Sophia Bush and Chris Carmack are known for their popular teen drama, including One Tree Hill and The OC, respectively. The former has also starred in Chicago P.D., John Tucker Must Die, and Incredibles 2, and the latter in Grey’s Anatomy and Nashville. Together, they star in the new thriller, The Stranger in My Home, by director Jeff Fisher and based on the novel by Adele Parks.

The OC

In The OC, Carmack portrayed Luke Ward, an antagonist in the first season who went toe to toe with Ryan Atwood, portrayed by Ben McKenzie (Gotham).

“Oh gosh, it was so long ago,” Carmack tells Nerd Reactor about The OC. “So I have to say, it’s a little bit of a blur because it happened so fast. It was my first big project. But I will forever remember our first episode – pilot episode – fight scene on the beach, freezing our butts off. And of course, the iconic line, ‘Welcome to the OC, bitch!’ I knew when we filmed that, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s the promo right there.'”

One Tree Hill

Bush portrayed Brooke Davis in One Tree Hill, and her character was a party girl with her own struggles.

“I think for me, the time that I got there with my girlfriends, the sort of trials and tribulations of it, it’s been really special to be able to look back,” Bush said about One Tree Hill. “And I think particularly, you know, our COVID project of starting our rewatch podcast, we finally got to see it like the fans did.”

The Stranger in My Home

The Stranger in My Home is available on Digital this week, and Bush portrays Ali, a mother who has a daughter named Katie. Tensions arise when a stranger (Carmack) comes into her life, claiming that he is Katie’s biological father.

“I think this project is maybe the closest thing to really the genre of thriller that I’ve ever been a part of,” Carmack said. “So as far as twists and turns and surprises, I think I got to give it to this script for my career as an actor.”

“Iit’s really so tremendous,” Bush said. “I think you can’t have done as much television as myself or Chris and not have had a moment where you flip a page in a script and go, ‘What!?’ But this one is, I think, so layered and so rich because of the incredible source material. I mean, Adele Parks’ book is a wild ride, and the way that they managed to adapt it for the screen, I think, was absolutely tremendous. And clearly why we all said yes to this one.”

Fisher had some challenges during the film’s production, particularly getting access to film on location at a high school.

“I mean, we lost the high school right before we started shooting the first high school that we were supposed to shoot at,” the director said. “It was playing two different ones. So that was like a quick rethink. Because we’d already scouted and done all the prep for that. That was a little surprise. But we pivoted and the high school we ended up using was terrific. We were playing around with taglines, and one was the truth is relative. And I loved that, right? They’re like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty.’ That’s a good summation of this movie.

About The Stranger in My Home

Synopsis: Ali and her daughter Katie have a perfect life – until a stranger claims to be Katie’s father. As secrets unravel, his obsession turns dangerous, pulling them into a web of lies and fear. Based on the bestselling novel.

The film is directed by Jeff Fisher and written for the screen by Chris Sivertson from the novel by Adele Parks.

It stars Sophia Bush, Chris Carmack, Amiah Miller, and Chris Johnson.

The Stranger in My Home releases on digital June 24, 2025.