Welcome Home, Mischa
Mischa Barton appeared from behind the blue door, labeled “M. Barton,” wearing a leather jacket covered in studs, a gray sweatshirt with the hood pulled over her freshly styled hair, leather boots (also covered in studs) and dark makeup around her eyes. This was last week, at Steinway studios in Astoria, Queens, where the actress was filming the CW’s The Beautiful Life: TBL, in which she plays Sonja Stone, a has-been, pill-popping fashion model trying to reclaim her place on top. Her two miniature dogs, Charles Dickens and Ziggy Stardust, darted out ahead of her and circled at her feet.
“She can come in if she wants, but I’m going to smoke,” she said to no one in particular, though she was addressing The Observer, and retreated back into her dressing room.
Ms. Barton has a reason to be on the offensive, if for no other reason than to get a break from having to be on the defensive lately. She has had to repeatedly explain and apologize for a DUI arrest last year; a series of roles in independent films (remember You and I, the t.A.T.u. biopic?) that haven’t gone as she hoped; an alleged involuntary psychiatric hold at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in July; accusatory tabloid headlines screaming “Cellulite!”
In her dressing room, where a plate of bacon sat on a table (for her dogs, presumably) and a window was cracked for the cigarette smoke, Ms. Barton introduced herself politely this time and with a smile.
“I’m getting sick of answering questions about it,” she said, regarding her hospital stay, as she lit her cigarette and placed an ashtray on the couch. “I just had a bad time of year and now it’s all over and done with, and I’m just very happy to be feeling happy again and back on top of it and not so worried about everything. It was just too much to handle for me at the time.”
Ms. Barton is 23 years old, which, when you think about it, is kind of absurd. She has appeared in 23 films, eight TV shows, four theater productions and two music videos. Born in London and raised in New York City (she attended the Children’s Professional School on the Upper West Side), she began acting at age 8. At 17, she moved to Los Angeles and was cast as Marissa Cooper on Josh Schwartz’s The O.C., which made her famous.
Here is the video of Mischa on MTV’s “It’s on with Alexa Chung”. EDIT: Here is the YT video, with a big thanks to Maz! And another MTV News article: ‘The Beautiful Life’ Star Mischa Barton On Her Return To TV: ‘I’m Just So Happy At Work, I Love My Job’ She also shared how grateful she is to be back working. “It’s just nice to do it a second time after the success of ‘The O.C.,’ which was so crazy. It’s just nice to do it and know what’s going to come and sit back and relax and enjoy it this time.” We’re not quite sure how leaving the sunny beaches of SoCal for the hustle and bustle of NYC is more relaxing, but the actress says she embraced the idea of shooting “TBL” in Manhattan. “I grew up in the city, so for me, it’s just great to be back and have an apartment here and be near my best friends,” she said. “I’m just so happy at work. I love my job. We’re having a lot of fun filming, and the stress of the summer is over, which is nice.” By stress, we assume she’s referring to her hospitalization in Mid-July, so we’re happy to hear she’s recovered. Press play below to hear more from Mischa.It’s On with Alexa Chung
Marissa Cooper left ‘The O.C.’ behind back in 2006 when she was killed off the series, but she’s since been reincarnated as the “bitchy but sweet” model (and mommy!) Sonja Stone on The CW’s new Wednesday night series about beautiful people, “The Beautiful Life.” “I like playing a character that’s a lot closer to my personality. Marissa was a little more of a stretch,” Mischa Barton told MTV News about her return to the small screen.
Rachel Bilson comments on Mischa
As we know, Rachel and Mischa attended an event together last week and Just Jared has just put up a short quote from Rachel:
The 28-year-old star of the TRESemme Steal the Show campaign told me exclusively that she very much enjoyed the Dior Homme dinner last week. “I was happy to see [my former O.C. co-star Mischa Barton],” Rachel told JustJared.com. “I hadn’t seen her in a while, so that was really good. The [Cooper Square] hotel was really nice and so was the dinner.”
Mischa goes Gaga over Marc Jacobs
After spending the day filming for The Beautiful Life, Mischa attended a couple of events hosted by fashion designer Marc Jacobs:
- Lady Gaga and launch of V61 hosted by V Magazine Marc Jacobs & Belvedere Vodka
- Mischa attends the Marc Jacobs Spring 2010 after party at Hiro in NYC – Sep 14
General CW Promo
Here is a new promo for The CW network featuring most of their current line up including brief glimpses at the TBL cast:
The View
I added the YouTube clip to the site a few days ago, but I thought some of you might want a downloadable copy. So Mischa’s recent The View appearance has been added to the video archive. I’ve also added HD screen caps from the segment.
Mischa on Alexa Chung
Just a quick update to remind everyone that Mischa will be appearing on the MTV show “It’s On with Alexa Chung” today at 12pm! Check your local listings just in case it airs at a different time. I’ll endeavor to have a video up as soon as I can.
Mischa Barton – It’s On with Alexa Chung – Tuesday, September 15th – 12pm on MTV
