Entertainment
Rachel Bilson turned down an offer to appear on The Hills revival before Mischa Barton was cast
Rachel Bilson turned down a chance to star in The Hills: New Beginnings (Picture: Getty)
Rachel Bilson has revealed she was approached to appear on MTV’s The Hills: New Beginnings, but that she ‘graciously passed’.
And, after the 39-year-old The OC actress turned down the offer, her former O.C. co-star Mischa Barton was cast instead.
Speaking on her Welcome to the OC, B**!’ podcast, Rachel said: ‘I was actually asked to be on The Hills, but I graciously passed. And then, who they wound up casting was Mischa.’
The Hart of Dixie actress – who has six-year-old daughter Briar Rose with former partner Hayden Christensen – admitted the offer was surprising because she didn’t even know anyone else in the cast.
When asked if she even knew the cast of The Hills, she said: ‘No, I don’t know any of them.’
She continued: ‘I’ve met Lauren Conrad before, but she’s not even on that [new] show … I like Lauren a lot.’
Michael Cassidy, Rachel Bilson & Mischa Barton on The OC (Picture: Channel 4)
‘I know her a little, tiny bit and she’s cool. But I don’t know anyone from The Hills, no.’
The original series The Hills was a spin-off of MTV’s Laguna Beach, which followed Lauren Conrad and her friends’ lives in LA from 2006 to 2010.
However, the revival of the show debuted in 2019 without Lauren and had a few new characters.
Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag on The Hills in 2006 (Picture: MTV/Kobal/Shutterstock)
Rachel and Mischa starred together in The O.C, which debuted on Fox in 2003 and ran for four seasons through to 2006.
Mischa appeared on the first season of The Hills: New Beginnings, though it was revealed in late 2020 that she was leaving the show, along with Stephanie Pratt.
Rachel ‘graciously passed’ on The Hills: New Beginnings (Picture: MTV)
Rachel’s podcast co-host Melinda Clarke, who played Julie Cooper in The OC, revealed she’d also had a baffling offer as she was asked to feature on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County despite not living in the area.
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She said: ‘A few years back, probably three or four years ago, I don’t know, I got a call from my agent saying that they’re interested. I don’t know if it was a straight up offer.’
‘First of all, I don’t live in Orange County. Second of all, I don’t have the armour to put myself out there and do what’s required.’
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