Peter Gallagher is ‘grateful’ Mischa Barton is ‘still alive’ after dealing with ‘toxic’ fame

nypost.com:

his co-star in “The O.C.,” revealing the level of fame she was dealing with at an early age “can kill you.”Barton, now 38, was just 16 when she was cast as Marissa Cooper in Josh Schwartz’s early ’00s teen drama that launched her into A-list status overnight.

Years later, the Hollywood it-girl went on a public downward spiral, which included a DUI arrest in 2007 and being hospitalized on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold in 2009.“I’ve always felt very protective of her,” Gallagher, who played Sandy Cohen in the hit show, said of Barton in an interview with The Independent published on Oct.

27. “First fame is toxic. First fame can kill you.” The “A Bad Moms Christmas” actor went on to explain, “She was 16 years old when she started working with us, so just the fact that she’s still alive, I’m just so grateful.”The Post has reached out to Barton’s rep for comment.The star has opened up about her struggles in the past.

She once compared her 2009 “breakdown” to Angelina Jolie’s character in the 1999 film, “Girl, Interrupted.”“It was a full-on breakdown.