'The OC' star Mischa Barton: 'I've turned down a lot of projects'

Mischa Barton has claimed that she has not appeared in many films or TV shows lately as she has been selective in which projects she chooses.

The former OC star revealed that while several opportunities have presented themselves in recent months, she felt compelled to refuse most of them as they do not represent who she wants to be as an actress.

"It's strange. Everyone keeps asking me about what I'm working on right now. But it's quite the opposite. It's about what projects I'm turning down, which identifies me as the actor I want to be," she explained in a new interview with LADYGUNN magazine.

"I'm in this funny phase in my career, where it's super important to not do a project unless I'm super passionate about it. Because what you choose to take is how people are going to view you. It is hard, though. The way you want to go isn't necessarily the way you get to go as an actor."

Barton added: "This industry is run by fear. When you go too long without working, you have people hassling you. The jobs I choose to do will form who I am."

In April, Barton revealed that she had no immediate plans to return to television as she felt it was important to have downtime in her career.

> Mischa Barton 'was shocked by OC success'