Everything ‘Back to the Beach’ Host Stephen Colletti Has Done Since ‘Laguna Beach’
Back to the Beach is a new-ish podcast hosted by Laguna Beach alums (and exes) Kristin Cavallari and Stephen Colletti. More than a decade after their split, the duo has teamed up for this new project that details their time spent on the popular mid-2000s MTV reality show. What has Colletti been up to since the end of Laguna Beach? Here’s what we know.
‘Back to the Beach’ revisits the popular MTV reality show ‘Laguna Beach’
Laguna Beach aired on MTV from September 2004 to November 2006, and it followed the lives of several high school students who lived in “the real Orange County” and attended Laguna Beach High School. The idea for the series was inspired by the popularity at the time of the Fox teen drama The OC.
Colletti and Cavallari starred on the series alongside Lauren Conrad, Jason Wahler, and Lo Bosworth. On their podcast, Colletti and Cavallari rewatch old Laguna Beach episodes and reveal behind-the-scenes secrets.
The duo says that when the series began, the cast weren’t close friends. They “knew who everybody was,” but “we’re not hanging out.” Colletti noted that many of the drama that the teens got caught up in on camera would have never happened if it wasn’t for the intervention of MTV and their budget.
“For example, in the first episode, this hotel party,”Colletti said. “We did not have hotel suite parties where somebody was just, like, throwing out a credit card, booking a suite.”
Everything Stephen Colletti has done since ‘Laguna Beach’
Colletti actually had an interest in acting as early as middle school, and was part of his school’s theater program. After he agreed to appear in Laguna Beach during his last year of high school, he attended college at San Francisco State University. But after just one year, he dropped out and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
He landed bit parts in features, short films, and music videos — including playing Taylor Swift’s love interest in her video for White Horse. He also appeared in Normal Adolescent Behavior with Amber Tamblyn and Hilarie Burton, as well as Shannon’s Rainbow with Claire Forlani.
In 2007, he went back to TV when he won the role of Chase Adams on One Tree Hill. Colletti ultimately became a series regular and appeared in 57 episodes between 2007 and 2012, then he transitioned to TV movies.
‘Back to the Beach’ Stephen Colletti host has stayed busy since ‘One Tree Hill’
Colletti starred in the 2012 TV movie All About Christmas Eve with Haylie Duff and Chris Carmack. He later appeared in Status: Unknown, Suicide Note, The Wedding Do Over, Did I Kill My Mother?, and Hometown Christmas.
In between the TV movies, the Back to the Beach host starred in the teen flicks Summer Forever and Frat Pack. He also appeared as Teddy Reynolds in the series Hit the Floor. And in 2021, he appeared as Seth Stewart in eight episodes of Everyone Is Doing Great. Colletti also co-wrote and produced the pilot for that series with his One Tree Hill co-star James Lafferty.
