Mischa Barton Is Glad She’s No Longer In The Tabloids

Actress Mischa Barton said she is happy that her life is no longer being chronicled by tabloids.

The former O.C. star found herself battling one rumor after another several years ago. However, she has managed to stay out of the spotlight following the cancellation of the series The Beautiful Life.

“I’m so relieved it’s not how it was,” Mischa Barton explained to the Daily Beast. “It’s not the person. It was the time. Everything was an ‘It’ girl this or ‘It’ girl that. It was just over the top.”

After The Beautiful Life failed to connect with viewers, the actress decided to take roles that essentially kept her out of the spotlight. She starred in the horror flick Apartment 1303 and landed a small role in the Law & Order: SVU.

Staying out of the tabloids and keeping the attention off of her personal life was important to Barton. She said the negative attention was starting to take its toll on her work.

“It’s invasive. I find, in order to get your job done, actors need a certain amount of anonymity. You’re being blown up to that extent, and everybody is following every little piece of your life. ‘Oh, she went to Starbucks to get a Frappuccino with a caramel.’ Then they follow you to the gas station,” she explained.

Mischa Barton is currently promoting her most recent horror flick A Resurrection. She told Entertainment Weekly that she enjoyed her time with late actor Michael Clarke Duncan. The film will serve as his final film.

“Every time he was on set, we had good laughs and good vibes. It’s tragic. He was just such a nice guy. Nobody could say anything negative about Michael. We were so lucky to have him,” she explained.

As for her return to television, the actress that she has learned to never say never.

“if the right role comes along now in television, absolutely. It’s not where I started. I started in theater and in film so I went back to the roots. And there’s a good chance I’ll be doing some off Broadway this year in New York. I don’t really limit myself,” she said.

Are you a fan of Mischa Barton? What do you think about the actress’ experience dealing with the paparazzi?

[Images via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]