Peter Gallagher is grateful OC co-star Mischa Barton is 'still alive'

Peter Gallagher reveals which of his former co-stars The OC he is “very protective” of.

The actor, who played Sandy Cohen in the teen drama, recently opened up The Independent about the negative impact of fame and how he always found himself caring for Mischa Barton, who played Marissa Cooper on the show that focused on wealthy teenagers living in Newport Beach, California.

“I always felt very protective of him,” Gallagher said. “First fame is toxic. The first fame can kill you. She was 16 when she started working with us, so just the fact that she's still alive makes me so grateful.

Gallagher and Barton worked side by side during the show's first three seasons, from 2003 to 2007. Marissa was the love interest of Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), who was taken in by the Cohen family, including Peter, Seth Cohen. (Adam Brody) and Kirsten Cohen (Kelly Rowan). (Spoiler alert!) However, Barton's character did not return for season four, as Marissa was killed in a car accident in the season three finale.

After Barton's rapid rise to fame, the actress faced several challenges, including a drunk driving arrest in 2007. She was subsequently hospitalized in 2009 for career- and stress-related reasons.

Gallagher may feel protective of Barton because his rise to fame was much more gradual and with less scrutiny. The actor got his start on Broadway, playing Danny Zuko Fat in 1978.

“It was a great time to be young and doing Fat because the criticism didn't come,” he told the outlet. “I did 500 performances of that show. It wouldn't have made you famous. He wouldn't ruin you. No one was reviewing it, but it was a great workout.”

Last year, Barton opened up The Sunday Times about the “trauma” he suffered working in the industry as a teenager.

“You can go to therapy every day for the rest of your life,” he said at the time. “But there's just a certain amount of trauma [from] everything I've been through, especially in my twenties, doesn't go away overnight.

Leave a Comment

url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url