Another ‘One Tree Hill’ Star Opens Up About His Potential Return in Reboot

While fans wait for more One Tree Hill reboot news, one former One Tree Hill cast member is weighing in on not only if he’d want to do the reboot, but where he thinks his character would be. Tyler Hilton played Chris Keller throughout the series, sprinkled here and there, especially in Season 2 as well as in the later seasons after the departure of Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton Morgan. Hilton’s Chris Keller was a thorn in everyone’s side, but the kind of pest that grew on everyone. As for returning to play that lovable pain in the backside, Hilton told PEOPLE, “I’ll do any One Tree Hill thing anytime.” He explains:

“It’s got such a place in my heart. They’d always talked about reboots in the past, and I was always a ‘yes’ no matter what. It’s become this zeitgeist thing for me and for the fans that I just feel like I should be a part of it if I’d be lucky enough to be asked. I think it would be really fun to do. I would love to get to play Chris Keller for the rest of my life. It’s such a guilty pleasure.”

Where Does Tyler Hilton Think Chris Keller Is Now?

Though not well-received at first, given that he was a large part of the reason for Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz) and Nathan’s (James Lafferty) split in Season 2, Hilton tells People that fans eventually came around to Chris. “And then, all of a sudden people started turning the corner. It’s like this guy, that for all accounts should be canceled [and] represents everything we’re not doing now, people are like, ‘Ah.’ There’s something about Chris Keller that doesn’t actually seem like a threat. It’s just like a puppy biting at your ankles. He’s literally all talk and it never gets any further than that.”

As for where he thinks Chris would be, Hilton has a few ideas. “I either feel like he’s running some studio and trying to foster new talent,” or, as Hilton explains, “I always thought it’d be so funny to see him have to get a job at the high school as a music teacher and him hating it, but somehow making this horrible group of musicians good just with his inappropriateness.” Some of Chris Keller’s best moments are indeed ones he’s found himself in by being himself, but the comedy is that they’re the last place he’d want to be. Hilton says, “I think the funny thing with him is seeing him in a situation that he doesn’t want, but he ends up making the best of it. He wants his ego fed, and life just doesn’t give him that. And he somehow just keeps Chris-ing through it. I always thought that’d be funny, especially to see him around kids or teenagers who are fragile. I could totally see him just being a hero among teenage boys, much to his disdain.”

Whether Chris Keller becomes a reluctant music teacher at Tree Hill High School or a music trailblazer is up to Burton Morgan and Sophia Bush as well as the others at Netflix spearheading the series. Regardless, Keller would be a comedic addition to the original cast that’s coming back.

You can catch past episodes of One Tree Hill on Max. Stay with Collider for the latest updates.