Chad Michael Murray portrays Lucas Scott. At the beginning, Lucas and Nathan start out as enemies but bond as friends and as brothers as the show progresses. Lucas's best friend is Haley and he has been a romantic interest for Peyton Sawyer and Brooke Davis at the same time. Lucas has a serious heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) which he conceals for a long time. Aside from basketball, his greatest passion is literature and quotes from the books he reads are used on the show. In Season 5, he is a successful writer and head coach of the Ravens basketball team.
He was in a relationship with his editor, Lindsey Strauss but conflicted by his feelings for former love Peyton. This ultimately leads to Lindsey leaving him at the altar. In the Season 5 finale, he asks either Brooke, Peyton or Lindsey to marry him.
At the beginning of Season 6, it is revealed to be Peyton. The two fly to Las Vegas to get married, but feel that it is not romantic enough. They decide to fly home to Tree Hill, and have the wedding there. Lucas then receives an offer to turn his book An Unkindness of Ravens into a movie. He and Julian, an ex-boyfriend of Peyton, become partners as far as movie-making decisions go. The film is later canceled, and Julian moves back to Los Angeles.
Peyton discovers that she is pregnant with Lucas's baby, and they begin expecting their first child together. It is revealed that Peyton has a condition called placenta previa, which means that her and the baby could both die in delivery. Lucas and Peyton later marry and have their reception at Tric. In the season finale, Peyton gives birth to their baby daughter Sawyer Brooke Scott. Lucas then takes a road trip with his new wife Peyton and daughter Sawyer, driving off into the sunset. Season 6 was Chad Michael Murray's last season as Lucas Scott.
James Lafferty portrays Nathan Scott, the son that Dan did claim, although his relationships with both his parents are strained at the best of times. Nathan marries Haley in Season 1, and renews his vows with her in Season 3, and becomes a father to James Lucas "Jamie" Scott in Season 4. In Season 1, he and Lucas start out as enemies, but bond as friends and brothers as the show progresses. Nathan is the star player of the Ravens and is named "Most Valuable Player" in Season 4. Also, in Season 4, he is investigated for shaving points. He loses his basketball scholarship to Duke University due to his admission of point-shaving in two games. Basketball has always been his greatest passion and he sees it as his "way out".
In Season 5, a fight leaves Nathan near-paralyzed and his dreams shattered, though he later regains the use of his legs and slowly starts to make a comeback in basketball. Nathan starts playing "slam ball" but after being attacked by a rival, Jamie asks him to stop, fearing that Nathan would end up hurt again. He gets approval from Haley and Jamie to join a semi-pro team known as the Charleston Chiefs. He briefly competes with the team's lead point guard, a cocky player who thinks Nathan's playing is "outdated". After this player leaves, Nathan continues on the team without much incident. Later, he and Haley contemplate moving. He is eventually selected to play for the Charlotte Bobcats. In Season 7, Nathan is accused of being the father of an unborn child but later it is discovered that it was all a scam. After the accusations Nathan and Haley focus mainly only Jamie making him their biggest priority.
Hilarie Burton portrays Peyton Sawyer, in Season 6 referred to as Peyton Sawyer Scott, whose two greatest passions in life are music and art; she uses her art to express the issues that play out in her life. Brooke Davis is her best friend, and she is also close friends with Haley. In Season 1, Peyton is a cheerleader and dates Nathan Scott, the biggest basketball star in Tree Hill High. In Season 3, she discovers that she is adopted and meets her birth mother, Ellie, who later dies from cancer. In Season 4, she meets who she thinks is her half-brother Derek. His suspicious behavior tips off both Peyton and Lucas to seek the truth, but not before "Derek's" obsession with Peyton leads him to break into her house and attempt to harm her. She is saved by Lucas and the real Derek.
