The ‘Parent Trap’ cast reunion praises Lindsay Lohan’s starmaking role

The cast and creatives of “The Parent Trap” know a thing or two about orchestrating a reunion. But this time it was Katie Couric who reunited the “Parent Trap” team for COVID-19 relief decades after the sister-swap classic opened in theaters.

Costars Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Lisa Ann Walter, Simon Kunz and Elaine Hendrix, writer-producer Charles Shyer and writer-director Nancy Meyers recently joined Couric via video chat to discuss the 1998 film’s legacy, reminisce about their time on set and remember late actress Natasha Richardson. Couric shared the full conversation Monday on Instagram.

“The first thing I remember was meeting Lindsay,” Quaid said of his onscreen daughter. “And I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, she’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met, period.’ Forget that she’s 11 years old. And I actually thought there were two girls. I really did because your accent was so perfect.”

In the family comedy, Lohan portrays sisters Annie and Hallie, who hatch an elaborate plan to bring their divorced parents back together upon discovering they are identical twins during a chance encounter at a summer camp. Meyers and Shyer also showered Lohan with praise, recalling the moment they discovered her in the audition process.

“Putting aside how adorable she looked, she had that quality that leapt up at you and pulled you in,” Meyers said. “To be a movie star — or to be the lead of a movie — you need to have that connection with the camera that is very present.”

“Without this movie, I wouldn’t have gotten that acting bug,” Lohan said. “How do you not want to only act for the rest of your life after doing a film like this with such great actors? And ‘The Parent Trap,’ I mean, it’s beautiful. It’s timeless and it’s special.”

The cast also took a moment to honor Lohan’s onscreen mother, Richardson, who died in 2009 at age 45 after a skiing accident.

“Natasha had such an elegance and grace and was so maternal to me,” Lohan said.

“Just somebody so giving and so glad to be there and transmitted that joy of being able to do what we do,” Quaid added. “It just made everything that much better.”

The “Parent Trap” reunion was organized to benefit the World Central Kitchen. Find more info and donate to their COVID-19 response efforts here.