I was just reading about actress Mischa Barton’s recent DUI troubles when I noticed a line that says she’s just 22 years old. I was actually a bit shocked by that, as I for some reason figured that she was a few years older.
That mean she was almost age-appropriate when she played Marissa Cooper on The O.C. She landed that role when she was 17, and the characters were juniors in high school, so that was just about right. Of course, O.C. time and real life time were at odds during the show’s run, meaning her character went through two years of high school during Barton’s three-year stint.
Still, that’s a heck of a lot better than co-stars Adam Brody, who was 24 when cast as 17-year-old Seth Cohen, Ben McKenzie who was 25 when he played 17-year-old Ryan Atwood, and even Rachel Bilson who was 22 when she took on the role of Summer Roberts, also 17.
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s weird to have a 25-year-old play a high school kid. Yes, I’m aware of the fact that this happens all the time, but still…. it’s pretty creepy in some cases — especially now that I think of the Ryan/Marissa hookup scenes. They had a 25y/o macking on an underage girl? Ewwww!!!!