JD Vance Admits He Was An Extra On a Very Popular TV Show That We All Love: "We Will Pay You..."

Ohio Senator JD Vance is set to become the next Vice President of the United States after former President Donald Trump won the presidential race on November 5th. Trump declared Vance as his running mate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. Unexpectedly, before his political triumph, the former Marine had a noteworthy career in the entertainment industry. According to The List, director Ron Howard turned Vance’s well-known memoir Hillbilly Elegy into an Oscar-nominated film, with The Da Vinci Code among his notable credits. Additionally, Vance revealed that he starred as an extra in the popular drama series One Tree Hill.

Last month, he revealed this interesting tidbit about himself at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, "I'm going to tell you something I bet very few, maybe no one, knows," he said while building the suspense. "They showed up one day and they said, 'Alright, we'll feed you and we'll pay you $300 to be an extra in 'One Tree Hill,'" he said while disclosing his unique connection to the port city. Vance, however, kept the details of which episode he starred in and when it was shot a secret.

The famed Hollywood director admitted that the Vice-President-elect didn't discuss his political ambitions while they were working on his project. "To be honest, I was surprised," Howard told Variety in November 2022. "When I was getting to know [JD], we didn't talk politics because I wasn't interested in that about his life. I was interested in his childhood and navigating the particulars of his family and his culture so that's what we focused on in our conversation. To me, he struck me as a very moderate center-right kind of guy." 

Vance's book detailed his youth in Middletown, Ohio, when he witnessed his family's battles with drug abuse and poverty. Following his time at a corporate law firm, the Republican politician obtained a degree from Yale Law School and went on to become a principal at the venture capital firm of influential figure Peter Thiel. Interestingly, Howard also disclosed that initially, Vance showed little regard for Trump and no desire to hold any public office. “He didn’t like him at all,” he said. “He apparently wasn’t interested in running for office, but I think his interest was renewed,” Howard added. 

“He will focus on any issues that the president directs him to do,” a party insider stated while explaining what the leader could bring to Trump's 2.0 administration. According to NBC News, Vance had expressed regret while promoting his memoir and downplayed any intention of leading the White House. He stated that he had “accomplished nothing great” in his life — “certainly nothing that would justify a complete stranger paying money to read about it.” While talking about the Vice-President-elect's strategy, Jordan Wiggins, Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign manager, said, “There’s a lot of trust between them, so I think they’re going to be able to get a lot done. He’s not going to go up there and make it all about him.”