NYLON NINETEEN
"And that was when I was, like, 15."
Mischa Barton's latest project, the thriller comedy Spree starring Joe Keery as a rideshare driver so obsessed with internet fame he'll kill for it, examines the way social media impacts our lives.
In Spree, Barton appears as a passenger of Keery's deranged driver, alongside Frankie Grande and Lala Kent, for a very memorable scene. The OC actress is no stranger to cameos — which she reminded us when she tried to recall which James Blunt music video she once appeared in while answering our NYLON Nineteen questionnaire.
Read on for more Barton fun facts, including that time she got kicked out of Webster Hall for moshing and the one question she never wants to be asked again.
1.
What is your horoscope (and do you believe in it?)
I'm an Aquarius and yes, within reason, I believe in it. Do you remember that big book of birthdays, the huge one that everybody had in middle school? I just highly believe in that book, if that makes any sense to you.
2.
Do you believe in ghosts and have you ever seen one?
Yes, I do believe in ghosts. Seeing one, no, because I try to block that stuff out. But my father has seen ghosts his whole life, and he's a very pragmatic type of man. So I grew up believing in ghosts because of him. And my mother has never seen them, I've never seen them, but I've felt them and heard them. Our house in Beverly Hills was haunted, and my dad was pretty plagued by it. He didn't like it at all. And the maid also felt that way. We had somebody in the house constantly who was like, really afraid of certain parts of the house. But I just block it out, so I'm lucky. I think as long as you don't give them too much energy, they don't bother you.
3.
What is your go-to drink order?
Well, if it's alcoholic, it's probably going to be whiskey or wine. If it's non-alcoholic, it's probably going to be iced tea.
4.
Who would be the three headliners of the music festival of your dreams?
That is a really tricky question. I feel like it would be something like this: Oasis; Crosby, Stills & Nash; and then I don't know, maybe the Rolling Stones. I've been to all of those concerts and they were all amazing. And if you could just get them all together, that would be awesome.
5.
What's a bad habit of yours that you've been meaning to fix?
Messing with my nails, especially during the pandemic.
6.
What was the last internet rabbit hole that you went down?
It's always something really random. I've been on this weird health kick, Googling health stuff and going to all the health websites. So I guess I've been going down a big rabbit hole with that. But I don't know. I mean, music videos. I get lost in the land of music videos for hours.
7.
If you could be in any music video, which would it be?
Well, I was in an Oasis music video. Technically, it was the High Flying Birds with Noel, and that was a dream come true. He didn't know that when he asked me to do it, but that was, like, huge cred for me. That was a huge highlight because my dad's from Manchester and they're obviously from Manchester. So secretly having grown up listening to Noel and Liam my whole life, I feel like I've kind of achieved the one thing that I really love.
I was in a James Blunt music video too, which nobody really knows about, but I still think it's kind of cool. Is it “You're Beautiful” or is it the other one? I forget because it's so long ago. It was one of the two main songs. I don't think it was "Beautiful," I think it was the other track that he had that was so big. Because, I mean, what is that, like 10 years ago now that that album came out? (Ed note: It was "Goodbye My Lover.")
8.
Describe your worst date in three words.
Well, I never go on dates, so that's really funny. I mean, I guess I go on dates with my boyfriends. I'm like that person who jumps straight into a relationship. Three words, though. Awkward, cheap, and what's another good word here? Boring. I'm easily bored. I like to keep things funny and exciting.
9.
What was your first concert and what do you remember about it?
I've been to so many concerts, I'm a music junkie, and I feel like my first concerts, actually, were not really with my parents, to be honest. The first ones I remember going to were at Webster Hall and it was Sum 41 or some random band we snuck out to see. That was huge at the time. I remember I moshed at a Sum 41 concert and hurt myself and got kicked out by the NYPD. And that was when I was, like, 15. That kind of stands out in my mind. But it probably wasn't even my first concert. It was probably another punk band.
10.
What was your first AIM screen name?
I remember it and it's extremely embarrassing. It lasted for a really long time too, way too long. Yeah, I had that screen name for like nine years. It was FairyBabe411. And I feel like, in my defense, the 411 thing was very cool at the time. Everyone tagged 411 onto everything. But the FairyBabe was just inexcusable.
11.
What was the last DM you received?
I get a lot of crazy stuff, actually, in my DMs. I try to keep it to a minimum with like... I do respond to some mega-fans, depending on what it is, but I don't want to put any of them on blast because I feel like that's mean. I feel like it's usually my friends. I mean, my friends will DM me the craziest stuff. The most ridiculous stuff. It is largely my friends, even though I get a lot of strange stuff on there.
12.
What's your favorite meme or joke on the internet, currently or of all time?
You remember that "You're the man now" Sean Connery one? That's pretty good.
13.
What is your go-to breakup/sad song?
Oh, man. Wow. So many. I don't know why Leona Lewis just popped into my head, but for some reason she did. But that just doesn't make much sense because I can't even think why that came into my head. What is a good sad song? There are so many. I mean, I could go down a rabbit hole with that. Elton John's not really that sad, but it's like something I would listen to if I was grieving.
14.
What piece of clothing from high school do you wish you had kept?
There's so much stuff. I guess mostly leather jackets that go missing over the years that people take. I mean, people would have their eyes on a leather jacket from a mile away. I had this punk leather jacket that was so sick. It was an original. It was super cool. Found it in New York somewhere. It was just like an original punk jacket and it's gone and I would give good money to get that one back.
15.
What is your favorite red carpet look of all time, worn by someone else?
I'm going to be really bad at this, shockingly. I really, really, really, really don't know. Because I don't really look at it like that. But you know who I think is super cool now and slayed it most recently, and I was like, "That's super impressive," was Zendaya in that green outfit. I thought that was iconic and cool.
16.
What was your favorite movie as a kid?
I really loved Fantasia, that Disney movie. We used to watch that all the time. And then I have vivid memories of when my family first showed me Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but I wouldn't call it favorite because I didn't sleep for years after that. I was way too young to watch it. They literally showed it to me when I was five or six and I was like, "Great, child snatcher. I'll never sleep again."
17.
What reality show would you most like to appear on (that you haven't already)?
Well, I've been there, done that! I feel like if I was going to again though, any of the Bravo shows, probably, because they have a completely different formula as MTV. I love The Real Housewives of New York. Or any of them, really. They're all kind of funny. But other than that, it would be a docuseries, something like Zac Efron's new show that he did or something that's more reality, but not reality, like docu-based.
18.
What’s one item under $10 that everyone should buy?
I would say socks. Or actually, you know what? I really like expensive socks, so that doesn't count. That's not really true, but it is a good one. Aquaphor?
19.
What is one question that you never want to be asked again?
Oh my Gosh. Uh-oh. You're going to get me in trouble. There's so many. There's a few that I get asked over and over again, usually to do with... Yeah, no, no, I don't want to say. It's too... They're going to hate it. I hate boyfriend questions. I'm going to tell you straight up, I really do. I've gotten nicer at answering them over the years and I'm a lot more chill about it, but I really hate boyfriend questions, it's true. But I'll begrudgingly answer it and then I'll regret it right away afterwards as soon as it's come out of my mouth and I'm like, "Ugh, I wish I hadn't even said that then."