ONE TREE HILL’s James Lafferty on Nathan’s Mission, Leaving the Show and What’s Next

As season eight of ONE TREE HILL barrels toward its finale next month, a few things are up in the air. Like, you know, whether or not the show will come back in the fall.

But before we get there, we’ll see the kids of Tree Hill tying up a storyline or two. GIVE ME MY REMOTE spoke with James Lafferty about what’s going on with his character, Nathan, now that Haley’s given birth to their new baby.

Lafferty also shared his thoughts on whether he’ll return if ONE TREE HILL does get another season and what’s next for him…

So, what’s up with Nathan this week?
JAMES LAFFERTY: Nathan is going to switch gears a little bit, from being a proud new father to being somewhat of a detective, trying to figure out what role Professor Kellerman played in the car crash that happened a few episodes back. You know, Nathan sees a car that matches the description of the car that ran into Lauren on the bridge. So, he has to figure out what happened and, when he does find out, how to deal with it.

And how would you say he fares? Is he going to keep his cool and get things done?
JL: Well, we may see a little bit of “old Nathan” come out, we may see that temper. But Nathan has grown a lot and learned from his experiences in the past, so I’ll just say that you can definitely expect to get a reaction from him and from a few other characters as well. But as far as how far they’re going to go, I’ll let the viewers find out when they watch.

Can you say whether or not this storyline will be resolved this week? Or if it will extend into other episodes?
JL: Oh, I think it will be a bit ongoing. You see a little more of it past this particular episode.

Can you talk about what’s coming in the next few weeks as we move toward the finale?
JL: We’re definitely heading toward the end of season eight and nobody’s really sure whether it’s just the end of season eight or the end of the show. But I think the fans can expect to see some of the characters nearing their final destinations in terms of where they belong and where they’ll end up in the long run. And we’re doing that just in case season nine doesn’t happen. The fans have always been so dedicated to our show and they’ve always voiced their opinions in terms of what they want specifically for the characters and [series creator] Mark [Schwahn] has always been mindful of that. And I think, in this year’s finale, we’re especially mindful of the fact that the fans want to see the characters end up in certain places.

So Nathan and Haley will continue to be happy.
JL: Yeah. I think Nathan and Haley have been happy for awhile. I think the fans have gotten almost an entire season of that and I don’t see that changing.

Mark is good about shooting alternative endings though. When we spoke after last year’s season ender, he told me that he had a different version of the finale, which tied up loose ends, and that version would’ve aired had the show been canceled. I assume he’s doing the same thing this season.
JL: Yeah, you can always expect a curve ball from Mark, he’s always got a trick up his sleeve.

How would you feel about coming back for another season?
JL: Personally, coming back for another season is something that’s completely up in the air. I find it difficult to really seriously consider it when it’s so speculative at this point. So I try not to speculate, especially publicly, because it’s a decision that I have to make myself. And it’s tough to do when there are so many different variables at this point, including if the show is going to come back. It’s kind of tough to base the next year of your life on rumors and so on and so forth. You just have to cross that bridge when you come to it.

It has to be crazy, having been on ONE TREE HILL for such a large chunk of your life, to think that this could be it.
JL: Oh, it is. It’s definitely crazy. I’ve said before that I feel like I have grown up on this show. I’ve learned so much. I got my first directing job on this show and I’ve learned how to work behind the camera, as well as growing as an actor. So to look back and realize that I’ve been doing this, really, since I graduated from high school, is pretty uncanny. Feels a little bit like it was college [for me]. What comes after college is always a little bit frightening and nerve wracking but I maintain that I’m ready for it. I’m incredibly excited.

Do you have any tentative plans for what comes after ONE TREE HILL?
JL: Yeah, I’m developing a few things myself. Right now, in particular, I just finished a project — myself, [fellow OTH castmember] Stephen Colletti, my brother Stuart and our friend Ian Shive have produced sort of a travel documentary called WILD LIFE. Our premiere episode just went up [last week] and it’s had a really good response from the fans online, so we’re hoping to usher that project into a larger media outlet — possibly television. If you want to check it out, it’s on GenerationWild.tv, we’re all really proud of how it came together and hoping to do more of them.

What exactly is the premise?
JL: It focuses on places in America that are sort of right in your backyard. For instance, there are a lot of national parks that are really supported by the people that come, who purchase day passes or year passes, so they can experience all that these parks have to offer. And it came together better than I think any of us even thought it would. Not only did we have a great production team behind it but we really did have some experiences that we will remember for the rest of our lives and we were able to capture them. And watching our initial presentation, I think people will see that these are things that really anyone can experience. We were in Florida [for this first episode] which is maybe better known for Disney World and Miami Beach and its professional sports teams but there are things there in the natural world that don’t cost a lot of money or effort to see that you’ll carry with you forever.

And you and Stephen Colletti and your brother and friend appear in the show?
JL: Yes. All four of us appear on camera.

That’s cool that you and Stephen are working together outside of ONE TREE HILL. I’m sure you have other close friends from OTH, having been on the show for so long, but is Stephen someone you’re particularly close with?
JL: Yeah, a few of us definitely keep in touch when we’re done shooting, but Stephen has been a friend of mine since he started on the show and we’ve become really close and he’s really close with my brother as well. And we’ve gone on a couple snowboarding trips with some other friends and so this project just kind of made sense. We all wanted to get outdoors after a season of ONE TREE HILL. Having been inside on soundstages for 12 hours a day, we thought going to Florida and swimming with manatees might be kind of cool.

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Indeed.

ONE TREE HILL airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. on The CW and, of course, you can check out WILD LIFE here.

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