A native of Wilmington, North Carolina, he started out on the stage in his hometown and appeared in ‘Deep Water,’ starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas. 

Paul Teal, who recurred as the closeted actor Josh Avery on the seventh season of The CW drama One Tree Hill, has died. He was 35.

Teal died Friday after a battle with cancer, according to his reps. “His exceptional talent and kind spirit touched the hearts of everyone who had the privilege of knowing him,” the STW Talent Agency announced. “The void he leaves behind will be deeply felt.”

“Paul, you were my soulmate, my soon-to-be-husband, my rock, and my future,” his fiancée, Emilia Torello, wrote on Instagram. “You filled my lungs with laughter, my stomach with butterflies, and my heart with love. You were taken too soon, in a battle that you fought bravely without fail.”

She continued, “While a part of me died with you, I promise to fight to find joy in life as hard as you fought to live every single day.”

Teal worked on the big screen in the Adrian Lyne-directed Deep Water (2022), which starred Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, and the upcoming Lilly, starring Patricia Clarkson, and he showed up on episodes of such TV shows as Good Behavior, Dynasty, The Walking Dead, Outer Banks, The Staircase and George & Tammy.

Born in 1989 in Wilmington, North Carolina, Teal performed on the stage in his hometown for the Opera House Theatre Co., the Thalian Association Community Theatre and the Techmoja Dance and Theater Company, the Wilmington Star-News noted. (One Tree Hill filmed in the Wilmington area.)

Thalian Hall CEO Shane Fernando, who directed Teal in Newsies and other shows, told the newspaper that the actor was “a perfectionist, but a perfectionist in a very healthy way. He was always so supportive. Talent is one thing, but he was just a joy to work with and direct because of how supportive he was.”

A public memorial at Thalian Hall for Teal is in the works, Fernando said.