Adam Brody Debunks A Rumor About Seth Cohen On The O.C.

Adam Brody’s role as Noah in Nobody Wants This reminded the world that he is the ultimate heartthrob. But Brody first entered the realm of celebrity crushes when he was in his early adulthood, playing Seth Cohen on The O.C. from 2003 to 2007. The similarities between both roles have garnered a lot of attention, prompting Brody to clear up a rumor about his O.C. character almost 20 years after he stopped playing him.

In Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History, a book about the show released in 2023, creator Josh Schwartz spoke about how Brody’s work in the later seasons impacted his character’s storyline. “Brody just changed his delivery, his investment in it,” Schwartz said, per Variety. “His style shifted to such a degree that we felt like we needed to account for it creatively. That’s where ‘Kaitlin gets Seth hooked on pot’ took root. We were like, ‘Well, how do we explain his lethargy on-screen? And at least if we can write that he’s stoned, then we’re not trying to write around it.’”

But in November, Brody told GQ that he doesn’t remember it like that. “I haven’t really pressed [Schwartz] on this, but I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think they were like, ‘We’re going to make him stoned the whole time,’” he said. “I do think I changed my delivery a bit. I think in the beginning I was sort of really hyper, energetic and comedic and neurotic and talking a mile a minute, and I think more than anything I felt like I just grew out of that by the time it was over.”

During his GQ interview, Brody also addressed the similarities between his characters Noah and Seth. In September, Erin Foster, who created Nobody Wants This, told The New York Times that Brody was the “obvious” choice for the role. “We auditioned every hot Jewish guy in town,” Foster said at the time. “I mean, [Brody] was always cute, but he’s now this very hot adult man. It felt really exciting to show him as this adult version of Seth Cohen.”

Brody, however, didn’t necessarily agree. “A, she certainly didn’t say that to me,” he told GQ. “B, no, I honestly don’t see it that way. I think if it really feels like Seth Cohen to people, that’s because Seth Cohen was a lot of me, and this is a lot of me.”