“One Tree Hill”'s Paul Johansson Says He Dealt with Depression and Alcoholism While Filming

"I was drinking a couple bottles of wine a night by myself," the actor, who portrayed Dan Scott, said

Paul Johansson is reflecting on how portraying Dan Scott on One Tree Hill impacted his mental health.

On Tuesday, the WB alum, 59, appeared on the Trying to Figure It Out With Ally Petitti podcast. The episode, titled, "Figuring It Out with One Tree Hill's Infamous Villain: Paul Johansson," focused on the depression and alcoholism he dealt with while filming the series, which aired from 2003 to 2012.

Related: Sophia Bush Says She Fought with 'One Tree Hill' Boss Over Underwear Scenes: 'I Was Really Ballsy'

"It was awful," he said. "I was, I've never spoken about this before, I was deeply depressed and I was drinking. I was drinking a couple bottles of wine a night by myself. For about six or seven years, it was really tough."

Johansson played Dan, the controlling father of basketball prodigy Nathan Scott (played by James Lafferty) and Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray). Lucas was a talented player like his brother but an outsider.

The series, set in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, was also one of Sophia Bush’s breakout roles as she portrayed Brooke Davis — a high school cheerleader and later a business woman during the course of the show's nine seasons.

"It was just a time when I think I was absorbing the energy of the people that were looking at me, and seeing me as something that's bad," Johansson explained. "To get out of it, the way to do it was the show had to end for me. I needed to get out and to get other characters and feel other things, but then I was getting bad guy roles again because of that show. It put me in a box."

The television drama celebrated its 20th anniversary in September.

Related: The Ultimate One Tree Hill Reunion with Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton and More Just Happened on the OG Set

To mark the occasion, some of the cast members paid tribute to the series that became cemented in pop culture history.

"Happy 20th Fam #3," Murray, 42, said in a social media post set to One Tree Hill's theme song, "I Don't Want to Be" by Gavin DeGraw. The actor added, "If you'd have asked me back in 2003... Never in my wildest dreams would I've thought we'd still have this magical bond. Grateful."

Bethany Joy Lenz, who played Haley James Scott, couldn't directly name the show due to the SAG-AFRA strikes, and instead celebrated 20 years of "female friendships."

"Not gonna mention the job that’s turning 20 today while our union is on strike," she began.

"So instead I’ll celebrate 20 years of female friendships being the ultimate love stories and the reclamation of our good, bad, ugly, and beautiful through @dramaqueensoth. Thank you to our #fanfam who have encouraged us to find and use our voices onscreen and off. #Lucky23 #20years."

And although the show ended two decades ago, there could be something special brewing.

Earlier this month, Murray spoke with E! News about the possibility of a reboot.

“Something will happen. Whether we get everybody together and do a live reading of the show, or we create a new fictional future episode, I don't know what it will be," he told the outlet.

If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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