Lindsay Lohan said she told Disney's CEO she deserved 2 paychecks for playing twins in 'The Parent Trap'
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Lindsay Lohan recalled a 1998 conversation about "The Parent Trap" with Michael Eisner when he was Disney's CEO.
- She said he didn't realize the twins in the movie were both her — prompting her to request another paycheck.
- "The Parent Trap" made six times its budget of $15 million at the box office.
Lindsay Lohan said she told Michael Eisner, the former Disney CEO, that he should've paid her twice for playing the Parker twins in "The Parent Trap."
In the 1998 movie, Lohan plays Hallie and Annie Parker, twins who were separated as babies and grew up apart.
The film sees the sisters accidentally reunite at summer camp, and they hatch a plan to swap places in an attempt to get their parents back together.
Lohan appeared on Wednesday's "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," where she recalled meeting Eisner at the premiere.
She said he asked where her twin was, seemingly unaware she played both parts.
She said: "I was so young, I don't even know how I thought to say this, but I'll never forget what I said. I said, 'Well you should've paid me double, because I don't have one.'"
Lohan hasn't publicly disclosed how much she was paid for her dual roles in "The Parent Trap," leaving it unclear how much her quippy request represented.
It was a tongue-in-cheek example of a more serious trend — actors feeling underpaid for their work in hit films.
In August, Cate Blanchett also appeared on Andy Cohen's chat show and said, "No one got paid anything" on "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. She said: "I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my ears."
Glen Powell opened up about his own financial difficulties in May. He said he didn't make "significant money" on "Top Gun: Maverick" and that his bank account was "depleting" while waiting for the film to come out during the pandemic.
"The Parent Trap" was successful for its time and made its $15 million budget back six times at the box office after earning $92,000 worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
It's also one of the films that propelled Lohan to stardom at a young age and led to work in other Disney projects like "Life Size" and "Freaky Friday."
Lohan's life was turbulent in the late 2000s and early 2010s due to drug use and partying, but her career is having a resurgence thanks to projects like "Falling For Christmas" and "Irish Wish."
The long-gestating sequel "Freakier Friday," with Jamie Lee Curtis, is coming in 2025.
Elsewhere in the interview with Cohen, Lohan also said she would only be open to a reboot of "The Parent Trap" if its director and co-writer Nancy Meyers were involved.
She said: "I mean, if Nancy Meyers was a part of that, yeah. I would never say no to Nancy."
It seems likely Lohan would be a more expensive casting now — she bagged herself a $500,000 salary for her brief cameo in the "Mean Girls" musical.