Sophia Bush Was Told She Wasn't 'Sexy Enough' to Play Brooke in 'One Tree Hill' After Her First Audition, and 'Too Much' After the Second

Sophia Bush Tells Her Story. In her upcoming memoir, 'And I'll Tell You: Notes from a Life in Progress,' the actress holds nothing back and, for the first time, openly and honestly discusses how she was raised, the ups and downs of her Hollywood career, her activism and her personal relationships, taking readers beyond […]

Sophia Bush tells her story. In her upcoming memoir, And I'll Tell You: Notes from a Life in Progress, the actor doesn't hold back, taking readers beyond the headlines to speak openly and honestly for the first time about her upbringing, the ups and downs of her Hollywood career, her activities and her personal relationships.

In an exclusive excerpt below, Bush details her audition process for One Tree Hill, where she played Brooke Davis for nine seasons from 2003 to 2012. The book is available on October 27. Prioritizing real-life connections: "You have to weed your garden constantly."

The girl behind the red door popular in Variety

A tree hill was not supposed to happen like this.

Originally written as a feature film, the show was originally called The Crows. Filmed in the same town as the recently concluded hit Dawson's Creek, the film is set in a fictional town in North Carolina and follows a new group of teenagers trying to make their way in the world. Like other shows of the era, this program had an edge.

The four main actors — Peyton Sawyer, Lucas Scott, Nathan Scott, and Hayley James — all go through very difficult things, including dead parents, abandonment, financial struggles, narcissistic abuse, public pressure, and private loneliness. Rashbek liked what he saw in the pilot episode and picked up the series.

According to the responsible managers, there was only one problem. "All these damn characters are so depressing," one producer, Joe Davola, later explained to me in his heavy New York accent, laced with his favorite famous insult. "They make you want to fucking kill yourself." Harsh, to be sure, but this atmosphere is for you. It was kind of true, there was a lot of thought and a lot of tortured artist energy - that was workable, it turned out, if there was anything to compensate for it. A character who was not miserable. A fiery addition that can provide comic relief and stir the pot. A little bug, a little joy!

Well, somehow her real name was Tara. But before they find out what his name will be, they need to find out who will play him.

Producers started calling and one of my agents was in touch with what seemed like a big deal and a second chance. I had been sent to the sideline to read for Peyton in the early rounds for the Ravens, and my first reaction was a laugh of disbelief.

"I'm not a punk rocker!" I had told my manager that I appreciated the opportunity but knew I wasn't the right fit. In the same pilot season, I was competing for a family show for ABC and felt like it was more in line with what I wanted. I got the part, filmed the pilot, and enjoyed the process — but the show ended up not taking off. When I got the call to read for the new Girl on Tree Hill, I remembered how much I liked the script even though I didn't see myself in it, and I figured, why not?

Approaching my initial meeting with the producers, my biggest nightmare wasn't memorizing lines or how to play a cheer captain. The choice was what to wear. I figured I couldn't go wrong with the short white skirt I had that looked a bit like a tennis skirt - happy skirts were pleated too, right? - and chunky pink heels with a rainbow on the toes and a matching pink t-shirt. Happy! (Eikik). Day, I went to Warner Bros. Studios in the Valley. I enjoyed reading to the people in the room. It felt good to make them laugh. But then my manager gave me some feedback. “We love her, but we're not sure if she's sexy enough,” the executives explained. They asked if we could try again.

Oh dear, even in the candy-colored, white, and rainbow teenage dream dress, something wasn't right? Was my laziness showing? Or the late blooming energy of my girl school? The character, as it turns out, had a maturity to it, so I thought it was time to act like I knew more about the world than I really did.

For the second audition, I went hot-girl-with-punk-rock style—a military mini skirt, stilettos with sharp gold heels, a dark crop top, and smudged eyeliner.

the answer? "That's too much. We want high school sex, not college sex."

I was at a loss. Wasn't that why the shows had full wardrobe segments? To dress the characters and help create their looks? I wasn't an authority on dressing myself—I'd only been doing it for three years outside of my high school uniform, so I definitely wasn't an expert on how to dress as someone else. When they called me to audition for the network, I was incredibly nervous about everything. Luckily, a cast member suggested I find the "happy medium"—sexy but not too sexy, cute but not too hot to be sexy, high school but not too teenage to be too innocent, sophisticated but not too sophisticated to look like I should be in college. My head was spinning. The first day, I brought a whole boatload of L.L.Bean and Suits full of outfit options, and she met me in the hallway downstairs to help finalize the look.

I wore an outfit: a red two-button-up henley, a pleated khaki skirt — loose pleats like a fun skirt this time, not narrow tennis pleats — and these 2000s red and white canvas heels. When I appeared in the group, he nodded in approval.

When we were ready to leave, I put the bag of matching clothes under my seat in the aisle/holding area and walked past the waiting line of girls through the door. I didn't know it at the time, but one of them was Bethany Joy Lens. She was in the audition office for Haley's rewrite after, hilariously, she read for Brooke and it didn't fit. We didn't really chat that day other than having fun - all the girls were trying to focus on themselves but when we met later she told me that she remembered who the "girl with all the baggage" was.