The O.C. alum Ashley Benson looks over her shoulder in a black dress

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Ashley Benson Almost Peed Herself on the Set of ‘The O.C.’

Why did Ashley Benson almost pee herself while she was on the set of 'The O.C.?' The 'Pretty Little Liars' alum weighs in.

by Abeni Tinubu

Published on August 1, 2022

3 min read

Ashley Benson nabbed a guest-star role in ‘The O.C.’ cast

Fans of The O.C. may recall that Benson had a guest star role in the show’s fourth and final season. The Spring Breakers star portrayed Riley in the episode called “The Summer Bummer.” Riley was the resident mean girl at The Harbor School. However, her plans to wield her popularity by hosting an exclusive themed party get foiled by none other than Katilin Cooper. Eventually, Kaitlin convinces Riley to be nicer to her friends and dump her boyfriend.

The ‘Pretty Little Liars’ alum almost peed herself on set

While Benson’s role on The O.C. was a small one, she was over-the-moon when she booked the show. Like millions of other teens, Benson was a massive fan of the series. In an interview with Complex, the Wilderness actor shared that she could barely control her excitement when she was on set and ran into two of the series’ main actors.

“I actually guest-starred on that show,” Benson shared about The O.C. “That was my dream job. When I saw Adam Brody [Seth Cohen] riding bikes around the lot with Rachel Bilson [Summer Roberts], I almost peed myself.” In fact, Benson was so excited about being on set, that she spent her lunch break following Bilson and Brody around.

Benson admitted she stalked members of ‘The O.C.’ cast

“No, but I stalked them when they were at lunch,” Benson shared when asked if she had the opportunity to hang out with the main cast of The O.C. “It was creepy, but it was my favorite show, so I didn’t care.” Because The O.C. was Benson’s favorite show, she had plenty of opinions about the plot and the characters. But who was her favorite leading man? Brody’s Seth or Ben McKenzie’s Ryan Atwood?

“Team Seth, because I like Seth and Summer better than Ryan and Mischa Barton,” Benson declared. “I forgot who Mischa Barton even played. Seth was more down-to-earth and nerdy and into comic books. That was really cute.”

Is ‘The O.C.’ a realistic portrayal of growing up in Orange County?

But even though Benson loved The O.C., she admits that she didn’t find it very realistic. The actor, who hails from Anaheim Hills in Orange County, explained that the show didn’t provide a realistic view of growing up in Orange County. However, she admits that she didn’t have the typical teenage experience because of her acting career.

“I didn’t think it was,” Benson shared when asked if The O.C. painted an accurate picture of growing up in Orange County. “Neither was Laguna Beach. Newport is really small, so that’s not most people’s life in Orange County. I didn’t go to high school, so I didn’t get to have the experience.” Benson may not have had a real high school experience, but at least she got to pretend on her favorite show.