Prepare to feel old – it’s been two whole decades since the first episode of The O.C. aired and transported a generation of teens and young adults to the glamorous shores of Newport Beach.
The teen drama launched a number of top stars, giving future A-lister Chris Pratt his first taste of fame, and in the years since it went off-air in 2007, Rachel Bilson, Adam Brody and plenty of others have forged successful careers in TV and film.
With fans feeling super nostalgic about The O.C.’s 20th anniversary, we thought it was time to check in with all of the cast to see what they’ve been up to since the show ended...
Adam Brody starred as Seth Cohen...
After the O.C. ended, Adam married fellow US teen drama alumni Leighton Meester (yes, Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf!) in 2014, with the couple welcoming their first child – a daughter called Arlo Day – a year later. They later had a son together in 2020.
Adam’s career has gone from strength-to-strength too, as starring in the US TV show Billy And Billie, which received rave reviews, and has also made appearances on the big screen, in movies Baggage Clai’, Welcome To The Jungle and Scream 4.
More recently, he appeared in SkyOne drama Curfew, alongside Billy Zane and Sean Bean and in 2019 film Ready Or Not and appeared in 2020 film Promising Young Woman.
Benjamin McKenzie starred as Ryan Atwood...
In the years immediately after the final season of The O.C., the star focused his efforts on films, making appearances in Johnny Got His Gun, Decoding Annie Parker and Goodbye World.
Most recently, he played lead character James Gordon in all five series of US Batman prequel, Gotham, which ended in 2019.
The following year, he made his Broadway debut in Grand Horizons, before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the production.
Rachel Bilson starred as Summer Roberts...
Rachel hasn’t aged a day since stealing Seth’s (and our) heart, though she is now a mum, after welcoming her a daughter with then-boyfriend Hayden Christensen in 2014. The couple met on set of Jumper in 2006, but split in 2017.
Rachel’s biggest success since leaving Orange County behind is her sitcom, Hart Of Dixie. Sadly though, the series was axed after four seasons.
She went on to take the lead in 2018 crime comedy-drama Take Two, but it only lasted one series.
Rachel and fellow O.C. star Melinda Clarke now host their own podcast series Welcome To The O.C., Bitches, which looks back on the show.
Mischa Barton starred as Marissa Cooper...
Mischa’s had a rocky ride since the show ended, and while she’s experienced career success in the movie world, her personal life has often hit headlines.
In April 2015, Mischa started legal proceedings against her mother, claiming that stole money and had damaged her reputation.
The actress has also taken on a number of refreshingly different projects, starring in a Noel Gallagher music video and launching her own fashion lines. She was also a contestant on the US version of Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing With The Stars, in 2016. However, she didn’t hit it off with partner Artem Chigvintsev, and later said she “no idea it would be so bad”.
More recently, she joined the cast of the rebooted MTV reality show The Hills.
In 2023, it was announced that Misha would be joining the cast of Neighbours in a guest role, as part of Amazon’s reboot of the Australian soap.
Peter Gallagher starred as Sandy Cohen...
During his time on The O.C. Peter released an album, keeping his vocal cords in training for a return to Broadway when the show finished.
In 2010, he appeared alongside Cher in film Burlesque, and went on have small roles on a number of hit US TV shows, including How I Met Your Mother and New Girl.
He went on to have a recurring roles as Deputy Chief William Dodds in Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, as Nick Skolka in Netflix’s Grace & Frankie and as Mitch Clarke in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
Peter can presently be seen in Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. David Hamilton.
Kelly Rowan starred as Kirsten Cohen...
Kelly welcomed a daughter in 2008, the year after we said our final farewell to Newport Beach.
In 2012 she nabbed a lead role in the crime drama Perception, where she starred alongside Will & Grace star Eric McCormack, before it was cancelled in 2015 and has remained largely out of the limelight since.
Melinda Clarke starred as Julie Cooper...
Julie was everyone’s favourite baddie with a heart, and after hanging up her stilettos, Melinda continued working with The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz, making a guest appearance in his show Chuck.
She’s also lent her voice to a series of projects, including King Of The Hill and a Mission Impossible game.
She also starred alongside former O.C. co-star Benjamin McKenzie, when she had a two-episode guest stint in Gotham in 2016, which was her most recent screen role.
