Does Mischa Barton still have love for Marissa Cooper? Well, kind of. In an interview with Vanity Fair published on Monday, April 4, the O.C. alum candidly spoke about the beloved series that took her acting career to new heights.
Asked if she gets annoyed by people constantly bringing up the show that made her a star, Barton, 30, told the mag: “No, I’m never annoyed by it. It was just so long ago: It really had its time and place.”
Although she no longer connects with the angsty, troublemaking teen she once played on TV, Barton has much appreciation for The O.C.’s effect on entertainment.
“It changed pop culture. It’s amazing all the things that kind of spawned out of it,” she said. “So, no, I’m not annoyed by it, but I’m just like … people love to talk [about it].”
While fans of the iconic Fox drama are excited that they can rewatch all four seasons of the series now streaming in their entirety on Hulu, Barton revealed that she doesn’t tune in for reruns.
“No, I don’t, but not for any particular reason. I know it’s recently on television again so everybody’s been watching it again,” she noted. “So people at work will be like, ‘I was watching you this morning!’”
Barton, who was just booted from season 22 of Dancing With the Stars, sang a slightly different tune when reflecting back on The O.C. in an August 2014 interview with Metro.
While discussing whether she would join the show again if given the chance, she admitted, “Probably not.”
“It’s something I came so close to not doing,” Barton continued at the time. “I had a really great thing with film. People say be grateful for what you have but it [is] certainly not the kind of thing I was expecting it to be. … I’ve kind of seen it all.”
Aside from playing Cooper from 2003 until the character’s death in the 2006 season 3 finale, Barton is best known for her work as a child star in films including Notting Hill and The Sixth Sense.
