Peter Gallagher opens up about protecting Mischa Barton from toxic fame

Peter Gallagher, who played Sandy Cohen in The O.C., recently shared his concerns about the darker side of fame and his desire to protect his former co-star Mischa Barton.

"I've always felt very protective of her," Gallagher told The Independent. 

"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."

Gallagher and Barton worked together on The O.C. from 2003 to 2006, alongside Ben McKenzie, Adam Brody and Kelly Rowan. Barton's character, Marissa Cooper, was written out of the show after a car crash in the season three finale.

Barton faced numerous challenges following her rapid rise to fame, including a 2007 DUI arrest and 2009 hospitalization due to stress and career pressures.

Gallagher's own experience with fame was more gradual, starting on Broadway in Grease in 1978. 

"It was a great time to be young and doing Grease because the critics didn't come," he recalled. 

"I did 500 performances of that show. It wasn't going to make you famous. It wasn't going to ruin you. Nobody was reviewing it, but it was a great training ground."

Last year, Barton spoke about the lasting impact of her early experiences in the industry. "You can go to therapy every day for the rest of your life," she said. 

"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."

Gallagher's protective instincts toward Barton stem from witnessing her struggles firsthand.