=Warner Brothers Home Entertainment}}</ref> The producers were originally unsure as to who Murray would play. Series creator Mark Schwahn wanted him to play the character of Nathan Scott since Murray had played a bad guy several times before, and he felt it was only natural to give him this role. Murray, however, wanted to portray Lucas due to a connection he felt with the character. He felt that he could inhabit the character as the two share several similarities. Murray's mother left him when he was young, and Lucas was abandoned by his father. Murray's passion for the role led the producers to cast him as Lucas. Murray had turned down the lead role of Ryan Atwood in The O.C. to accept the role as Lucas Scott.