In Season 5, a lonely Peyton is working for a record company in LA. In a flashback, it is revealed that while in LA, Lucas asked Peyton to marry him, but she was not ready for marriage. She and Brooke decide to return to Tree Hill, where she starts her own record label, Red Bedroom Records, and battles her feelings for Lucas, who is engaged to Lindsey. Lindsey later leaves him at the altar because she believes that Lucas is still in love with Peyton. In the Season 5 finale, Lucas asks her to Las Vegas to get married. Season 6 details that once there, they feel that it is not romantic enough. They decide to fly home to Tree Hill, and have the wedding there. Peyton has a health scare after collapsing in her office. She discovers she is pregnant with Lucas's baby, and they are now expecting their first child. As Peyton is preparing for their wedding, she feels Lucas should be more involved. Since Lucas is so caught up with making his film, Peyton feels alone. She begins to prepare their house for the baby but without Lucas's help she feels hopeless. She and Lucas later get married. Peyton gives birth to her and Lucas's daughter, Sawyer Brooke Scott. Peyton then takes a road trip with her new husband Lucas and daughter Sawyer, as they drive off into the sunset. Season 6 was Hilarie Burton's last season as Peyton Sawyer.
Bethany Joy Galeotti (formerly Bethany Joy Lenz) portrays Haley James Scott, the quintessential girl-next-door who is best friends with Lucas Scott, wife of Nathan Scott, and mother to James Lucas Scott. Haley grew up with a large family but often spent her time by Lucas and Karen because she felt they needed her more in their lives. Working as a waitress at Karens Café and more importantly as a tutor at Tree Hill High, has presented Haley with great opportunities as well as obstacles. Her life is thrown for a loop when Lucas's half brother Nathan Scott asks her to tutor him. Risking her relationship with Lucas, Haley agrees but on the condition that her best friend is no longer tormented by Nathan and his friends. This moment changes the Scott family dynamic forever and allows a romance between Nathan and her to flourish.
By the end of Season 1, she and Nathan marry, and, due to their estrangement in Season 2, they renew their vows by the end of Season 3. In Season 2, she is presented with a one-in-a-life-time opportunity to make music with the help of Chris Keller, an arrogant musician who attempts to seduce her. Blinding by her passion for music she follow Keller on tour, leaving Nathan behind. However, her unexpected return in Season 3 forces Nathan and Haley to work through their differences. In an attempt to get closer to her estranged husband, she becomes a Ravens cheerleader for the basketball team. After various trials and tribulations her and Nathan reunite and face an unplanned pregnancy. In Season 4, Haley tragically gets hit by a car driven by a loan shark named Dante, whom Nathan goes to for help.
Despite earlier complications with her pregnancy, Haley and her unborn baby both survive the accident. By the end of Season 4, she gives birth to James Lucas Scott. In Season 5, as well as balancing the roles of wife and mother, Haley is an English teacher at Tree Hill High and plans a musical comeback. She tries to help a difficult student, Quentin Fields, who forges a tight bond with her husband and son. In an unexpected turn of events, Quentin is show causing a ripple effect in her relationship with her family. In an effort to support Nathan's comeback to the NBA, Haley also struggles to soothe Jamie's grief over the death of Quentin. Consequently, Haley leaves her position as a teacher at Tree Hill High as she finds the new principal is against her decision to publish a graphic article in the school's newspaper. When the opportunity to stay is presented Haley refuses to comprise her principles and ultimately leaves her teaching job. By season seven, Haley decides to focus her energies on being the manager of Red Bedroom Records and recording her new album. Haley's attempt to juggle motherhood, a career, and a famous husband are inevitably complicated when her free-spirited sister Quinn returns with a surprising revelation. However, Jamie remains the brightest spot in Nathan and Haley's lives as they refuse to let him get lost in the shadows of their successful careers.
Sophia Bush portrays Brooke Davis. In high school, Brooke is the beautiful captain of the cheerleading squad and is Peyton's best friend but is also very close with Haley. She is girlfriend to Lucas twice, but their relationship does not work out either time. In Season 1, Brooke is a popular girl and captain of the cheerleader squad. Though her life seems perfect, she is in pain dealing with her distant parents, her friend's inability to take her seriously, and the betrayal of her boyfriend and her best friend. In Season 2, Brooke starts becoming more independent and the girl next door. She runs and wins the high school president title, and stops her partying ways. She leaves Tree Hill in the season finale to go to California. In Season 3, Brooke comes back to finish her senior year. She creates a clothing line, "Clothes Over Bros".
