BARTON BASES MARISSA ON SCHOOLMATES

THE OC beauty MISCHA BARTON finds inspiration for her character MARISSA COOPER in her old high school friends.

The 19-year-old actress was more than pleased to slip into the role of the troubled rich girl, rather than having to apply method to her part.

She says, "Marissa is pretty easy to play, because I base her on a lot of girls I knew in high school. She's little bits of lots of different people, which means I don't have to go all method."