Child star Lindsay Lohan’s turn in Disney’s 1998 remake of “The Parent Trap” had the original star seeing double.
Over three decades before Lohan, 35, starred in the family flick about twins separated at birth who meet at summer camp, Hayley Mills starred in the original 1961 film.
Mills, 75, opened up on the Today show and revealed she has actually seen the remake and even praised Lohan’s performance.
“I think she’s excellent,” the British actress said. “It was a funny experience to watch it because it was so like the one I did. And yet not.
“And the split-screen stuff was so good,” she continued. “You couldn’t tell. I don’t know how they did some things. I mean, the girls put their arms around each other, didn’t they? Yes, it was amazing.”
Mills also explained why she thinks the film is still so iconic 60 years on.
“It appealed to kids and adults, because for children, it was wonderful to see children taking charge of their lives, and sorting out the mess that their parents had made,” she added. “And it came out actually, at a time when … there was more divorce happening. So it struck a chord there. You know, it’s one of those films where all the ingredients really came together really well.”
Mills starred as twins Sharon McKendrick and Susan Evers, who trade places in the 1961 version. She also explained the challenges she faced during filming, including one issue — switching accents between the two characters.
“A Californian accent was a little easier for me because I was surrounded by it,” she recalled. “The Boston accent was somewhat elusive. And I think that shows in the film. But I was helped by the fact that the twins keep switching places. And they themselves got their accents muddled up, and I got my accent muddled up as well. So we were all in the same boat. But doing the split screen was was really fun, because I got to play each scene twice from two different people’s point of view.”
As to which twin she enjoyed playing more — sporty Susan or classy Sharon — Mills said, “I think I enjoyed both of them equally.”