20 Years After 'Freaky Friday': Where Is The Cast Now?

Fans today might remember that the 2003 film "Freaky Friday," starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, is a remake of the original movie from 1976 — but some might not realize the story was actually adapted from the book "Freaky Friday" by Mary Rodgers, published in 1972. Essentially, it's the story of a mother and daughter at odds, seemingly unable to understand the other's point of view. In the remake, Curtis and Lohan switch bodies via magical fortune cookies until they learn to appreciate each other's perspective.

The 2003 film did well at the box-office (making $160 million worldwide) and was a hit with critics and audiences. The New York Times called it, "a quick-witted, perfectly modulated family farce with a pair of beautifully matched performances from Ms. Lohan and especially Ms. Curtis, who does some of her best work ever." Roger Ebert agreed, writing, "they're right for these roles not only because of talent, but also because of their essential natures."

In November 2022, Variety revealed that there's a possible sequel in the works. According to the outlet, both Lohan and Curtis are talking with Disney about the possibility. Curtis shared that she felt the ages of both actors would work well, commenting, "We're both committed to it, and it's not ours to make." Fingers crossed it works out, but until then, let's take a look at what some of the actors of "Freaky Friday" have been up to.

Willie Garson started acting in the mid-'80s, appearing mostly in television. By the time "Freaky Friday" came along, he had almost 20 years under his belt. In the film, he played one of Tess' regular patients, who was definitely on the needy side. During this time, Garson was most of the way through his run on "Sex and the City" as Stanford Blatch, Carrie's best friend. Garson went on to do more TV, including "CSI: Miami," "John from Cincinnati" (where he had 10 episodes), and "Two and a Half Men." He also appeared in both "Sex and the City" movies and 2017's "The Polka King" with Jack Black.

Garson, who was single and an adoptive parent, shared with People that the moment he saw his son, he knew he was his child. The two met at a 2008 adoption fair, and it was made official in 2010. He shared frankly how Nathan changed his life, saying, "I'm a narcissistic, entitled, spoiled actor, so my entire life has been focused on myself. Until the moment I met Nathan, and then it wasn't. And it's a better life."

Sadly, Garson passed away in 2021 of pancreatic cancer. His former "Sex and the City" co-star was one of many who paid tribute to the actor online. "The anguish. The magnitude of the loss of a 30 + year friendship," Sarah Jessica Parker wrote on Instagram when sharing several snaps of them together.

Starting her career as a child actor and model, Lindsay Lohan is most remembered for her breakout roles in Disney's 1998 remake of "The Parent Trap." Perhaps boosting her star status even more was her second remake project, "Freaky Friday." Lohan followed that up with "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and "Mean Girls." It was also in 2004 that she released her first album, "Speak."

In adulthood, Lohan continued to work, focusing mainly on films and a handful of indie projects. Then, in 2015 came a big move on Lohan's part when she moved to Dubai for a fresh start, per Emirates Woman. She shared with the publication that her life was very different in Dubai: "I don't have to be publicly seen all the time, or discuss what I'm doing."

In 2019, Lohan executive produced her own reality show called "Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club," which followed her management of a club in Greece. In 2022 she launched her own podcast, "The Lohdown with Lindsay Lohan," and appeared in a Netflix Christmas movie, "Falling for Christmas." Best of all, Lohan got married in a secret 2022 wedding! Though she has publicly gone through some challenging times and troubles with the law, Lohan has transformed to revitalize her career and reach so many new achievements.

In 2023, Mark Harmon hit a milestone of five decades in television and movies. And a good chunk of his credits have been in roles of authority, especially in law enforcement or medicine, so it was a fun departure for fans to see him as the fiance in "Freaky Friday." But Harmon wouldn't step away from his niche for long, because the same year the film came out, the actor started a whopper of a role — Special Agent Leroy Gibbs on "NCIS."

While Harmon focused primarily on "NCIS," he did rake in a few other roles, including a part in the film "Weather Girl," voicing his "NCIS" character on "Family Guy," and appearing on four episodes of "NCIS: New Orleans." In 2012, Harmon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In his humble acceptance speech, the actor couldn't take all the credit, saying, "I'm a team guy. I believe no one does it alone."

By the end of 2018, rumors were swirling that Harmon was leaving "NCIS" for health reasons, but according to Page Six, the actor's rep denied the report. The Hollywood Reporter revealed in 2021 that Season 19 would be the end of the road for Leroy Jethro Gibbs. However, since Harmon has been a producer on the show and his character is "away fishing," only time will tell if the stars align for Harmon's return to the cast.

