Chad Michael Murray was ready to quit acting after leaving 'One Tree Hill'
The 43-year-old actor became a household name playing Lucas Scott in the teen drama series ' - in which he starred from 2003-2009 before returning for a guest role in the ninth and final series in 2012 - but he was "one hundred percent" tempted to leave his profession after his stint ended because he was struggling with the idea of making mistakes in the spotlight.
He told Interview magazine: “There was a moment where I was quitting. I was done. I just couldn’t do it anymore. It was right after I left One Tree Hill, and it wasn’t because of the fandom.
“It was because, when you’re 18 to 25, these formidable years where you’re really cutting your teeth on life experiences and your brain isn’t fully developed, you make mistakes. I mean, gosh, we still screw up when we’re grown-ups.
"But I think it’s hard for me to see past those moments when you’re not adult enough to understand the scenarios that you’re in.
“That was hard for me because there are so many eyeballs on you. And you go to the grocery store and someone points at you, ‘Oh, that’s the guy that’s on the tabloid, or that’s the guy that did this.’
"Even if they’re not talking about that, sometimes your head goes to a negative place, and I know mine really did. And so I just made a big pivot at that point in my life and said, ‘You know what? This is not what I want."
The 'Merry Gentlemen' actor - who has three children with wife Sarah Roemer - also recalled being horrified after a "super big fan" asked her to sign her breasts when he was out in a bar, only to return hours later having had his autograph added to her body permanently with a tattoo.
He said: "I remember we’d just finished shooting 'Tree Hill' and Craig Sheffer and I had gone down to a place called Hell’s Kitchen and we’re having a drink at this bar. This girl comes up - she was a super big fan. She came over, and she pulled her chest out on the bar, and said, “Could you sign these?”
"And via peer pressure from Craig who was like, 'You got to do that', she handed me a Sharpie, and I was like, 'Okay'.
"It was terrible. I’m talking like, the worst autograph you could ever autograph.
"Anyway, I’m like, 'Okay, all right, great, done. Thank you so much.'
"Then two, two-and-a-half hours later, she comes back and she now has the autographed tattooed right there.
"That was one of those moments where I said, 'I don’t ever want to write on any skin ever again, because that’s on her body forever'. And I was like, 'Oh, gosh. Now some boyfriend’s going to come beat me up 20 years down the road like, "Dude, your name’s right on my..." ' "
