After eight seasons of hoop dreams and relationship drama one could hardly fault James Lafferty for wanting to hang up his sneakers. But just how serious is he about preparing to say goodbye to Nathan Scott, the character he has been playing since he was 17 years old? We recently caught up with the actor to find out just that, as well as have him reflect on ONE TREE HILLS’ remarkable longevity as we head towards what may-or-may-not be the hit CW show’s final act.
Did you ever imagine that eight years later you’d still be shooting ONE TREE HILL?
James Lafferty: Not really. I think it was kind of impossible to imagine that we would go eight seasons like that, especially having been on the bubble after pretty much every season where we never really knew our fate. That said, I think just to have that streak of being on the bubble for so many seasons, is just as unprecedented as actually going the eight seasons.
What was your mindset when it came to shooting the upcoming season finale, not knowing if it really was the end or not?
We’ve made the last episode of season eight with an eye on the fact that it could very well be the last episode of the show. So if season nine does come along it’s always welcome, but at the same time if this is actually the last episode we’ll be more grateful on looking back on everything we’ve accomplished than we would be disappointed in the fact that maybe we didn’t get to accomplish something. We’ve really covered all the basis and are so grateful with the eight seasons that we’ve gotten, everything else would kind of be a cherry on top.