The Parent Trap is the perfect mix of imaginative plot that consists of genuine human emotions. Even though the movie shares similarities with the 1945 film Twice Blessed, it is actually based on the 1949 book Lisa and Lottie by Erich Kästner.
The story of The Parent Trap is about two Identical twins — Annie and Hallie, who were separated at birth and raised by different parents. They meet for the first time at a summer camp and create a plan to reunite with their estranged parents.
Twenty-five years ago, Lindsay Lohan, 37, made her film debut in The Parent Trap, by playing the roles of identical twins, Annie and Hallie. But do you know her role was first offered to Scarlett Johansson?
The Reason Why Scarlett Johansson Didn’t Watch The Parent Trap
During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show in 2017, the Black Widow star was asked about various movie roles she missed out on — including Jumanji, Les Misérables, and The Parent Trap. The actress joked:
“I saw Jumanji. I liked it. I wasn’t bitter enough then, now I’m bitter.”
Johansson is cool with missing out on other roles but when it came to The Parent Trap it was a tough pill to swallow. When Stern asked her did she watched the movie later, she said, “No, I started to get bitter at that point.”
While casting the role in The Parent Trap, director Nancy Meyers was initially looking for “a little Diane Keaton” to play the roles of Annie and Hallie in the movie. Before Lindsay Lohan was cast, Johansson was also considered for the roles.
Although it wasn’t only Johansson — Mara Wilson, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Jena Malone were considered for the roles, but Malone turned them down multiple times.
Other Roles That Scarlett Johansson Missed Out On
Though it’s hard to imagine any director rejecting Scarlett Johansson. But the Hollywood actress herself admits on The Howard Stern Show that she lost out on many roles over the years:
‘I auditioned [for Les Miserables] and I had laryngitis … but I tried. I don’t know if that’s why I didn’t get it, I probably wasn’t right for it.’
The actress also missed out on the chance to star in the gritty 2011 movie The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (in which Rooney Mara takes on the role of Lisbeth Salander).
She also explained what really happened, and it was all because of director David Fincher. Talking to Howard Stern in his show, the 38-years-old said:
“What happened was, I remember having conversations with [director David] Fincher and he said, ‘You have to look like you’re totally uncaring of yourself, deprived … you’re fragile.’ I said, ‘I will, I can be this person!’ And he said ‘No, you can’t.”
Even though the Lucy star missed out on some of the best roles, she has still earned the biggest box-office success as Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow) in eight Marvel films for The Avengers, in addition to her own Black Widow feature.
The actress was even the world’s highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019 and featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.
Source: The Howard Stern Show
