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Although she is known for her role as Marissa Cooper on "The O.C.," Mischa Barton wishes she never took the role.




In an interview with Metro U.K. , the actress said she would decline the offer to do the FOX drama if she could turn back the hands of time.




"It's something I came so close to not doing. I had a really great thing with film. People say be grateful for what you have but it certainly was not the kind of thing I was expecting it to be," she said. "I've kind of seen it all."




During her time on the show, Barton claimed to be "depressed and overworked." In 2007 she had a run-in with the law due to marijuana possession and driving under the influence.




"It's tough. It's really tough when you are young in this business," she said. "It's just one of those things when you are growing under a microscope and changing and that evolution is human. That humanity aspect means flaws - which people don't want to see."




By 2009, Barton was involuntarily admitted into a psych ward after threatening to take her own life.




The actress also confessed that she didn't care about her reputation.




"That would really do your head in if you were thinking like that," the 28-year-old revealed. "I just like to be seen for the hard-working actress that I am and not for a bunch of extraneous press. In general people are super quick to harbor on the gossipy stuff and less on how much work goes into it."




She also gave some advice to the young stars who came after her.




"Keep your private life private to the greatest extent that you can," she said. "People have this insatiable appetite for it—so how far can you go with that?"