Sophia Bush Shares Insight Into “Priceless” Friendship With One Tree Hill Costar Hilarie Burton

All Sophia Bush has to do is think of her friendship with Hilarie Burton and she has peace of mind.

The two One Tree Hill alums—who played BFFs Peyton Sawyer and Brooke Davis on the iconic teen drama—have been candid over the years about how their friendship translated off-screen as well.

And as Sophia recently explained, their synergy is rooted in their upbringings. 

“Hilarie grew up in a big family but doesn't have sisters and I grew up on my own,” Sophia told E! News at the July 10 Power of She event hosted by Athleta x ESPYS. “And in this very interesting way, we're two sides of the same coin and we're exactly the same person. We’re so different and we are so similar.”

As Sophia added of her friend, whose birthday is only seven days from her own, “She really is the closest thing in the world that I have to a sister. She's absolutely precious and priceless to me.”

In fact, for the 42-year-old, female friendship forms an irreplaceable part of her life.

“I have the most incredible group of women on speed dial and truly,” Sophia explained. “Whether we're trying to figure out how to work on policy to make our country more equitable, or we're trying to figure out how we can make it to a conference, or who's going to watch somebody's toddler because they've got work—they’re getting it all done all the time.”

She continued, “I know that I certainly would not be here if it was not for that group of humans who is my sisterhood and my home.”

But while Hilarie and Sophia’s friendship has more than withstood the test of time, with more than twenty years behind the pair since they first met, it hasn’t been without it’s trials.

Especially when they were cast as two of the three female leads in One Tree Hill at the age of 20.

“A lot of people wanted to pit us against each other," Hilarie said during a 2020 appearance on the Chicks in the Office podcast. "You know, 'It's like oh Hilarie won't do this but Sophia will.' And 'She's the pretty one.' And 'She's the this one.' There's so much comparison that, as a young person, it's hard to navigate.”

But while the Walking Dead alum admitted that she and Sophia at times had to “fight for our own friendship,” it’s all become water under the bridge. 

As she put it, “She and I now can look back at it and be like 'All those bastards. No. We're the love story.' So yeah, the female friendships were important on that show." 

And her warm feelings extend to the whole cast, which includes actors such as James Lafferty (Nathan Scott), Bethany Joy Lenz (Haley James) and Chad Michael Murray (Lucas Scott).

While Hillarie admitted she and the cast “have squabbles like families do, they’re few and far between,” adding, “I’d take a bullet for those kids. I love them.”

For more on where Hilarie, Sophia and the rest of the One Tree Hill cast is today, keep reading.

- Reporting by Amanda Champagne Meadows

Since the OTH finale in 2012, Lafferty has continued to work in both TV and film, appearing in shows like Crisis and Underground, and even directing episodes of E!'s The Royals, where he met star Alexandra Park. The two announced their engagement in September 2020 and tied the knot in May 2022.

Lafferty fellow One Tree Hill costar Stephen Colletti created and star in the 2021 Hulu comedy series Everyone Is Doing Great. 

Burton left One Tree Hill after the sixth season and went on to star in several TV movies and guest star in episodes of Castle, Grey's Anatomy, Hostages, Forever, and Lethal Weapon. She also had a recurring role on USA's White Collar. In 2009, Burton started dating The Walking Dead actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who also guest starred on Grey's Anatomy). They were marred in 2014 and have a son and a daughter. She is playing his character Negan's wife on The Walking Dead season 10.

Burton also appeared in quasi-One Tree Hill reunion TV movie The Christmas Contract in 2018. She remains friends with a few other OTH co-stars, and in 2018, they launched the Cape Fearless Challenge to support Wilmington, North Carolina, where the show was filmed, after it was affected by Hurricane Florence. 

After a turn on the short-lived comedy Partners, Bush joined NBC's One Chicago world as Erin Lindsay. She starred on Chicago P.D., but also made appearances on Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago Justice, and Law & Order: SVU. She left Chicago P.D. in 2017. Bush also voiced a character in The Incredibles 2. Then, in 2020, she starred in the series Love, Victor. 

In her personal life, Bush is happily in love with with girlfriened and soccer star Ashlyn Harris.

Murray has had a varied career since he left One Tree Hill after season six. He appeared in both A Madea Christmas and the acclaimed Fruitvale Station, and had roles in TV shows like Chosen, Texas Rising, and Sun Records. He played Chad Radwell's brother on Scream Queens, and starred in the beloved but short-lived Agent Carter on ABC. In 2018, he starred in the Hallmark movie Road to Christmas. In 2019, he appeared on Riverdale.

After a short marriage and divorce from costar Sophia Bush and a seven year engagement to Kenzie Dalton, Murray married his Chosen costar Sarah Roemer in 2015, and they have a son, born that year, and a daughter, born in 2017. They welcomed their third child, a baby girl, in August 2023.

Currently, the actress and musician is set to star in the Suits spinoff, Second City. But since One Tree Hill ended in 2012, she has also appeared in several TV movies, a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Colony, American Gothic, CSI, and Dexter. 

