'One Tree Hill' Actor Dead At 35, 'Taken Too Soon'

LOS ANGELES — Paul Teal, the actor best known for playing Josh in the CW drama “One Tree Hill,” died Friday. He was 35.

“You were taken too soon, in a battle that you fought bravely without fail,” Teal’s partner, actress Emilia Torello, wrote Sunday in an Instagram post. She did not specify the cause of death.

Bethany Joy Lenz, who played Haley James Scott on “One Tree Hill,” recalled casting Teal for an episode that she directed and that aired in 2010, choosing him for the recurring role of “sleazy movie star” Josh after working with Teal on a 2006 production of the musical “The Notebook.”

“Paul Teal was the kind of guy who lit up a room without trying. His bright smile, infectious laugh and kind heart made you want to be near him,” Lenz wrote on Instagram. “He was a joy to work with in any environment and so generous.”

Sophia Bush, who played Brooke Davis on “One Tree Hill,” wrote in her Instagram stories that she was “incredibly saddened” by Teal’s death, adding he was “such a talent.”

In addition to his role on “One Tree Hill,” Teal, originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, was known for playing Deputy Clark in “Deep Water” and young Officer Kapinski in “Fear Street: Part Two - 1978.”