Mischa Barton as Eva Gascon in Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain

Marissa Cooper from The O.C. That’s what she’s still known as but there’s so much more to the lovely Mischa Barton. As we found out earlier this month when t2 sat down with the actress for an exclusive chat on the terrace of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Mischa spoke about her experience of shooting in India for Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain, her stints with theatre and whether she’s lived up to the O.C. promise.

You shot for Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain back in 2009. So when you got to know it’s finally releasing, what were the first memories of the shoot that came to mind?

Well, I had a fantastic time making this film. I really fell in love with India. It was a pleasant surprise to hear that it’s been cut together, that it’s finally coming out. Like you said it was a while ago. So it was like a trip down memory lane. Yeah, it was five years ago! In general it was a great experience for me.

An interview during the shoot of the film mentioned that you said ‘yes’ to Bhopal because of moral reasons...

Around that time and still now, I am very interested in movies that have some kind of political comment to make. That have purpose and an interesting angle on them. Especially at that time, around five years ago, a very idealistic me was taken by the idea that films like this will expose the corporate corruption that is out there. And not just expose but draw attention to it... people become aware of it. When you read a script, you have some kind of emotional connection to it and I think I felt that to really understand this journalistic attitude of my character. And living in India — and we spent a long time there — I really began to feel connected to the theme, to the film.

Did you base your character of the lifestyle journalist on anyone in particular because you must have met a lot of them as a model and then as an actress?

Yeah (laughs)! I did, at that time, go through quite a lot of the big female reporters of the 1980s, watching stock footage. I was interested in seeing what it was like to really have that as a career because it’s a career I could perhaps have seen myself in when I was younger. Because I was interested in that kind of stuff. So yes, I guess, I did base it on real journalists a little, but then she’s a completely fictitious character in a film that is based on all true events.

There’s this explosive confrontation scene you have in the film with Martin Sheen in the car. How challenging was that?

It was very funny! It was such a hectic day and it was the most stressful scene. We had hundreds of extras, these old cars of the 1970s and ’80s, all the period stuff.... Sometimes Kal (Penn who plays Motwani) and I wouldn’t even know when they are filming. And Martin would suddenly drive up into the scene and we would just look at each other and be like: ‘Oh my god!’ and then start running with the car to be part of the scene. It was a lot... we were throwing cameras in the front of the car and in the back of the car and Kal’s biking alongside the car. It was stressful, that day, but it was real and I prefer to work under these real circumstances.

Besides being stressful and chaotic, what was it like shooting a film in India?

It was an amazing experience for me. I was quite a bit younger and I had not been to India ever before. And just everything from the smells to the colours... it was a beautiful time. We were in Hyderabad for the shoot, but I did a bit of travelling so that I could see a little more of India. Like for Christmas, my dad, my sister and I were in Goa and we really made a thing of it. It was also quite a spiritual time for me... a happy time. And I had all these clothes made and I was very vegetarian and very idealistic! (Laughs out loud) Just very happy.

Were you or are you clued into Indian cinema?

A little bit. I’ve seen some of the more serious Bollywood stuff. I have also seen some of the over-the-top productions, but I would never be able to tell you the name of any one in particular. Some I was really taken with were the beautiful love stories. But if I could give you a title that would be amazing. I cannot remember (laughs).

Despite all the film work you’ve done and some fantastic work on stage, you are still synonymous with The O.C., as Marissa Cooper. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Well, I think, it remains to be seen, you know. Of course, it’s bit of a bad thing for me personally. I’m just sick of comparisons with this one thing when I do all these other films. It’s just tiring to stay in comparison with something 10 years back, obviously. At the same time, people were really taken with this character. And I think people forget it’s a character.

After quite a hiatus you went back on stage a couple of years back. Is that where you feel most comfortable as an actor?

I love the theatre. It was just about the leap of faith and the challenge and working in the UK. I wanted to put some roots back in the UK and there are some fantastic directors out there. The production itself was a very interesting one. Playing the Julia Roberts character from Steel Magnolias (laughs). There’s a nice arc in the play and I enjoyed doing it.

A decade back, during that O.C. phase, you were being hailed as “the it girl”, as “the next big thing”. Do you think you have been able to live up to that promise?

I don’t know. I think careers are just funny things. It’s a roller-coaster ride. They just come and go. It’s partially about the projects you have and also about the kind of effort you are putting in to get these roles. There is so much that goes into it. As an actor you have to feel it. There have been times when I have tried to concentrate on what I love the most in the world. And there have been times when I have been happy to take a backseat.