Peter Gallagher still can't believe The O.C.'s lasting impact more than 20 years after the show's premiere. "It was one of the greatest roles I could ever play because there are so many people in the world who haven't really been fathered enough and it was great to play a father," Gallagher, 70, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights' 2025 Ripple of Hope Gala on Tuesday, December 9. "It was a real gift." When The O.C. premiered in August 2003, the teen drama turned actors like Mischa Barton, Ben McKenzie, Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody into huge stars.