Welcome to the O.C., bitch. Or not. Cam Gigandet says he got a rather chilly reception when he joined the cast of Fox’s hit series The O.C. back in 2005—and not just from fans who wanted Ben McKenzie‘s Ryan Atwood and Mischa Barton‘s Marissa Cooper to live happily ever after. The Burlesque star, 31, had some not-so-nice things to say about his former costars in a recent interview for Elle magazine‘s “Hot Guy/Cold Drink” feature.
Asked whether he stays in touch with anyone from the show, the Reckless actor replied, “No. Actually Ben McKenzie was kind of mean to me. I hadn’t done anything at that point and he was a little bit of an ass.” He added, “But I love him. I think he’s a great actor and I love Southland.” (McKenzie’s TNT show was canceled in May 2013.)
The heartthrob also threw some shade at Barton, 28, who played a love interest for his character, Kevin Volchok. Marissa’s relationship with Volchok was a major story line and in fact led to her death in season three—but when Barton’s name was mentioned in the Elle interview, Gigandet played dumb.
“Mischa? I didn’t really…Was she there?” he quipped. “I don’t even have memories of her.”
In general, the memories he does have aren’t fond ones. “I learned a lot. But the things that I remember now—none of them are good,” he admitted of the drama, which also costarred Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody. “It was only the third or fourth season. Those kids were f—ing miserable. They were just—they would not remember their lines on purpose. They were young.”
Gigandet clarified, though, that he generally doesn’t keep in touch with former costars. “I don’t talk to anyone I’ve ever worked with,” he said. The one exception is actor/comedian Nick Thune, with whom he appeared in Bad Johnson.
“I’m not saying any of them are terrible,” he said. “I’ve loved a lot of them, but I talk to one.”
