People have worked out ‘for definite’ who Vanessa Carlton’s 'A Thousand Miles' was written about

Some dedicated fans seem to have pieced together who Vanessa Carlton was talking about in her most iconic song.

In the music biz, a song could be an artist’s most heartfelt confession or just a catchy tune the record label wanted to push out.

But Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles seemed to be from the heart and has quite the story behind it.

If you have ever found yourself making your way downtown, walking fast, faces pass, and your homebound - you might know what she was trying to get at.

YouTube/Vanessa Carlton

Explaining the meaning behind her 2000 hit, 21 years later, Carlton explained that the song ‘is about a crush I had on a Juilliard student’

"I can't say the person's name because they are a famous actor and I don't want to say it,” she added when she told Entertainment Tonight.

However, Carlton being tight-lipped hasn’t stopped fans from working out which actors went to the private New York Julliard School when the singer was there.

While there are a few names, some fans on X and Reddit are convinced they know exactly who the song is about.

“Can’t hear this song anymore without thinking about how there’s a non-zero chance she wrote it about Glenn Howerton,” one user wrote on a viral X post.

MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

Howerton is an actor, writer, producer and podcaster and is most known for playing Dennis Reynolds on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

But this name wasn’t just picked out of thin air.

Reddit user NuclearExchange explained why Howerton would be a perfect fit.

“I’m watching this documentary on YouTube about “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton and she mentions that it’s about a crush she had on a Julliard student who she was too shy to actually talk to,” they wrote in a post.

“She didn’t want to name him because he’s a famous actor. She was a ballet student in NYC in 1994 until she graduated and Glenn was at Julliard in 1996, so the dates kind of line up. Glenn is 4 years older than her. So maybe the song is about him?”

But while it might be convenient to believe it is Howerton, this isn’t much in the way of proof.

Other users remarked that based on the times aligning it could also be about actor Wes Ramsey, Steven Boyer, Anthony Mackie or even Jeffrey Carlson. So guess we have to wait till the singer gives a bit more info and reveals their true identity.

Topics: Music, Film and TV

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.