Chad Michael Murray leaves fans doing a double take in unrecognizable unearthed photo

A yearbook photo of Chad Michael Murray from his high school days has gone viral after social media users pointed out just how different he looked in his teens before he hit the big time with One Tree Hill in 2003. 

The photo, which was posted on Reddit and X, left fans of the 44-year-old shocked due to his unrecognizable appearance. The snap was taken before Chad was attacked by three men who broke his nose when he was 18. 

“I got jumped in a Burger King when I was 18 and had my nose put on the other side of my face,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2004. “It was three guys – what the hell was I supposed to do?” 

“The doctors didn’t even bother running X-rays. They just reset it. But it wasn’t a nose job – I hate the fact that people say it was a nose job!” he added. The yearbook photo sent fans into a frenzy as they marveled over how different Chad looked before and after the attack. 

“His nose looked better before, but the new one made his face more distinct. Must have been disappointing for him at first, though, it’s quite the change to his face,” said one Redditor, while an X user added: “Imagine getting your face broken and looking even better afterwards.” 

“It made him finer anyway,” said another, while a fourth chimed in: “That nose job changed his life, he went from looking like every other ’90s kid to Chad Michael Murray…one nose later and he’s a whole new man.” 

© Corbis via Getty Images

Chad got candid about growing up under the spotlight after nabbing the lead role on One Tree Hill, and the insecurities that came with his overnight fame. 

See Chad Michael Murray on One Tree Hill below…

“I was terrified, and so I put on this brave face. You’re 21, 22, 23, 24 years old, right? You think you’re something because people tell you you’re something. So you see other people that you go, ‘Okay, well, that person’s cool. Okay, they’re not smiling,”‘ he told Newsweek. 

“I don’t like my smile. I can’t stand my smile, so I’m not going to smile. I don’t want to show my teeth because I’m uncomfortable about it,” the Sullivan’s Crossing actor continued. 

© Getty Images

“I don’t like my nose because it’s not my nose. I got jumped in a Burger King and my nose surgery was a couple posts, pop it back into place, hold two tennis balls at Cedar Sinai, and there you go.” 

© Getty Images for Disney

He added: “And there [were] a lot of things, I was just uncomfortable. You’re uncomfortable in your skin. And I think it’s not just if you’re an actor, it’s everybody. Like our 20s are fricking hard, man.” 

Chad explained that he became more secure and settled in his 30s. “The 20s are for screwing up, figuring out who you are, and then you go into your 30s, and 30s are awesome. I mean, for me anyway, I thought it was an awesome decade.”