Lenz got a divorce from husband Michael Galeoti in 2012 and now lives in LA with her daughter, who was born in 2011. She has also signed on to the Cape Fearless Challenge in support of Wilmington, North Carolina. 

RIP-ish Dan Scott. Johanssson has continued working in the years since the show ended, appearing on Bones, Mad Men, Once Upon a Time, CSI, and Beauty and the Beast as well as several movies and TV movies. He currently can be seen on Syfy's Van Helsing, which returns for season three in October. 

After leaving the role of Mouth behind in 2012, Norris went on to reprise his other iconic role: Minkus from Boy Meets World. He appeared several times in Girl Meets World with his own rather similar teenage son. Norris also made an appearance in Gone Girl and was in two episodes of The Walking Dead in 2017.

Tanner will also be appearing in The Christmas Contract! His post-OTH roles include Get Shorty, Black Jesus, Rizzoli & Isles, The Carmichael Show, and Rosewood. He can also regularly be seen supporting and interacting with his former costars on Twitter. 

After his character was unceremoniously murdered by Dan in season three, Sheffer did appear in a few more episodes, but also went on to appear on Psych, Criminal Minds, CSI and Major Crimes. Just recently it was announced that Sheffer, who was already known as a soap opera star and movie star before he ever played Keith, will be starring in a horror movie called Widow's Point. 

Austin Nichols has done pretty well for himself since his last appearance on One Tree Hill in the finale. He played Spencer on The Walking Dead, and then played Sam on Bates Motel. He also had roles on Ray Donovan and The Mob Doctor, but we'll never forget his 2001 turn in the Olsen Twin classic, Holiday in the Sun. He's currently dedicating himself to saving ocean life. 

Formerly Danneel Harris before marrying Supernatural star Jensen Ackles, Ackles has appeared in a couple episodes of Supernatural, including the upcoming season 14 premiere. She's also due to appear in the OTH reunion movie, The Christmas Contract. 

Danneel left One Tree Hill in 2009 and was engaged to Jensen that same year. They were married in 2010, and now have three children, including twins who were born in 2016.

Woods hasn't acted a ton since the end of One Tree Hill, though she did appear in two episodes of The Goldbergs, playing the mother of her real-life daughter, Natalie Alyn Lind. In fact, all three of Woods' daughters are actresses. Emily Alyn Lind played young Emily on Revenge, and Alyvia Alyn Lind has been on The Young and the Restless since 2011, and played a young Dolly Parton in two TV movies. 

Since One Tree Hill, Lucas' mom hasn't done a ton of work. She appeared in several TV movies and in episodes of shows like Numb3rs and Drop Dead Diva. She could also be seen in Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces as Donna Hayward, since she replaced Lara Flynn Boyle for the prequel, Fire Walk With Me. She currently lives with her husband and two kids in Texas. 

Coach Whitey basically never stops working. Corbin was most recently on Netflix's The Ranch, with several movies in post production. He also appeared on Modern Family as a relative of Cam's, and he's in the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. He's now a great grandfather! 

Colletti joined the show in season four, a couple years after his last appearance on Laguna Beach. He later appeared in a few episodes of Hit the Floor. In 2018, he appeared in the Lifetime movie Hometown Christmas. In 2021, he and former OTH co-star James Lafferty starred together in their own Hulu comedy series, Everyone Is Doing Great.

Lil Jamie is now 17, and hasn't acted much since the end of One Tree Hill. He appears to have a girlfriend and still does fan conventions with the rest of the One Tree Hill cast. 

VanSanten joined the show in season seven and ended the show with her character happily married. In the years since, she starred in the short-lived The Messengers and had a memorable stint on The Flash as Barry Allen's love interest. Most recently, she starred in USA's Shooter. Shantel has also joined her former costars in the Cape Fearless Challenge. 

After appearing in the fifth and sixth seasons of One Tree Hill, DeVitto has been everywhere. She had significant roles on The Vampire Diaries, Army Wives, Pretty Little Liars, Chicago PD, and currently stars on Chicago Med. Recently we learned that she's dating Chicago PD star Jesse Lee Soffer. 

Buckley, who plays a major role in The Christmas Contract, joined the show in season seven and stayed until the end. He then starred in the short-lived 666 Park Avenue before moving on to star in The CW's iZombie as Major Lilywhite. iZombie is about to head into its fifth and final season. Buckley married actress Jenny Wade in May 2018.

The singer had a recurring role on the show from seasons two through four, then returned as a regular in season nine. He want on to star in CBS' Extant, and played Elvis Presley in the movie Walk the Line. Hilton is still touring and will appear for a musical performance in The Christmas Contract. 

Kramer joined the show in 2009, but by the end, she cut back on her acting to focus on her country music career. She placed fourth on Dancing with the Stars in 2016, and she is married to Washington Red Skins player Mike Caussin. In July 2018, she announced that she's pregnant with their second child.