Mischa Barton says an early romance with actor Ben McKenzie, whom she co-starred on The OC, paved a “complicated” path for her in her time on the hit Fox teen drama.
The 38-year-old actress says she was 17 when she dated a 25-year-old McKenzie, as their respective characters, Marissa Cooper and Ryan Atwood, were romantically linked in the series’ storyline.
The romance wasn’t “just on screen,” Barton said in an appearance on the podcast Wednesday Call her daddyand added, “It was quite complicated for me.”
Barton told podcast host Alex Cooper that her “first” romance was with McKenzie, adding: “I had no idea what I was doing.
“I think that also threw things for a loop because it was like – you know people get into these shows and whatever, these things happen, but it was like – we jumped into it very quickly .’
Mischa Barton, 38, says an early romance with actor Ben McKenzie, 45, who she co-starred with on The OC, paved a ‘complicated’ path for her in her time on the hit Fox teen drama
Barton says she was 17 when she dated a 25-year-old McKenzie, as their respective characters, Marissa Cooper and Ryan Atwood, were romantically linked in the series’ storyline.
Barton appeared in 76 episodes of the series from 2003-2006, while McKenzie appeared in 92 episodes of the show from 2003-2007. Other series regulars included Rachel Bilson, Melinda Clarke, Kelly Rowan, Peter Gallagher and Adam Brody.
Barton said she was inexperienced in many facets of life when she started the series.
“I went into it as a virgin, a kid, really feeling like I had to grow up quickly,” Barton said, noting that she was the youngest member of the ensemble cast at the time, which created a dynamic that was “a little awkward.” . for everyone.’
She said: “Performing with people older than me was kind of like, ‘Oh wow. They know what they’re doing.’
“And there are going to be relationships on this show and you’re going to have to play that role, and I didn’t really feel ready for that because I was always a late bloomer in school and I hadn’t really dated yet.”
Barton said she felt like she had to “catch up to her parents” in terms of experiences.
“I was going through all my firsts and I was so young and my mom would be on set and… I just needed a lot more attention in that sense,” Barton said on the podcast. “It was a lot of my firsts, let’s put it that way.
“And that really separated me from them a little bit, in the sense that I wasn’t living alone in LA yet.”
McKenzie and wife Morena Baccarin, 44, were pictured at the Gotham Awards in New York last year
Barton told podcast host Alex Cooper that her ‘first’ romance was with McKenzie, adding: ‘I had no idea what I was doing’
Barton said she was inexperienced in many facets of life when she started the series
Barton said she felt like she had to “catch up to her parents” in terms of experiences
Barton posed with Cooper in a promotional photo for the podcast on her Instagram Stories
Barton said things got even more complicated after she and McKenzie broke up, because they started dating “right out of the gate” from the moment the show started.
She recalled the time frame: “I felt overwhelmed and wasn’t ready for that. I remember they said, ‘Mischa disappeared with Ben and she’s only seventeen and a half, eighteen,’ and the producers went to my parents and said, it was quite an ordeal.’
She continued, “That’s at the very beginning of the show, before we’re even halfway through a season, so there was a lot going on. That show…so much has happened in three seasons.”
McKenzie and his wife Morena Baccarin, 44 – who he met while working on the series Gotham – exchanged vows in June 2017.
They are parents to two children: daughter Frances Laiz, seven, and son Arthur, two. Baccarin is also mother to son Julius, 10, from her previous marriage to director Austin Chick.
Barton appeared in 76 episodes of the series from 2003-2006
She was pictured signing autographs for fans in Hermosa Beach, California in 2003
Barton has been critical of the environment on the set of the Fox series in the past E! News in a May 2021 interview, she shared that she faced “kind of general bullying from some of the men on set” during her time on the show.
“It’s a little complicated,” Barton told the outlet. “It started pretty early on, because it had a lot to do with the fact that they added Rachel at the last minute as, after the first season, a series regular and a night off everyone’s paycheck — and kind of general bullying of some of the men on set. I felt really ***ty.
“But you know, I also loved the show and had to put up my own walls and find ways to deal with that and the fame that was being thrown at me specifically. Just dealing with the amount of invasion I was having in my personal life, I just felt very exposed, I guess that’s the best way to put it.”
Ny Breaking.com has contacted McKenzie’s representatives for comment on this story.