Christina Vidal burst onto the Hollywood scene at 11 years old, appearing alongside Michael J. Fox in the film "Life with Mikey." Vidal worked steadily through the rest of the '90s, including her role in the beloved Disney Channel Original Movie "Brink!" In 2001, she began her titular role in Nickelodeon's "Taina," which ended in 2002. The actor explained to the Los Angeles Times, "I was in Germany with my pop group [Gemstone] when I got called to audition in L.A. Taina loved to sing and dance and act — and I love to do all three of those things." So the star was a pro by the time she was cast in "Freaky Friday" as Anna's friend and lead singer of their band. Also in 2003, Vidal started a new series, "10-8: Officers on Duty," which lasted one season.

The actor focused primarily on television moving forward. She snagged guest spots on "Monk," "House," and "Blue Bloods." In 2016, she became Christina Vidal Mitchell when she married actor Marcus Emanuel Mitchell, and the couple now has two children. In 2017, she got a recurring role on the cop show "Training Day," based on the film of the same name, but it seems that her role in the series "United We Fall" has had the biggest impact on her, per her 2020 interview with the Latin Times. "I felt like an equal, and I felt creatively free and supported," Vidal said, specifically mentioning co-star Jane Curtin. "It was the best experience of my life." 

In 2022, she was in five episodes of "The Terminal List."

Stephen Tobolowsky is a prolific actor of both television and film with almost 300 credits to his name, spread over more than four decades in the business. In "Freaky Friday," the actor plays Anna's teacher who is unfairly downgrading her papers. Turns out that Mr. Bates was once scorned by Anna's mother, Tess, and is out for revenge.

Throughout the 2000s, Tobolowsky garnered more roles on the big and small screen, including in shows such as "The West Wing" and "Will & Grace" and in the films "Garfield," "Failure to Launch," and "Wild Hogs." In 2008, Tobolowsky had an eight-episode arc on "Glee," coincidentally playing a character with the same last name (Ryerson) as the character he's most known for in "Groundhog Day." The actor joined the cast of "Californication" in Season 4, and not long after that concluded, he jumped to two long-running gigs on other shows. In 2017, he started with the remake of "One Day at a Time" and has consistently been on "The Goldbergs" since Season 2, with new episodes slated for 2023. What likely had to be a unique and exciting opportunity for the actor was the "Groundhog Day" parody Super Bowl commercial for Jeep in which Tobolowsky reunited with co-star Bill Murray.

Tobolowsky might typically play a side character, but in real life he's the main character and has the stories to prove it, which he's been sharing on his podcast "The Tobolowsky Files" since 2009. He said in a Lone Star Plate interview, "Some are about heartbreak, or one, I was held hostage at gunpoint in a grocery store."

American actor Rosalind Chao has been appearing on-screen since the '70s, her first credit being "Here's Lucy." Chao and her "Freaky Friday" co-star Lucille Soong were both in "The Joy Luck Club" in 1993. Ten years later, Chao played Pei-Pei, a restaurateur Anna and Tess encounter on the night when they receive the magic fortune cookies. The majority of Chao's roles that followed were on television shows including "Six Feet Under," "Grey's Anatomy," and six episodes of "The O.C.," but she also appeared in the 2005 film "Just Like Heaven" with Reese Witherspoon. The 2010s brought even more TV roles.

In 2019, the actor was in "The Laundromat," starring Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas. The following year, Chao appeared in Disney's live-action version of "Mulan," playing Mulan's mother, Li. The actor shared in interviews how important the movie was to her personally. She told Hawaii News Now, "Nothing reflected back at me on screen that was positive when I was a young kid. I mean, I didn't even see myself in media." She went on to say that with "Mulan," young children could have what she didn't, adding, "I can't tell you how moving that is."

Chao has a new project in the works for 2023, a sci-fi series about aliens called "3 Body Problem," based on the novel of the same name. 

Actor, dancer, and singer Erica Gimpel rose to stardom on a TV show called "Fame" as a student in an arts school. In "Freaky Friday," Gimpel plays the teacher instead. She is concerned about her student Harry, Anna's brother. Gimpel has a memorable scene with Jamie Lee Curtis during a parent-teacher conference, after Anna and Tess have already switched bodies. At the time of filming, the actor had just completed six years as a recurring character on "ER."

In the years to follow, Gimpel acted primarily in television, with a nine-episode run on "Veronica Mars," four episodes on "Boston Legal," and in 2011, 10 episodes as a detective on "The Young and the Restless." She also appeared in films such as "Blue Eyes" and "Veronika Decides to Die," with Sarah Michelle Gellar. Gimpel was on two seasons of "God Friended Me" from 2018 to 2020 and had a guest spot on "9-1-1" in 2022. The actor has more in store for 2023, including "Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches."

Despite her long career in show business along with the varied roles she's taken on, the actor will always be Coco from "Fame" to many of her fans. She said in a 2021 interview, "I, to this day, will travel around the world and people will come up to me and say, 'You don't understand, that school, that show, inspired me to follow my dream.'"