Curtis found the key to playing a teenager was to just be herself. “My daughter gave me the greatest hint. One day we were driving home from rehearsal and she said, ‘Mom, you don’t have to try so hard to be a teenager. You are the teenager. You’re the most teenager-like grownup I know.’
“She’s right,” says Curtis. “They found the most immature 43-year old woman ever born who could headline a movie. But it is flattering, because really what my daughter’s saying, in her teenage-speak, is that ‘You relate to how I feel.’”
Halfway through production, Curtis celebrated her 44th birthday on set by buying the crew a ping-pong table and initiating a highly competitive tournament. She also hung her autographed pictures of Justin Timberlake in her trailer.
“I still feel very much like a teenage girl. I’m immature and moody,” furthers Curtis. “I like to do silly, stupid things. I have to remind myself that I’m an adult on a daily basis. I’m not used to being one, and I’m sure I’ll never actually full-fledged become one, but I’m trying really hard.”
Sixteen-year-old actress Lindsay Lohan took on the challenge of playing the dual role of a teenager—and a mother trapped in a teenager’s body.
No stranger to playing dual roles, having first gained recognition five years ago playing the twins Annie and Hallie Parker in Walt Disney Pictures’ hit comedy “The Parent Trap,” Lohan was excited to return to feature films in “Freaky Friday,” playing a character so apart from herself.
“Anna is very different from me,” states Lohan. “She’s a little tougher, and she doesn’t think before she speaks. She’s like most teenagers—she’s having trouble figuring herself out, so she puts up a shield and doesn’t really let certain sides of herself show.”
“To make the daughter a little more real, we wanted to have her in a band so she’d have an edge to her and a little bit of rebellion in her,” explains screenwriter Heather Hach. “Even though she’s a good kid, we wanted to give her a little bit of a bite.”
“This is not your Lindsay Lohan that people may remember from ‘The Parent Trap.’ That little girl is all grown up now,” laughs producer Gunn. “She’s amazing playing this rebellious kind of character. We always knew that she would be good, but we were just really blown away by how great she is. She’s extremely talented and we have great affection for her.”
Director Mark Waters could not agree more. “Lindsay Lohan is nothing like the character of Anna, who’s this bad attitude, punk-rocking, tough girl… almost a tomboy. That’s not who Lindsay is, and yet, she’s pulled that off brilliantly. “
At the same time she’s also been completely inhabiting the role of the mom within her body,” furthers Waters. “From ‘The Parent Trap’ her flexibility was obvious, in that she was able to layer nuances in both parts. She’s been seamless in moving back and forth between the mom and the teenager. She’s been completely impressive. Also, she’s been very convincing in all the guitar scenes.”
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