Lee Norris first worked his way into the hearts of young viewers as Stewart Minkus on the ABC hit Boy Meets World. Exactly 10 years after BMW’s debut, Norris took on the role of Marvin “Mouth” McFadden on One Tree Hill. Nearly six years later, Norris is still going strong as OTH goes into its seventh season.
In an exclusive interview for TDW, Norris reflected on his favorite storylines, traveling for the show and who he wants to be Mrs. McFadden…
TeenDramaWhore: I recently rewatched the early season 1 episodes of One Tree Hill and it was amazing to see Mouth’s origins compared to where he is now. He had such a small role in the beginning. Did you have any idea how the role and character would evolve?
Lee Norris: I really had no idea. During the pilot and Season 1, I was still a full-time college student at Wake Forest University. I would get these scripts Fed-Ex’d to my dorm room and each time I got one delivered, it was a surprise. I wasn’t under any sort of contract at that point, so I never knew how many episodes I’d be involved in.
I had a few conversations with Mark Schwahn, our creator, and he told me that he really believed in the character and thought it added an interesting element to the show. I think the big turning point was when Mouth did the cheerleading routine in the first season [ed. note: Episode 1.17, Spirit in the Night]. It was so quirky and different and it got a great response from the fans… and then Mark started building the character from there. I was so grateful that there were fans out there who identified with Mouth — girls and guys — that were the kids in high school who floated between all the different social cliques. To be made a series regular was really rewarding for me, but also felt very natural since my character had been there since the Pilot episode. So no, I had no idea what was in store for me, but I’ve been extremely grateful.
TDW: Do you and Mouth share any similarities? Do you have any interest in sports or journalism?
Norris: Sure, we have some similarities. He’s kind of spontaneous in that “Baby Got Back”-at-karaoke-night kind of way, haha, [ed. note: Episode 2.5, I Will Dare] and I like to have fun like that. Don’t be looking for me at karaoke joints, but I do like to have fun. I think he is a fiercely loyal friend, and that’s something I try to mirror in my life. But he’s also done some really dumb things relationship wise, haha, so I’d like to think we’re not similar in that respect.
I love sports… when I auditioned for the role, I wore my Wake Forest basketball t-shirt to the audition, and Mark gave me a little grief because he went to Maryland (an ACC rival). And in terms of journalism, I was an English major in school and I wrote for the school newspaper in high-school, so that’s sort of a natural fit as well.
Read the rest: TeenDramaWhore.
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