'One Tree Hill' actor Paul Teal died from neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer, agent says

Actor Paul Teal, an actor who appeared in “One Tree Hill,” “Dynasty” and “Descendants: The Rise of Red,” died Friday after a seven-month cancer battle. He was 35.

Teal died in North Carolina after being diagnosed in April with Stage 4 neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer, his agent Susan Tolar Walters said in a statement to The Times.

“With heartfelt sorrow, we share the news of the passing of our beloved actor and friend,” she said. “He has been an important part of the STW [Talent Agency] family for over 10 years. His exceptional talent and kind spirit touched the hearts of everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. The void he leaves behind will be deeply felt.”

Teal’s fiancée, Emilia Torello, announced his death Sunday on social media, but did not state his cause of death at the time.

“The most thoughtful, inspiring, driven, self-disciplined, loving man passed away on Friday, November 15, 2024,” Torello wrote. “Paul, you were my soulmate, my soon-to-be-husband, my rock, and my future. You filled my lungs with laughter, my stomach with butterflies, and my heart with love. You were taken too soon, in a battle that you fought bravely without fail.”

She continued: “While a part of me died with you, I promise to fight to find joy in life as hard as you fought to live every single day. The world is lucky to have even had a moment with Paul Teal, and I am the luckiest person in it, because I got to call you mine. I will love you forever.”

Teal filmed the new Starz series “The Hunting Wives” during his cancer battle, and the show’s cast and crew helped encourage him during his health struggles, Torello told TMZ.

Bethany Joy Lenz, who co-starred in “One Tree Hill,” said that her heart was heavy after Teal’s death. The pair had worked together on a 2006 musical production of “The Notebook” and she said Teal was “the kind of guy who could light up a room without trying.”

“His bright smile, infectious laugh and kind heart made you want to be near him,” she wrote Sunday on Instagram. “He was shy and funny and so so comfortable on stage. Wow. Like his second skin. You couldn’t take your eyes off him.”

Lenz described how she cast him in an episode of “One Tree Hill” that she was directing, giving him the role of Josh Avery, a sleazy movie star that Teal readily embodied because of his “self-effacing sense of humor and willingness to dive fully into any character.”

Teal debuted on Season 7 of the teen drama in 2010, playing the closeted actor in a seven-episode arc that ended with him coming out to as gay.

“One Tree Hill” alum Jana Kramer wrote Monday on an Instagram story that Teal was “always so sweet and kind and was so fun to work alongside,” USA Today reported.

Teal, who also appeared on stage in “Newsies,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Rent,” first starred in the short film “First Memory” and spent much of his career in supporting roles. His television credits include recurring roles in HBOMax’s “The Staircase” and Netflix’s “Outer Banks.” He also co-starred in Showtime’s “Rust,” the CW’s “Dynasty” and TNT’s “Good Behavior” and “Shots Fired.”