Every year like clockwork, the infamous Hollywood "IT" list, the list that casting agents predict will be the year's hot new stars, begins to circulate in Hollywood. Many young actors who have appeared on previous lists include Leonardo DiCaprio, James Vander Beek, Jason Biggs, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise are all now writing their own tickets in Hollywood. Holding down a slot on this year's "IT" list is 19 year-old, Chad Michael Murray. His talent and appearance have not only drawn praise, but have earned him a feature role on the WB's "Gilmore Girls," as well as other television roles in quick time.
Born in Buffalo, NY, Chad found a ready audience early on. When he was four or five years old, the young ham performed skits and sang made-up songs for his large family which includes three brothers, a half-brother and a sister. At age fifteen, a high school football injury landed him in a hospital where a nurse encouraged him to pursue a modeling career. Two years later, Chad won a scholarship from a modeling agency in Buffalo to attend a modeling convention in Orlando. There he met his destiny when an agent from Los Angeles spotted him and persuaded the seventeen-year-old to pursue his dream of acting after graduation from high school.
In 1999, the aspiring actor headed for Hollywood where he supported himself modeling for such clients as Sketchers, Tommy Hilfiger, and Gucci while looking for a break. Soon after he arrived, Chad appeared in several guest starring television roles including an episode of "Diagnosis Murder." Then he got the call he'd been hoping for. The WB's "Gilmore Girls" was casting for the role of Tristan DuGrey. They were looking for someone who was likable and charismatic but with an edgy side, and someone who had that certain "IT" quality. Chad was all that plus he had the perfect physical characteristics that the show's writers had in mind. The teen won the role and has since made the character his own. Not only did he have a great role in the new WB hit series, but Chad had been a loyal fan of The Frog Network's line-up with shows like "Dawson's Creek," "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," and others.
He admires the talents of actors Ed Norton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino and Robert DiNiro and uses their influences in his work. Look for Chad this spring in the CBS Movie of the Week, "Aftermath," with Meredith Baxter Birney and Robert Urich. His film credits include a lead in Megiddo: Omega Code 2.
Always a firm believer in clean living, Chad is a natural athlete. The teen played his favorite sport, football, in high school and keeps fit by working out at the gym, inline skating, playing soccer, volleyball and basketball as well as football pick-up games. He is an anti-drug role model for kids and is active in charities for children and teens during his spare time.
Still very single, Chad has set up house with a pug named Gus and a unique boisterous cat named Jack, who keep him from missing his large family too much. He feels extremely lucky to be able to do what he loves most at such an early age. The rising star hopes to have a long and illustrious career, working with as many of his idols as possible. And if that means tagged with being on Hollywood's "IT" list, Chad Michael Murray just shrugs his broad shoulders and smiles.
GilmoreGirls.org would like to sincerely thank Carl Scott and Howie Simone, Chad's manager and publicist, for supplying this exclusive biography.