Peter Gallagher Is Still 'Very Protective' over Mischa Barton, Who He Says He's 'So Grateful' Is 'Still Alive'

Gallagher said fame "can kill you" as he expressed his gratitude that Barton is "still alive" after her traumatic experience in the spotlight

To say that Peter Gallagher is protective over Mischa Barton is an understatement.

Gallagher, 69, starred as Sandy Cohen on The O.C. alongside Barton's Marissa Cooper, and he didn't just play a fictional father figure on the show — he took the role quite literally.

"I’ve always felt very protective of her," Gallagher told The Independent of Barton, 38. "First fame is toxic. First fame can kill you."

"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," he said.

Related: Rachel Bilson Reveals Where Her O.C. Character Would Be Today — and Why She Thinks They'd Be 'Rivalry' Moms (Exclusive)

Barton's youthfulness when she joined the hit series, which ran from 2003 to 2007 even though she exited after three seasons and her character was killed off, is not a new topic. She's been open about the "trauma" that she experienced due to her exposure at such a young age, telling The Sunday Times last year, "You can go to therapy every day for the rest of your life. But there's just a certain amount of trauma [from] all that I went through, particularly in my early 20s, that just doesn't go away overnight."

Fame was "never" something she "sought out," she said, which made it all the more challenging. Gallagher, who played a father to Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) and adoptive father to Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), who was Barton's love interest both on and off-screen, was evidently aware of that.

Related: Emma Roberts Says She's 'Still Mad' Her Mom Wouldn’t Allow Her to Audition for Role as Marissa Cooper’s Sister on The O.C.

Barton is not the only one of Gallagher's former costars he's been speaking out about recently, though.

Earlier this month, he told PEOPLE that he was "not surprised at all" by the ongoing Adam Brody Renaissance, which kicked off with the hugely successful Nobody Wants This hitting Netflix.

"He's so talented and I'm glad he's still doing his thing," Gallagher said. "I wouldn’t go as far as being a proud dad, and I haven't seen the show, but I'm proud of him all the time as his friend and former TV dad."

Gallagher has always looked back fondly at his time on The O.C., which he told PEOPLE in 2020 he felt was "exactly what this country has been waiting for" right after 9/11.

"People were drumming up a xenophobia, a fear of the outsider. I thought it was giving into our worst instincts, and it was entirely un-American," he said. "We really had something with that show. And the audience felt the same way."

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The O.C. can be streamed in full on Hulu and Max.

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