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Obsessed Completely
We can't get enough of The O.C. and by the sound of it, neither can you. So we can pretty much guarantee you'll love these exclusive interviews with Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, and Ben McKenzie.
Mischa Barton You guys seem to have so much fun together. Is it really as fun as it looks? Mischa: Yeah, the guys are great. They're a lot of fun. We really lucked out because none of us had met each other before we came to do this project. There was a trial period of getting to know each other — like the first day of school. We all did a read-through together of the pilot and because none of us had met, we had all envisioned things about the characters.
How did you envision them? Mischa: I actually don't know, but I was really weirded out finding out what everybody looked like. It's weird to put a face to character you feel like you know so well. Our first read-through pretty much sucked because we were all looking at each other and not at the words. Right now we're on our eighth episode and it feels like we're in such a groove. It feels like we've known each other forever.
How are the boys like their characters? Mischa: Adam's still a very funny guy; he likes to amuse people and make jokes. But he's cooler than his character. Seth is a bit dorkier. He plays Seth a little bit more socially inept, but Adam's not like that. Girls love him. They find him very cool and flirtatious.
And Ben? Mischa: Ben plays the tough-boy act for this role really well. To the point where people are like, Oh, he's probably really cool and suave and tough. Ben has more of a sense of humor than that, and he's much more down to earth. He's the least likely person to be getting in fights.
Do you guys go out together a lot? Mischa: We do sometimes. This past Saturday we did go out to Rachel's birthday party.
What's people's reaction to you guys? Mischa: If I'm out with Rachel, I'm always like, Oh, great, we look like the O.C. crowd. People must think we look so dorky right now because we're hanging out together and we look like the lame-o cast from The O.C. I'm all self-conscious about it. But nobody seems to notice — which is good.
When you're not working what do you like to do? Mischa: I like to study a lot. When I'm not working I'll do a lot of schoolwork and hang out with my friends. If I have a weekend off, I'll go and try to see a concert. I like to be regular whenever I can. It's better as an actress because my favorite thing to do is observe people. That way you don't lose touch with the people you're playing and you also meet more people.
Adam Brody What was it like when you first moved to L.A.? Adam: When I first moved here, I lived in Santa Monica. I worked at a couple of clothing stores, and I was a valet at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and I was a waiter. But I only had one job at a time. I don't have any movie star stories. Those people who say they had to pick weeds on the highway or be a mascot — those have to be embellished.
It's like when celebrities say they thought they were ugly back then... Adam: They might have a low self-esteem, but no one comes to Hollywood because they think they're ugly. I feel like Hollywood is a big high school again. Seriously, Ashton Kutcher is the prom king. It's like high school all over again, on a global level.
Is it easy to keep a distance from all that? Adam: I try. I think everyone tries. I don't even think Tara Reid would be like, "I'm really Hollywood." My favorite quote [in celebrity interviews] is when people say they could take or leave Hollywood — if they weren't doing this, they could be on a farm in Iowa. You know the ones I'm talking about? No, you couldn't.
What made you excited about doing this project? Adam: Doug Liman is my favorite director, but I auditioned for it initially before he was going to do it. I met Ben, and I thought it was the smartest thing they did — was cast him. I really think that Ben is a key to the show. It's hard to play that kid but not to play him totally cheesy because he's this rebel outsider and you really have to downplay it. I feel like the credit I get for my character is undeserved. A lot of people have responded really well to my character. I feel like it's not so much me, as it is the nature of my character — he's free to run around and make jokes. I don't have that heavy of a burden to bear.
This show is grittier than a lot of teen dramas. Like when Seth walks into a party and there's cocaine, and he doesn't do it. Do you feel like you're sending a message? Adam: Totally, even though we show the extremes, at the same time, I don't think we are encouraging kids. There's got to be a happy middle ground. I think the show does a good job of showing the harsh realities and what goes on, but at the same time not really glamorizing it — not glamorizing drugs anyways. Kids drink on the show, and we don't all necessarily throw up after, but at the same time, if anyone thinks that kids don't drink in high school and go to parties, they are just wrong — unless you live in Utah.