In Season 4, she isolates herself from Lucas and Peyton after their second betrayal (a kiss they shared) and tries to realize what kind of person she is on her own, as well as what she wants to do with her life after high school. Brooke reconnects with Peyton mid-season, as well as with Lucas near the end of high school. In Season 5,Clothes Over Bros is a household name, but despite Brooke's success, she is unhappy in her personal life, so she and Peyton return to Tree Hill where Brooke turns a now-closed Karen's Café into a Clothes Over Bros store. She then reveals her desire to have a baby and looks after Baby Angie, who is in the US for heart surgery. Brooke is devastated when the time comes for Angie to return to her home country. Brooke also deals with her mother's prominent force over her company and their terrible relationship. In Season 6, she is attacked and robbed at her store. She isolates herself again from her friends and claims she "fell down the stairs" to excuse her visible wounds. She then buys a gun and asks Deb to teach her how to use it. Eventually, she gives up her company to her mother, Victoria, and tells her she's no longer her daughter. Brooke then fosters a rebellious teenage girl named Sam.
She and Sam start off at odds but gradually develop a more mother-daughter type of relationship. It is furthered when Sam is kidnapped by Brooke's attacker. Brooke saves Sam and sends her attacker to jail. She helps with Lucas's film as a costume designer, though the film is later canceled. She soon starts a relationship with Julian Baker, the film's movie producer who also happens to be Peyton's ex. She and Julian break up when Brooke declines his invitation to join him in Los Angeles. She later learns that Sam is being sought out by her birth mother. Sam later moves in with her birth mother. After reconciling with her mother, Brooke flies to Los Angeles and tells Julian that she loves him. In Season 7, it is revealed Brooke was going to propose (writing, "Will you marry me?" into the sand of a beach) to Julian but was interrupted by his announcement that he was making a movie in New Zealand and would be gone for several months. However, Julian did not end up going and instead stayed for Brooke in Tree Hill.
Paul Johansson portrays Dan Scott, a once great basketball player, who is father to both Nathan and Lucas, although he never wanted anything to do with the latter. After his marriage to Deb crumbles and she and Nathan try to rid themselves of him, Dan's evil comes to the forefront. After Dan finds Deb sleeping with his brother, Keith, a war begins between the two brothers, culminating with Dan fatally shooting his brother in Season 3, believing that Keith had set his car dealership alight. After discovering that Deb was actually behind the fire, Dan tried to make amends by supporting Karen through her pregnancy and started to turn over a new leaf. However, after Lucas discovers he is Keith's murderer, he is placed in jail. Four years later, he is granted parole and tries to redeem himself to his family, because he is dying of HCM. In the season finale, he is knocked down by a car moments before his beeper goes off to inform him that he is ready for his heart transplant. It is revealed that in the new season Carrie (the crazy lady who was once Jamie's nanny) was the one who hit Dan in the car accident. She intends to use him to get Jamie. After she gets him she intends to kill Dan. Haley ends up saving Dan. A second heart is found for Dan; however, a dog eats it, making it not a transplant candidate. Dan has made rare appearances since his abduction until Season 7. At the end of Season 6, he is left waiting via beeper for when he can receive a heart transplant. In Season 7, it is revealed that he married Rachel Gatina, former high school student of Tree Hill High. Rachel is in the marriage for money, while Dan is in it for happiness. Rachel, is also the producer of his self-help talk show about redemption.
Barry Corbin portrays Coach Brian "Whitey" Durham, the Ravens coach for over 35 years, retiring in Season 4. He and Dan never saw eye-to-eye and often bickered over their differing opinions on the team.
Whitey often laments the death of his wife, Camilla, and the fact that he did not spend more time with her while she was alive. He retires after the Ravens finally win him the much-coveted NC State Championship title but later takes a coaching position in a college three hours away from Tree Hill, so that Nathan has the chance to play college basketball. Whitey makes an appearance in the Season 6 finale.
Craig Sheffer portrays Keith Scott, Dan's older, kinder, under-achieving brother. After Dan chose Deb over Karen, Keith helped Karen to raise Lucas (acting as a surrogate father to him) and fell in love with her; but they only get together in Season 3. He has a recurring drinking problem and an ongoing rivalry with his brother, which later involves him sleeping with Deb and Dan paying Jules to seduce Keith and then dump him to get back at Keith for this. When Dan mistakes him for the one who tried to kill him in the dealership fire, he shoots him after the siege at Tree Hill High, killing him instantly. Since his death, Karen has given birth to Keith's daughter, Lily Roe-Scott. Keith haunts Dan as a teen and as an adult ghost, but later forgives him for what he has done. He has guided his nephews (Lucas and Nathan) as a sort of Guardian angel throughout Season Four.
