Mischa Barton 'fought tooth and nail' for Marissa Cooper to die on The O.C. ... as she plans her return to television with MTV's revival of The Hills
She's returning to television screens this summer as a new castmember of MTV's reboot of The Hills.
And while Mischa Barton will portray herself on the revival of the famed reality show, she revealed to The New York Times that she 'fought tooth and nail' to have her character die on The O.C. in 2006.
The 33-year-old actress was having a difficult time juggling her career with her character Marissa Cooper's storyline and despite heavy criticism about her exit from the Fox show, Barton feels like 'everything sort of worked out' on its own.
Star power: Mischa Barton will portray herself on the revival of The Hills, she revealed to The New York Times that she 'fought tooth and nail' to have her character die on The O.C. in 2006; seen in January
'I just had a lot in my career that I wanted to do and accomplish,' she said. 'I felt like things were really heavily reliant upon me, and I was getting no time to do any of the other offers that were out there.'
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Mischa portrayed affluent girl-next-door Marissa Cooper in the hit show which aired from 2003-2007, but all was not what it seemed for the teenager.
Cooper battled with substance abuse throughout her three seasons on the show and was ultimately killed off in a car accident, but writers were hoping to leave room for an alternate ending where she lived.
Too much: The 33-year-old actress was having a difficult time juggling her career with her character Marissa Cooper's storyline and despite heavy criticism about her exit from the Fox show, Barton feels like 'everything sort of worked out' on its own; seen on the show in 2004
The O.C.: Mischa portrayed affluent girl-next-door Marissa Cooper in the hit show which aired from 2003-2007, but all was not what it seemed for the teenager
'I fought tooth and nail for that to not happen, because I just don’t think that’s Marissa Cooper. I just don’t think sailing off into the sunset's the proper goodbye, she told the Times.
'She’s one of those burnout characters where I don’t know how much more we could have done with her anyway.'
'Making the show was a lot towards the end. I really feel like everything sort of worked out in the way it was probably supposed to. I may never have gotten a job or a career if I hadn’t taken just taken it then.'
'I fought tooth and nail for that to not happen, because I just don’t think that’s Marissa Cooper. I just don’t think sailing off into the sunset's the proper goodbye'; seen in 2017
Mischa struggled with her next moves following her leave from the show as there was 'an expectation of me to still remain being Marissa,' but she's excited for a new opportunity with MTV.
'You are going to see me ... It’s not in any way really scripted at all.,' she said of her new role on The Hills revival.
'People seem to have always associated me with one thing, and I thought it would be a good opportunity for them to get to see the real me.'
The Hills: New Beginnings premieres on Monday, June 24 on MTV, with returning castmembers Heidi Pratt, Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port.
Back again: The Hills: New Beginnings premieres on Monday, June 24 on MTV, with returning castmembers Heidi Pratt, Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port
