I heart THE O.C.: Trivia

When they were casting for the role of Marissa Cooper, writer Josh Schwartz had written to the producers that Marissa was "the most beautiful girl you had ever seen". They later said that they chose Mischa Barton because of her awkward beauty (meant in a good way), and as Barton herself later stated: "I was up against girls who looked liked your usual Californian beach blondes. Guess they decided to go against that."