Moira Kelly portrays Karen Roe, Lucas' mother. Dan abandoned her after she became pregnant in high school and with a lot of help from Dan's brother (and in later years, Karen's lover and father of her second child) Keith, Karen raised Lucas alone.
Karen is devastated by Keith's death in Season 3. In Season 4, she gets close to Dan again before learning that he was the one who killed Keith. She gives birth to Keith's daughter, whom she names Lily Roe Scott. In Season 5, Karen is traveling the world with Lily and when she returns for Lucas' wedding, she is accompanied by Andy Hargrove. She also makes an appearance at the end of Season 6.
Barbara Alyn Woods portrays Deb Scott, Dan's neurotic ex-wife and Nathan's mother. Married to Dan for seventeen years, she eventually divorces him in Season 3, her hatred of him driving her to attempt to kill him at one point.
Deb battles a pill addiction in Season 2 and again in Season 4, but overcomes it for good the second time. In Season 5, she returns after an unexplained absence to be Jamie's nanny and begins a surprising and secretive sexual relationship with Skills.
Their relationship is later revealed, and in Season 6, Deb breaks up with Skills, telling him that he needs to get married and have kids, which she does not want to do again.
Lee Norris portrays Marvin "Mouth" McFadden, one of Lucas's oldest friends, originating from the River Court. His father is named Joey, and his grandad is named Mel. Mel has alzheimers and so cannot remember portions of his life, such as the 50 years he was married. Mouth goes to read to Mel every week and reveals to Peyton that his grandfather does not remember that he has a grandson and thinks that Mouth is actually Joey, his son. One night, Peyton and Mouth go to the nursing home Mel is living in and they take him to a go-karting track. At the end of the night, Peyton asks Mouth why he keeps visiting Mel if he doesn't remember Mouth, and Mouth replies,'Because I will.' He is somewhat unlucky in love, being the victim of Brooke's unrequited love in Season 2, being dumped by Erica when she becomes popular and falling for Rachel, only to get sidelined for the older Cooper. GiGi, his co-sports announcer, has also broken up with him after only seeing him for a few weeks and Shelly Simon runs out on him after he loses his virginity to her.
In Season 5, he has a fling with his boss, Alice, before finally settling down with Millicent. Mouth later becomes a sports commentator, having commentated at the Ravens' games throughout High School but quits his job in the season finale. In Season 6, he moves out of town with Millicent but she comes back to help Brooke and he follows her. He gets his job back and his intern ends up being Gigi, who seems to like him. Millicent later finds Gigi sleeping in Mouth's apartment, and Mouth defends himself by saying he was just doing her a favor. Millicent gets drunk and sleeps with Owen, and Mouth later finds out. After a while, the others noticed that he seemed sad, and urged him to get Millie back. He returns to New York and after a heartfelt apology, they are back together. However, they part ways again at the end of Season 7 as he discovers that Millicent has been hiding a drug problem from him.
Antwon Tanner portrays Antwon "Skills" Taylor, one of Lucas' oldest friends, originating from the River Court. He takes on a more prominent role in Season 4 when he fills Lucas's vacancy on the Ravens.
In Season 5, he becomes the assistant Head Coach of The Ravens basketball team and lives with Mouth, Junk and Fergie. He and his high school girlfriend Bevin Mirskey are no longer together, and Skills begins a sexual relationship with Deb after meeting each other online. They break up later on in the sixth season, mainly because Deb sees that Skills will be married and have children later in life, and Deb is done with it. Skills begins dating Jamie's teacher Lauren, later in the sixth season.
Danneel Harris portrays Rachel Gatina, who moves to Tree Hill in Season 3. After joining the cheerleading squad, she instantly clashes with Brooke as she pursues Lucas, although Brooke and Rachel later become friends. Rachel gets close to Mouth but sidelines him for Cooper, who dumps Rachel when he finds out she lied about her true age. After Nathan and Haley's wedding, Cooper and Rachel have an altercation in the limo which causes it to veer off the Molina Bridge and into the water. Nathan rescues Rachel and she develops a crush on him but backs off when she discovers that Haley is pregnant.