But at the same time, everyone is pretty, parties all the time, and the kids don't go to school, so that's not exactly responsible. Adam: The kids don't go to school because it's summer. The kids are pretty and partying — but that's television and hopefully that doesn't effect anyone negatively. I was adverse to the smoking — in the pilot, there was a scene where Ryan and Marissa smoke. They have since gotten a lot of calls from parents, and they've taken it out — Ryan doesn't smoke anymore. In reality, that character would absolutely smoke. But you are portraying him as a hero to a million impressionable kids. Tobacco is the most addictive drug, besides heroin, I hear. That is something I don't want to push.
Do you think you're like Seth? Adam: I like to think I am a little sharper with the ladies. Not in the sense of, I have all these girls, but in the sense of I am a little less clueless to it all.
How are the other people like their characters? Adam: The only way Ben is like Ryan is that he's quieter than me. And Rachel is nothing like her character, either — she's so sweet, and so funny, and nice. Besides my character, especially Ben and Mischa, once they call "Action!" they have to totally hide their personalities because their characters are shown as the most tortured. Kelly [Rowan, who plays Seth's mom] is young, like really young for her character. Peter [Gallagher, who plays Seth's dad] is older than her and it's easy for me to see him as my dad. But, when we're hanging out with Kelly, telling jokes, and they call "Action" and suddenly she's my mom — it's so weird!
Ben McKenzie Tell us how you got the part in The O.C. Ben: Well, I actually came in fairly late for the audition process for the show. I think they'd seen a lot of kids. Three to four weeks before the pilot season was going to start, they were still casting. I went to my audition and I did a pretty good job.
Mischa said it was weird when you all met, because you were putting faces to each character. Ben: I had a beard, too; they were thinking that I would start with facial hair — it's not even funny. I look like George Michael. So, it was weird, I didn't know what to expect from anybody. I read with Adam — I read with him at the test and two other guys, but by far he's the funniest.
He's hilarious to work with? Ben: We're just making fun of each other. Adam's trying to make everyone laugh, which he does all the time. He's kinda like that little brother, that's always making jokes in front of your parents. It's like you're supposed to be serious, but you can't help yourself. Basically, any time he does something funny, we have to do two takes, because the first time I laugh like crazy, and the second time I know what's coming.
Why do you think so many people have connected with the show? Ben: All the main characters are outsiders, even Marissa — so there's that bonding experience within them, and the audience automatically gravitates towards them. I think the writing has been very good at allowing the characters to realistically come and bond together because they do have a similar point of view.
How do you identify with the show, as a 24-year-old... Ben: The characters are in high school, we've all been in high school, we all know what that experience was to us. I think because each character fits into a broad category overall, but also has specific attributes, there is something there for pretty much anyone.
How do you feel now that everyone's commenting on how good-looking you guys are? Ben: We both think its pretty funny. We are okay-looking guys; we're not models. There are some models on the show, but we're not, and we never will be. So, I think we both take it with a grain of salt, but we're getting a kick out of it.
Is it weird to play a younger kid? Ben: You know what? It's not. I just don't think of this character as young. I think of him as an adult trapped in a kid's body. He's seen so much that he is sort of more mature than I am, myself. So, I've never played him as a kid really.
What's been the weirdest thing about this instant success? Ben: Being stopped randomly is kinda cool. Television is so great...literally the next day, you're at the grocery store and someone comes up to you because TV reaches the amount of people that a $100 million dollar movie would reach in a week — it reaches the same audience, and it's so immediate. So people see you on the TV and feel like they know you, which is good in a broad sense — if they like what you are doing.
Have you had crazy fans crying over you yet? Ben: I haven't gotten a lot of that. I've had a couple of relatives of people in the crew that come by and that are young girls and it's funny to have a conversation with them, or really not have a conversation with them. They don't know what to say and it's very awkward. It really brings back high school or [you feel like] you're at the middle-school dance all of a sudden.
Mischa's a lot younger than you, is it weird to kiss a 17-year-old? Ben: It's not weird; she's cool. Kissing someone for a job is just strange — having 100 people watching you, but they're not really watching for you, they just need to see if the lighting's right or the sound's right, so they have to look at you.
What do you do for fun? Ben: I exercise. I run, lift weights, play racquetball — though I'm not particularly good. I just go out like everybody else, talk to girls, if possible. See movies, read, try to write. I don't really do anything...I don't really have any hobbies, like stamp collecting.
It would be really cool if you did, say, collect coins. Ben: I would if it would help me — I guess I would consider it.
