Chad Michael Murray, known for One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, and Freakier Friday, had a near-death experience at 15. He said it set him on the path to acting. Hospitalized for months with twisted intestines and internal bleeding, Murray says the ordeal reshaped his life and career.
Here’s what we know about Chad Michael Murray’s hospitalization and recovery.
Chad Michael Murray reveals the surprising story of becoming an actor
Speaking on the Great Company with Jamie Laing podcast, Murray said doctors hospitalized him at 15 for twisted intestines that caused internal bleeding. “I was hospitalized for two and a half months. It was a lot. We had surgery. I had internal bleeding, I lost 50% of my blood. I was on my deathbed,” he said.
Murray said he was “in and out of consciousness” and remembered seeing his father and a priest at the end of his bed. He received a lifesaving blood transfusion from a nurse named Sandy.
Another nurse, Alana, encouraged him to pursue modeling, which later opened the door to acting. “I don’t want to model. I want to be an actor. Like, I love film and television,” Murray recalled telling her.
After regaining weight following his illness, Alana introduced him to a modeling agency that sponsored his trip to a convention in Orlando. There, Murray entered an acting competition, secured callbacks, and met Eddie Winkler, who invited him to Los Angeles. He later auditioned for agent Bonnie Likey, marking the start of his acting career.
The experience also strengthened his faith and relationship with his father, who was raising five children alone and visited the hospital daily. “He’d put dinner on the table, work with the kids on their homework, then come back to see me again,” Murray said.
Murray said he now works with a focus on family and faith. He credited early hardships for shaping his outlook and leading to roles in One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, and Freakier Friday, released August 8.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on ComingSoon.net.
