NEWS'Fame Is Toxic': Peter Gallagher Is 'Grateful' His 'O.C.' Costar Mischa Barton Is 'Still Alive' After Personal Struggles
Peter Gallagher is 'grateful' his 'O.C.' costar Mischa Barton is 'still alive' after personal struggles.
Peter Gallagher is happy Mischa Barton came out on top after going through some personal struggles at the height of her fame.
The beloved star of The O.C. emphasized just how precarious early success can be, especially for young actors like Barton.
'The O.C.' alum is married to Paula Harwood and has two kids — James and Kathryn Gallagher.
“She was 16 years old when she started working with us,” Gallagher, 69, told The Independent in an interview published on Sunday, October 27. "First fame is toxic. First fame can kill you"
"So just the fact that she’s still alive, I’m just so grateful,” he added. “I’ve always felt very protective of her."
Earlier this year, Barton, 38, opened up about her complicated experiences on the set of The O.C.
The actress had a small role in 'Notting Hill' (1999) and the supernatural thriller 'The Sixth Sense' (1999).
“Acting with people older than me was a bit like, ‘Oh, wow, they know what they’re doing,’” she recalled during a February appearance on Alex Cooper’s "Call Her Daddy" podcast. “I didn’t feel really ready for that. I was always a really late bloomer in school, and I hadn’t really dated. I just had no idea what I was doing, really. So, I felt like I needed to catch up.”
In the past, the actress has been also candid about the ups and downs in her career.
“I’ve spoken before about feeling really detached and [about] what fame did to me in my 20s and feeling really agoraphobic about things. It caused some depression and some anxiety and things like that. I’ve dealt with that my whole life. I like to be quite open about it,” Barton, who struggled with excessive alcohol and drug use, shared in a 2020 interview with ET.
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'The O.C.' was on from 2003 to 2007.
“I talk to a lot of people about this kind of stuff. I think it’s all about being honest about the way that you feel about things. That’s how you heal. When you’re trying to hide things, it gets worse,” she added.
Barton also got candid about her reasons for leaving the show before the fourth season aired.
"It's a bit complicated ... sort of general bullying from some of the men on set that kind of felt really s-----" she told E! in 2021.
Mischa Barton was only around for around three seasons of the show.
In another interview, Barton reflected on some of the experiences she missed out on due to being in Hollywood.
"While everyone at my age was enjoying the carefreeness and untroubled joy of being a teenager, I was working extended hours on set, constantly pressured into meeting needs, demands and goals set by people twice my age or older. I never had the option to speak up for myself. As a teenager in an adult world, I felt a perpetual fear that it might backfire, turning my career on its head," the former The Hills: New Beginnings star explained. "This seemed true even far more so then than it is now."