Melinda now co-hosts Welcome To The O.C., Bitches podcast series with former co-star Rachel Bilson.
Chris Carmack starred as Luke Ward...
Chris is another member of the cast who hasn’t age a day, and from 2015 to 2018, he was seen showing off his singing talents on the musical TV show Nashville as Will Lexington.
These days, he can be seen as Link on Grey’s Anatomy.
Olivia Wilde starred as Alex Kelly...
Olivia’s career has gone from strength-to-strength since her breakthrough role as Alex, and straight after filming wrapped, she began a five-year stint on House.
Her film credits include *deep breath*... Tron: Legacy, The Change-Up, People Like Us , Her, Cowboys & Aliens, Drinking Buddies, Rush and The Lazarus Effect. And breathe...
She also made her directorial debut in 2019 with teen comedy, Booksmart and before helming 2022′s Don’t Worry Darling, in which she also appeared alongside now ex-boyfriend Harry Styles and Florence Pugh.
Alan Dale starred as Caleb Nichol...
Alan’s profile didn’t exactly need a boost back in 2003 when he took on the role of Caleb, and he’s showed no signs of slowing down since.
Alongside starring roles in Lost, NCIS and Ugly Betty, the star also popped up on Entourage and in The Mindy Project. In 2016, he appeared in Secret City back in his native Australia.
In 2018, he reprised his role as Jim Robinson in Neighbours, coming back from the dead to send a message to son Paul from a Christmas bauble.
Alan also went on to star in the Dynasty reboot as Joesph Anders.
Willa Holland starred as Kaitlin Cooper...
Willa went from one amazing teen drama to another, when she joined the cast of Gossip Girl as Agnes.
From 2012 to 2020, Willa had a main role in six seasons of superhero drama Arrow as Thea Queen/Speedy, also playing the character in two episodes of The Flash.
Chris Pratt starred as Ché...
Chris isn’t doing too badly since his days as Brown University’s resident eco-warrior, and he recently starred in the reasonably well-known Jurassic World movies, as well as main roles in the Guardians Of The Galaxy and Avengers franchises.
He was married to fellow actor Ana Farris until 2018, and is now married to Katherine Schwarzenegger. He also does a cracking Essex accent, FYI.
Autumn Reeser starred as Taylor Townsend...
Autumn popped up in Rachel Bilson’s show Hart Of Dixie prior to its cancellation – but more excitingly, she played the formidable Julie Cooper in the one-off The O.C musical in 2015.
More recently, she starred alongside Tom Hanks in the film Sully, which told the story of the 2009 emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in New York.
She also had a lead role in short-lived E! series The Arrangement in 2017.
Tate Donovan starred as Jimmy Cooper...
Tate, AKA Hercules, reprised his role as the voice of Disney’s hero for a new video game in 2013.
In 2016, he appeared in the Oscar-nominated film Manchester By The Sea as a hockey coach, while in 2019, he appeared in Elton John biopic Rocketman as Doug Weston.
Tate also had a guest role in three seasons of action adventure TV series MacGyver, where he played. James MacGyver.
Logan Marshall-Green starred as Trey Atwood...
Is there anyone from The O.C who isn’t still ridiculously good-looking? (No, there is not).
Anyway, as well as film roles in Prometheus and Upgrade, Tom appeared as Jackson Brice in 2017′s Spider-Man: Homecoming, before starring in Netflix’s period drama Damnation.
More recently, he had a lead role in the second season of US drama Big Sky.
Michael Cassidy starred as Zach Stevens...
Zach, with his boyish good looks, may not have been able to win Summer over, but actor Michael Cassidy hasn’t had any problems winning over fans.
He had small roles in Argo and Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice, and had a leading role in US sci-fi comedy People Of Earth as Jonathan Walsh.
Some of his more recent credits include TV shows including The Rookie, Into The Dark and Good Trouble.
Cam Gigandet starred as Volchok...
Cam didn’t waste any time when The O.C. wrapped, jumping straight into a role in Twilight. He also starred in Burlesque, and The Roommate, along with a series of other movies that sadly, weren’t quite so successful.
However, until 2018 he had a lead role in US TV series Ice, and continues to make small appearances in film.