Celebrity Celebrity Weddings Hilarie Burton Reveals Husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan Auditioned for Uncle Keith on 'One Tree Hill' "When I met Jeff, he was like, 'Oh, I auditioned for that show,'" the actress said while recapping the One Tree Hill pilot on the Drama Queens podcast By Glenn Garner Glenn Garner Glenn Garner is a form writer-reporter who worked heavily with PEOPLE's Movies and TV verticals. He left PEOPLE in 2023. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 28, 2021 04:55PM EDT Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Hilarie Burton-Morgan and her now-husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan could have been One Tree Hill costars. The actress, who played Peyton Sawyer on the hit teen drama, recently revealed that she and Jeffrey nearly met years ago, when he auditioned for the show. "Had [Jeff] shown up in those tight jeans that [Craig Sheffer] was wearing... I would have definitely had kids earlier," Hilarie, 38, joked on this week's episode of the Drama Queens podcast while recapping the One Tree Hill pilot with costars Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz. As it turns out, Jeffrey auditioned to play Keith Scott, a local mechanic and the uncle of two of Peyton's romantic interests. "When I met Jeff, he was like, 'Oh, I auditioned for that show,'" Hilarie recalled. "And I'm like, 'Wait, what?' ... He was like, 'Yeah, I liked the whole gritty garage guy, that edgy thing.'" Hilarie Burton on One Tree Hill. The WB/ Courtesy Everett Collection Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton with daughter George and son Augustus. Jeffrey Dean Morgan/Instagram Jeffrey Dean Morgan Says He Was 'Nervous as Hell' About Wife Hilarie Burton's Walking Dead Part The role of Uncle Keith ultimately went to Sheffer, and Hilarie later began dating Jeffrey, 55, in 2009. The couple previously revealed to PEOPLE that they were set up by her One Tree Hill costar Danneel Ackles and her husband Jensen Ackles, who played Jeffrey's son in Supernatural. "It was so nice to be pursued," Hilarie told PEOPLE last year. "He's a cute dude! And I liked that he knew exactly who he was. His confidence was intoxicating." The couple wed in October 2019 during a private ceremony attended by their costars from both One Tree Hill and Supernatural. They share daughter George Virginia, 3, and son Augustus 'Gus,' 11, who has already caught the acting bug after appearing on The Walking Dead with both of his parents. RELATED VIDEO: One Tree Hill Stars Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz on Their Longtime Friendship — 'This Is What Real Sisterhood Is' "My son is probably going to be an actor. He has already dived into directing stuff and really loves it," Hilarie said on this week's Drama Queens. "And I don't want him to do it until he has a real clear sense of who he is, because I was so wishy-washy, and I didn't grow up in the industry the way he has. ... Meanwhile, he's like a pro now. I still don't want him to do it until he's 18." New episodes of Drama Queens drop Mondays on iHeartRadio and wherever you listen to your podcasts.