Chad Michael Murray, who won hearts as unrecognized basketball star Lucas Scott in the teen series OneTreeHillhas made a heartbreaking confession about an experience he had during the first days of filming.

Murray was just 21 years old when he took on the life-changing role that made him and the rest of the main cast famous.

He made a name for himself when he entered into a five-month marriage to his co-star Sophia Bush, which apparently ended ingloriously.

The two then had to work side by side on the OneTreeHill for several more years – which, as we can imagine, was quite unpleasant even under the best of conditions.

In a profile piece for The Cut, Murray talked about how difficult it was to navigate his life, which changed virtually overnight and made him a megastar.

Chad Michael Murray reflected on the early days of One Tree Hill. (Presley Ann/Getty Images for Netflix)

He said he was “far more fragile” than people believed.

The actor added: “Everyone starts saying ‘yes’ to you.”

“But I was walking around with a really sore heart.”

He recalls that his fear has profoundly affected his life and admits that he suffers from agoraphobia, which first appeared when the success of OneTreeHill was at its peak.

Murray said: “I was about 23 and had an event in Miami but couldn’t leave my hotel room. It felt like the world was falling apart for me; I was having panic attacks.”

Explaining how he began to deal with feelings of being lost in life, he said the changes began at the age of 25.

Murray and his co-stars from “One Tree Hill.” (Theo Wargo/WireImage)

Murray continued, “I woke up feeling uncomfortable. I didn’t like the direction my life was taking. I went to church and got a cross tattooed on my left wrist and thought, I’m going to continue on my path of faith.”

Although he is now 42 years old, Murray still looks back to the time at the beginning of his career when he was the object of desire for many teenage girls.

He added: “You may not know it, but you see me on “Gilmore Girls” has a lasting effect. It leaves a little notch in your heart and actually shapes who you are quite slightly. Even when we’re old and I have crazy gray hair and everything else, we’ll still have that connection.”

Murray’s latest film is Mother of the bridea 2024 comedy starring Brooke Shields and Miranda Cosgrove.

Mother of the bride is available to stream on Netflix.