As The CW readies for the finale of One Tree Hill, with a ninth season still up in the air, TheDeadbolt caught up with James Lafferty to get the OTH scoop on what's to come for Nathan, his take on the relationship between Nathan and Haley (played by Bethany Joy Galeotti), what fans can expect in the last few episodes, and how Lafferty views the evolution of Nathan Scott amid speculation that One Tree Hill will wind down for good after eight seasons.
THE DEADBOLT: From a personal standpoint, where do you want Nathan and Haley to eventually wind up?
JAMES LAFFERTY: Naturally, after playing the relationship for so long, I think it would be great if they end up together. The majority of scenes that Joy [Galeotti] and I have done on the show have been playing Nathan and Haley either in a relationship or patching up their relationship. I feel that’s not only a lot of work for the characters, but that’s plenty of work for us as actors. So the most rewarding thing would be to have the characters stick together.
THE DEADBOLT: Given how loyal fans have been over the years, how much input have you had this season on where Nathan should be at the end of the series?
LAFFERTY: The fans have a huge influence on where the characters end up and what they do. In terms of the pay off, in terms of the alternate destination of the characters, I think Mark [Schwahn] has always been mindful of that. He’s always been mindful of how dedicated the fans are to our show and how they really have kept us alive, that core audience has stuck around and kept us on the air for eight seasons. So it’s only natural that Mark wants to eventually give them what they want but throw them a few curveballs along the way.
THE DEADBOLT: When you first heard that Nathan wouldn’t be playing basketball, how did you handle that as an actor? Was it hard to pivot in another direction?
LAFFERTY: It wasn’t that difficult to go in a different direction. It felt like the direction Nathan went was natural and it made sense. But it was hard to see basketball itself leave the show. I’ve always felt like basketball was really the heart and soul of the show for so long. Now that it has more or less departed, it was just kind of tough. It’s always been a big part of my life and it’s always been a big part of the show. So I was sad to see it go just like I’m sure Nathan was sad to see it go.
THE DEADBOLT: Can you talk about how things will progress in the remaining episodes as far as some of what the fans want to see?
LAFFERTY: Well, I think that we’ve approached these final episodes of Season 8 as they could be the final episodes of the show. Over the years, there have been a few years where we’ve had major cliffhangers and things like that. But this is one of those years where we really felt like if it was going to be the last season of the show, it was going to be time to give the audience what they’ve been waiting for. So I think they’re going to be seeing more and more of that in the coming episodes, a lot of the pay offs of the characters that they’ve been hoping to see over the years.
THE DEADBOLT: Has there been talk of anyone returning for the finale?
LAFFERTY: No, not really. I think we’re going to see a few familiar faces in the finale that you might not have seen before. At least one in the coming episodes that you haven’t seen in a while. But in terms of Lucas returning, or Peyton returning, I wouldn’t want to give the fans hope that they might come back because we’re not going to be seeing them in the final four episodes.
THE DEADBOLT: What’s it like for you to look at where Nathan is now as compared to Season 1?
LAFFERTY: It’s pretty astounding actually. I never would’ve thought when I read that first script that the character would end up here. Also, I think that if I was a new actor coming in to play this role and I got the last script of Season 8 of One Tree Hill, I would’ve never thought that Season 1 Nathan was where this guy came from. But it’s great and it’s been amazing to play that journey and to play that role. I wouldn’t want to play any other role on the show but Nathan just because of what he’s gone through and how much he’s learned. It’s a constant learning experience for him and it’s really been fun to play that. I learned a lot as an actor.
