Paul Johansson as Dan Scott
Daniel "Dan" Robert Scott of
One Tree Hill is played by Paul Johansson. In his late high school years, he impregnated his girlfriend, Karen Roe, but soon left her for his college scholarship. While in college, he met Deborah Lee, whom he was initially attracted to. However, on the night he decided to give up basketball and return to Karen, Deb confronted him, telling him that she was pregnant. He was then forced to make a choice between the women, and he chose Deb, whose money he later used to put up his business.
Karen later gave birth to Lucas, whom she single-handedly raised with some help from Dan's kind brother Keith, who became the father figure in Lucas' life. Deb, on the other hand, gave birth to Nathan, who grew up to be a good basketball player, like his father.
Things got worse when Lucas joined the school basketball team, of which Nathan was the captain. The two brothers later became friends, and Nathan, who was so sick of his father's pressuring and bullying, emancipated himself from his parents, who divorced shortly afterwards.
Lucas later found out that Dan really wanted to be in his life, and the reason why Lucas hated his father was a lie. Season 1 ended with Dan having a heart attack after discovering that Deb slept with Keith.
In season 2, Dan got into more conflict when Lucas discovered that Dan was stealing money from his business. Dan in turn tricked Lucas, saying that it was all a test to see if Lucas could be trusted. To make matters worse, he made Deb the co-owner of the business, meaning that whatever case he may have to face, she will face with him. Dan also strongly refused to accept Haley as Nathan's wife, and he took advantage of the couple's marital troubles to get Nathan to sign the divorce papers. The season ended with Dan getting drugged in his office, which was set on fire.
Dan survived the fire and initially blamed Keith for what had happened in his office. He shot Keith dead, and later found out that it was Deb who attempted to kill him. He later apologized to Karen, who was then pregnant with Keith's child. The two later made amends, and Dan promised to try to be a better person to his family.
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