Rachel takes the fall for a calculus exam she stole with Brooke and, to protect her new friend, is expelled from Tree Hill High. In Season 5, Rachel is a former employee of Brooke's and a heroin addict who takes an overdose after being fired by her friend.
Brooke brings Rachel back to Tree Hill to help get her life back on track but Rachel leaves again, taking a load of Brooke's cash with her, after an encounter with Victoria. In the seventh season, Rachel returns to the screens as Dan Scott's new wife. It is revealed that Rachel was a stripper at a night club when she ran into Dan. After sleeping together, and looking at his self-help book, she comes up with the idea of a TV show. Rachel is the producer of this self help show about redemption with Dan the one giving out advice.
Jackson Brundage portrays Jamie Scott, Nathan and Haley's highly intelligent son. Jamie sees Nathan as a role-model. He is first introduced in the fourth season, and continues to act as a comic relief or a psych to other characters when they reveal their problems to him throughout the fifth, sixth and seventh seasons, where he is now age seven. In the fifth and sixth seasons, Nanny Carrie, his former nanny, has a special obsession for taking Haley's family. As revealed in the sixth season, Nanny Carrie lost her son, who was around Jamie's age. He is good friends with Quentin. After Quentin's death, he becomes best friends with his younger brother Andre. In Season 7, Jamie is good friends with Chuc a boy in his class and is Nathan and Haley's main priority
Lisa Goldstein portrays Millicent "Millie" Huxtable, Brooke's assistant for Clothes over Bros. She is involved in a romantic relationship with Marvin "Mouth" McFadden. In the Season 6 premiere, she moves to Omaha with him. She returns to Tree Hill during the fifth episode to work for Brooke in her new store. She reunites with Mouth only to enter a series of mishaps. Millicent discovers Gigi sleeping in Mouth's apartment. He assures her that nothing happened. She then discovers a half naked picture of Gigi in Mouth's phone, and she retaliates by getting drunk and sleeping with Owen. Mouth discovers this, but after a while and a few comments from others, Mouth returns to New York to win Millie back, with success. She then returns to Tree Hill and becomes the face of Clothes Over Bros, forcing her into the spotlight and the world of modeling. She starts to take weight loss pills and later becomes addicted to heroin. When Mouth finally discovers her secret, the two part ways with Millicent leaving to deal with her drug problems.
Austin Nichols portrays Julian Baker, Peyton's ex-boyfriend from L.A.. He initially comes to Tree Hill to win Peyton back. He offers to produce a movie, based on Lucas's first book. At first, Peyton does not reveal to Lucas that Julian is her ex-boyfriend, but she is forced to do when the plans of the movie takes form. Lucas beats up Julian, and hates him, but when the episodes of season six progresses, he and Lucas bond while talking plans over the movie. Brooke rebuffs his advances until Peyton gives her blessing because she sees that Brooke has serious interest in Julian. Brooke, However, is still unable to open her heart to anyone until Victoria convinces her to not go in the same way as her mother. Brooke and Victoria reconcile and Brooke flies to L.A. to say "I love you, too" back to Julian. Brooke's confession is successful, as Julian and Brooke's relationship is blossoming at the start of the seventh season.
Robert Buckley portrays Clayton "Clay" Evans, Nathan's sports agent. He's pretty reckless when it comes to love, however, it is revealed in "I and Love and You" that his true love was his late wife Sarah whom he met in college. As a young, married couple, Sarah was Clay's emotional rock, particularly as his career blossomed. Sarah collapsed and died suddenly, leaving Clay a widower. When Nathan's season ends, he has problems finding another team that will pick up Nathan to play for the team.
Shantel VanSanten portrays Quinn James, the older free spirited sister of Haley. She returns to Tree Hill for Jamie's seventh birthday. At first, it looks like she's staying for a few days. She reveals to Haley that she left David, her husband, commenting that she feels like she is sleeping next to a stranger.
Jana Kramer portrays Alex Dupre, an actress turned model who moved to Tree Hill to become the new face of Brooke's fashion line, Clothes Over Bros. After standing naked in front of Julian, Brooke fired her for being 'the high school Brooke'. She has also befriended Millicent, despite a bitter start. Jana Kramer was originally a guest star but has recently been promoted to series regular.
