Quotes

When asked about what he thinks is the most important issue he says, "Kids being drug-free. I always want kids to be allowed to have a chance or a shot in life."

"I think people should do what makes them happy. Peer pressure shouldn't make an impact on what you want to do with your life".

"Trust me, high school ends. You graduate and get away from all the people you never want to see again - it's all good".

"Dad never had time to relax. When we were young, he'd get us off to school before he'd go to work as a controller for a nine-hour day, come home, make dinner, make sure we got our homework done, then go right to sleep and do it all over again the next morning." - Chad says of his father's hectic work and family juggling act.

I didn't fit in to the trends at school, but I did just fine.

I love a conservative girl. Let me be honest. I love a great pair of jeans and I love turtlenecks... Most guys want to see a girl wearing nothing! Tank tops are cute, too. Then you show a little skin, but you're still conservative.

I'm scared of dolls. When I was a little kid, we used to go to my grandma's house and she'd have all these porcelain dolls and they are just freaky. They have those little painted faces on them...and ugh! They used to scare the crap out of me.

[on why he looked so different when not filming OTH] I prefer to keep my hair short - very short. I also like having a good amount of facial hair. But unfortunately, Lucas cannot have a beard. At the end of the season, hacking off the hair is my ritual. It all goes!

My ideal girl is someone who's smart and pretty in an innocent way, and someone who listens and cares.

Writing inspires me. I couldn't live without my journal.

The rumors - that's the thing I hate. People assume way too much, and I can't stand it. I know the truth; I don't feel like I have to defend myself. I'm a pretty good guy. Yeah, I like to go out with my boys and have a good time - I'm 23 years old! But the next thing you know, there are 20 stories about me. It's inappropriate on so many levels. I don't know if it will ever stop. All I need to know is, I have faith in myself and I know what's really going on.

I hated high school. I didn't have any friends because I didn't fit in, but I enjoyed the educational part of it. My teachers allowed me to be creative, so I thought past high school to what I wanted to do.

I love older music, Frank Sinatra, James Brown - there's so much passion in their songs.

If nothing had happened for me with acting, I would have gone to college and played football.

My goal is to grow as much as I can as a human being.

Tyler Hilton is one of my best friends now, As a human being, he's an incredible person and as an artist, he's an incredible artist. I love his music, every time I get in the car, he's in the CD player.

I am an ordinary guy who likes normal things, and have feelings like a normal human being.

I am bothered by some rumors, but they come with the job.

When you realize you're alive, you can live life!

"I just want to be healthy and happy. I don't want to hurt anybody or make them mad. If that's a philosophy then that's my philosophy.

Yeah, you lose equipment, You lose the stage. You lose everything else. But the fact of the matter is everyone got out OK. That's all we cared about. Everything else can be replaced.

In the end, it's not about fame or fortune. It's what you leave behind

• your work and your family - that really counts.

Imagine you are walking along and you trip over something and you turn around and find that it is a huge diamond. You would pick it up and do everything in your power to take care of that diamond because it might take care of you for the rest of your life. - on fiancée Kenzie Dalton.

I love acting, but part of me wants to have a family, raise kids - have a normal life.

I don't like to be alone. It's scary being alone. I'm always worried that I'm going to be abandoned or that people won't care for me.

(2003, on his love of football) Sunday mornings, I wake up at 10 and I don't leave from in front of the set until midnight. I have friends over, except when the Buffalo Bills are playing. Then I don't want anyone around. It's just me and the dog. We sit there in our Buffalo Bills jerseys -- my dog has one too -- and we totally focus on the game. At 8 p.m. I take a break and watch The Simpsons, then it's back to football. Listen, I even have DirecTV in my trailer for when we have to work out of town. I'm not missing any games.

(2003, on first moving to L.A.) My first thought was, "Oh my goodness. I'm alone. What do I do now?" I didn't know anybody. I'd sit at home in a studio apartment that had nothing. I had two channels on my TV. I didn't even have furniture. I slept on the floor. I'd get lonely during the day so I'd pick up the phone and want to talk to people from home.

(2003) I've never considered myself a dreamer. I have goals and I'm going to obtain them. I say, "This is what I want to do", and then I go do it. When I came to town, my first three goals came true -- in the order I set them up. I sat down with my manager the first day. He wanted to know my goals and why I was here. I told him I wanted to be on the WB. I said, "It's great training ground". I wanted to be on Dawson's Creek (1998). I told him, "I think those kids could help me sharpen my teeth. They could teach me a lot". I also told them I wanted my own series. In that order, it's happened! It's really, really weird.