NEW VIDEOS: Mischa Barton Weeks Before Her Meltdown

Posted on Jul 22, 2009 @ 11:12AM

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Two new videos taken of Mischa Barton at a Harrods store opening in London on June 27th -- just weeks before her very public meltdown that led authorities to place her under an involuntary psychiatric hold -- show the troubled actress looking very different from her waif-like appearance when she starred on Fox's The OC just a few years ago.

Barton -- wearing very heavy eye shadow -- appeared somewhat bloated and at times fidgety while being interviewed by two fashion reporters at the event.

In one interview, Barton appears somewhat incoherent, stammering to answer questions with a husky, scratchy, garbled voice. When the interviewer asked her about her shoes, the glassy-eyed actress looks down without an answer.

Click here to see an interview with Mischa Barton at the Harrods store opening

When a second reporter asked Barton to describe her new show for the CW network called The Beautiful Life, the actress described it as "Sex and The City meets Entourage - about fashion."

Click to watch Mischa being interviewed by a fashion reporter at the Harrods event

The show was scheduled to begin production in New York Wednesday, July 22, but the show's producers have pushed back the start date by a week, claiming the show's sets are not fully built.

Barton -- who started acting young ( she appeared as a ghost in the movie The Sixth Sense when she was just 12 years old ) -- was also asked about her childhood. Barton responded: "I think I'm really lucky. I mean, I definitely grew up fast.. I wouldn't have it any other way... I'm probably regressing now."

Barton has a history that indicates some substance abuse, having a drunk driving arrest and rehab stint under her belt in the past two years.