The icon shares what it was like coming of age in Hollywood and how she found her feet in the murder mystery genre.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]
Words by Nikki Peach and Georgia Aspinall<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/imago372013285-scaled.jpeg” alt=”Mischa Barton” title_text=”Mischa Barton beim Mon Cheri Barbara Tag 2023 zu Gunsten der MaLisa Stiftung in der Isarpost. M\u00b8nchen, 04.12.2023 *** Mi” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] It\u2019s hard to think of noughties TV without thinking of shows like Friends, The OC and Desperate Housewives. Not only did the storylines give viewers something to talk about every week, but the characters became icons in their own right.<\/p>\n Mischa Barton, who played the rebellious rich girl and everyone\u2019s Orange County crush Marissa Cooper in The OC, knows this all too well. She starred in the hit teen drama between 2003 and 2006, and she was just 18 years old when first cast. With an average audience of 9.7 million, it didn\u2019t take long for Barton to become a household name and by the time she left the show she was dubbed Entertainment Weekly\u2019s \u2018It Girl\u2019 of the year. In fact, Cooper\u2019s death at the end of season three is still a cultural touchstone \u2013 as is Imogen Heap\u2019s cover of Hallelujah that plays in that final scene.<\/p>\n With great power, though, comes great scrutiny. Much like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, for Barton, catapulting into fame at such a young age meant she swiftly became a tabloid target. One minute she was labelled \u2018the next big thing\u2019, the next she was being criticised for her every move, subjected to cruel and invasive headlines, with millions of strangers probing into her personal life online.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″] Discussing that era with Grazia, Barton says \u2018I wouldn\u2019t like to be giving myself advice, that\u2019s for sure. But I would point out to protect myself a little bit more. Everybody will act like they have your best interests at heart, but a lot of people don\u2019t.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018There were times when I only had six days off in the whole year,\u2019 she continues. \u2018Those days were hard because you don\u2019t really have time to find yourself, you\u2019re just going with the flow. There were good times and bad times, but what can I say? I still really enjoyed my job and what I did. I just feel very far removed from it now.\u2019<\/p>\n She did have support from an unlikely source though. ‘Whenever anyone asks me about [mentors growing up], the first person who comes to my head is Dickie [Richard] Attenborough. That’s because he found me right after The OC and sent me to RADA [the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art] and really did guide me. He and his wife took me in at a time when I really, really needed it.’<\/p>\n Peter Gallagher, who played Sandy Cohen in The OC, has been a ‘great shining light’ too, Barton adds. And what of the good times, I wonder – what’s her favourite memory from that era? ‘My favourite stuff was getting to travel all the time,’ she says. ‘I went to Toyko like 13 times, my fondest memories are being on the road doing promotion with either my family or cast at the time. Weirdely enough, The OC cast and I never really got to do that together, so our only memories together are LA and New York press which is a little boring to be fair.’<\/p>\n Prior to mainstream fame on The OC, Barton starred in smaller roles in a series of hit films including Lawn Dogs, Notting Hill and The Sixth Sense. When she left the show in 2003, she rejoined the Indie circuit and opted for less conspicuous roles in films like Closing the Ring and St Trinian\u2019s (both 2007) before taking a turn on stage in the Irish production of Steel Magnolias (2012). In 2023, she was cast in an extended guest role in the rebooted Australian soap, Neighbours.<\/p>\n Now Barton is promoting the digital release of her mystery movie, Invitation to a Murder, where she plays Miranda Green, a British florist with a passion for Agatha Christie novels. \u2018It\u2019s just my kind of project,\u2019 she tells us. \u2018I love murder mysteries, especially period pieces. So a 1930s murder mystery was very much up my alley.\u2019<\/p>\n The film finds aspiring detective Miranda Green as she receives a mysterious invitation from an unknown textile tycoon, Lord Findley, to join five other guests on a passenger train to his island estate. When another guest turns up dead, it falls to Miranda to uncover who\u2019s responsible.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/Invitation-to-a-Murder.jpg” alt=”Mischa Barton” title_text=”Screenshot” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-in-article-bold” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_font_size=”18px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] \u2018I think all the characters are really fun and juicy, they all have something to offer the story. I love Miranda. She\u2019s a strong, female lead.\u2019<\/p>\n This is something Barton has noticed change since she started out in the industry. \u2018A lot has opened up and there are great roles for women in particular. If you look at what\u2019s on TV, it\u2019s amazing how many strong, female leads there are now.\u2019<\/p>\n For The OC star, a growing number of exciting female-led stories on screen has allowed her the freedom to choose projects that really speak to her. \u2018I\u2019m really into history,\u2019 she adds, \u2018there are a lot of historical characters that I\u2019d be quite jealous not to get to play. It\u2019s also fun whenever costumes play a huge part in any role. When you\u2019re doing something historical the costumes need to be accurate, and everyone on the film works harder. You\u2019ve got to get the cadence of the speech right, what they\u2019re wearing, smelling, everything, much more than with modern pieces.\u2019<\/p>\n If a trip back to the 1930s excites you too then you\u2019ll be pleased to hear that Invitation to a Murder is the first of three films, all of which star Barton, with the latter two planned for release this year. \u2018If you like a Who Dunnit? or these types of murder mysteries, then you\u2019ll love the way it was shot,’ Barton promises. ‘It\u2019s fun! And I\u2019m all for watching them in a row…\u2019<\/p>\n Invitation to a Murder is available to stream on UK digital platforms now.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”] Photo: <\/b>Imago<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ‘Everybody will act like they have your best interests at heart, but a lot of people don\u2019t.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"guestgrazia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5965"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5976,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5965\/revisions\/5976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}‘I would protect myself more’<\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]