Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has starred in many cult classics such as Halloween, True Lies, and the more recent Knives Out and Everything Everywhere All At Once. The actress is a recipient of an Academy Award, which she won for EEAAO, and has won the Golden Globes twice. She is also considered to be one of the most popular scream queens due to her work in horror films.
Lee Curtis was also a part of multiple comedies that explored her impeccable comic timing, one of which was the Disney classic Freaky Friday. The film also starred Lindsay Lohan and Chad Michael Murray. The actress reportedly kissed Michael Murrey to calm down Lohan, who was about to shoot her first on-screen kiss and was nervous.
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Production Of Disney’s Freaky Friday
The Mark Waters-directed 2003 film Freaky Friday starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother-daughter duo who are forced to undergo a body swap to learn each others’ perspectives after fighting with each other for the entire day. The film then sees Curtis playing the role of a rebellious teen while Lohan acts as a mature and responsible mother.
The film was the third adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers, with the original released in 1976. Actress Annette Benning was initially supposed to play the role of Tess, the mother in the film, however, the actress backed out a few days before filming began, prompting the makers to offer the role to Jamie Lee Curtis.
Lee Curtis was one of the most experienced actors on set for the Disney film as the other lead stars Lindsay Lohan and Chad Michael Murray were both upcoming actors when they were cast. Lohan was sixteen years old and was a prominent Disney alumnus, while Michael Murray was known for his roles on Dawson’s Creek and Gilmore Girls.
Chad Michael Murray, who later became known for his role on One Tree Hill claimed in an interview with Vulture that he got the role because of Lohan’s energy during the screen test was the reason he got the part. He was reportedly up against Supernatural star Jared Padalecki during the audition.
Jamie Lee Curtis Calmed Lindsay Lohan By Kissing Their Co-Star
Actor Chad Michael Murray revealed that he was extremely excited to work with Jamie Lee Curtis as he had grown up watching her films such as True Lies and Halloween with his father. He said that it was a dream come true to work with her and lauded her for making him feel comfortable on set. He said to Vulture,
“We grew up watching True Lies, Trading Places. Halloween to this day is my favorite horror movie. What a trooper she is for just leading the way and breaking it down so simplistically for Lindsay and trying to make her feel comfortable.”
The actor also revealed that Lee Curtis went out of her way to make sure that Lindsay Lohan and he were comfortable with their on-screen kiss. He mentioned that Lohan was nervous about her first on-screen kiss and Lee Curtis took it upon herself to make her calm. She reportedly called Michael Murray and planted a kiss on him to make Lohan feel better. He said,
“Jamie says, ‘We just want to talk to you about this onscreen kiss.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, great, whatever makes you comfortable. We’re going to crush it.’ And Jamie says, ‘See? Don’t even worry about it! You’re just doing the work.’…Jamie goes, ‘Forget about it, come here.’ And she kisses me and pulls away and goes, ‘See? It’s easy! It’s nothing! Right, Chad?’”
Chad Michael Murray went on to say that he could only think of going back home to his father to say that he had just kissed Jamie Lee Curtis on set. The kiss in the film is one of the climactic moments of the film and is a sweet scene.
