“Personally, I don’t think one had much to do with the other,” the actor, 41, told the AV Club in an interview published Thursday, March 18.

Brody rose to fame quickly in the early 2000s when he played Dave on Gilmore Girls. His character, the first boyfriend of Rory Gilmore’s best friend Lane Kim, was the picture-perfect first love, jumping through hoops to win Lane’s strict mother’s approval.

“It was a joy. It was phenomenally well written,” Brody said about his time on the show. “In hindsight, almost 20 years later, I realize that’s still some of the best written stuff I’ve ever gotten to do.”

After appearing in seasons 3 and 4 of the show, Brody left Gilmore Girls to portray Seth Cohen on Fox’s The O.C. — another sweet boyfriend, this time falling in love with Rachel Bilson’s character, Summer Roberts.

When the AV Club asked the California Native what he thought about Seth being a less wholesome version of Dave, Brody defended the character.

“I would say that Dave was short-lived so who knows what missteps he would have made in a longer arc, I’m sure he was not as infallible as he seemed,” the Jennifer’s Body actor said. “It’s not a real fair comparison with Dave; he only got one window into one relationship in his life but he really put it all out there and sacrificed and it was a little bit heroic. … I don’t know if Seth was ever heroic.”

The actor went on to talk about how Seth Cohen is still the character he discusses most, even though The O.C. has been off the air since 2007.

“It’s a big part of why anyone identifies with me as an actor — if I have any fans, [The O.C.] is the biggest part of that, and I’m thankful for it,” Brody said. “And in any way that it garners goodwill towards me, now or in the future, I’m thankful. It’s an honor to have been part of the culture and pop culture in such a distinct way. I think people have good memories of it and have warm thoughts of it, and that’s nice.”

Brody married another pop culture icon, Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester, in February 2014. In September 2020, the pair welcomed their second child, a baby boy whose name has not been revealed. The couple also share a 5-year-old daughter, Arlo.

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Sophia Vilensky