‘Now is the perfect time for the sequel’: Lindsay Lohan on reprising her role in Freakier Friday
Jamie Lee Curtis as Tess Coleman, Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman in Disney's Freakier Friday.
For millennials, there are a few hallmark films that have helped shape a generation, Freaky Friday being one of them.
The 2003 family classic, starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, tells the iconic story of a mother and her teenage daughter who swap bodies for one chaotic, event-filled weekday.
Now, 22 years later, the cast has reunited for a sequel titled Freakier Friday, revisiting the film’s themes from a very different stage in life.
The story picks up with Lohan’s character, Anna, now a mother to a teenage daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepmother.
In the sequel, Anna’s daughter Harper, played by Julia Butters and her soon-to-be stepdaughter Lily Davies, portrayed by Sophia Hammons, join Anna and her mother Tess in a wild, quadruple body swap.
“I think now is the perfect time for the sequel because it’s believable that Anna could be a young mom,” says Lohan, 39. “It makes sense. We’ve had time to give space for Anna and allow this relationship to evolve in different ways.” Lohan, who was 16 when she first starred in Freaky Friday, is now a mother herself. She says her real-life experience of parenthood has helped her connect more deeply with her character.
“Now I’m a mom, so I can relate to Anna more in the life that she’s living.” Lohan, who rose to fame in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap and later starred in Mean Girls, says she was thrilled to reunite with Curtis on set.
“It’s fantastic working with her. She brings such a light and energy that just radiates, it’s fantastic to be around,” she says. “Every moment has been a memory I’ll cherish, especially with Jamie. We’ve grown not only as co-stars, but as friends, which is very special to me.” Oscar-winner Curtis echoes Lohan’s enthusiasm.
“I got to celebrate her having a baby and all of the beautiful things that go along with her being a mom,” says Curtis. “I’ve been able to participate in that, but I hadn’t physically seen her, held her, or hugged her in quite a long time. It was really fun to be reminded of that lovely relationship we have.” Curtis, who won an Academy Award for Everything Everywhere All At Once, says the sequel is rooted in themes of empathy and connection.
“It’s about mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters,” she says. “It’s about love, understanding, compassion, and empathy, realising through a body switch how hard life is for other people.” “It’s the universal story of seeing the world through somebody else’s eyes. Life is hard for people, and we often take it for granted because, for many of us, life is pretty smooth and easy.” Other returning cast members include One Tree Hill’s Chad Michael Murray, reprising his role as Anna’s former love interest Jake, and NCIS actor Mark Harmon, returning as Tess’s husband Ryan.
When asked about stepping back into Jake’s shoes, Murray says they had to figure out how his character would realistically fit into the updated story.
“It’s a house of cards, you move one piece and the whole thing kind of crashes down with four people switching bodies. So we had to be really careful and deliberate with the choices we made,” says the 43-year-old actor.
“I went straight into analytics mode. We had to flesh out who Jake has been over the last 22 years. What’s he been up to? Where’s he gone? What’s the funniest choice here? And that’s where we went. Then it just became exciting from there.” Joining the cast for the sequel is The Good Place star Manny Jacinto, who plays Eric Reyes, Anna’s fiancé and Lily’s father.
As a newcomer to the cast, the 37-year-old actor says he welcomed Lohan’s experience and natural ease in the role.
“You can tell that she knows this world really well and this character really well,” he says. “Once the cameras start rolling, she’s Anna. I really appreciated that about her. She’s super professional, fun to be with, and caring. She’s a pro.” When asked about building a bond with Hammons, who plays his on-screen daughter, Jacinto shares how the team worked to establish their connection.
“We had a rehearsal process beforehand to get together and figure out a relationship, what happened to her mom, my previous wife. All credit to Nisha Ganatra (the director) for bringing us together to create that bond.” “But also,” he adds, “it’s not hard to care for Sophia, because she’s such a lovely human being.” Also joining the cast are Butters, who rose to fame in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and Up Here star Hammons, who portray the teenage daughters at the centre of the film’s multi-generational body swap.
“Harper’s relationship with her mom is definitely one that I think almost every teenager can relate to,” says Butters, 16. “You can have your misunderstandings, but at the end of the day, you’re family.” Though their characters start off as rivals, Butters and Hammons formed an instant kinship on set.
“Instantly, we were just laughing,” says Hammons, 18. “Nisha told us she could hear us from across the hall. It’s so refreshing to meet people you click with, and she’s one of those people.” Despite the adversarial nature of their characters, the actors say their real-life friendship made the experience fun.
“It’s OK to jab at each other because we know we don’t actually hate each other,” Hammons says. “It’s nice knowing that.” “This movie is about family and change,” adds Lohan. “We always experience changes in life. You never really know how that’s going to go but at the end of the day, it’s always going to be about your family. As long as your family is there for you, you can get through any change.” Freakier Fridayis in cinemas now.
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