By Cassandra Pinkney
The switch is back! Anna and Tess Coleman are back for another body-swapping adventure in Freakier Friday… but this time, things are going to get even freakier! Not only are the characters you know and love from Freaky Friday (2003) back, but there are all-new characters that you’re going to love just as much! Before you watch Freakier Friday, only in theaters August 8, get to know the FREAKin’ amazing cast and characters of this new film!
Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan)
In Freaky Friday (2003), Anna Coleman was a moody teenager dealing with the horrors of high school. Like all teenagers, she butted heads with her mother, Tess, and was jealous that she lived her life free of the trials and tribulations of being a teenager. When the two swapped bodies, they learned that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. In Freakier Friday, Anna is all grown up—she works as a manager to successful pop musician, Ella, is single mother to her teenage daughter, Harper, and is getting ready to marry her fiancé, Eric, and welcome his daughter, Lily, into the family. She’s loves her work and her family dearly but wishes she has some of the freedom she expected she would find when she became an adult.
As Anna looks forward to a bright future, the past comes back to teach her and her family an important (and familiar) lesson. Adding her daughter and soon-to-be daughter into the mix, the Coleman family body-swapping ordeal comes back to teach the quartet about the importance of family during this pivotal moment in their lives. Reprising her fan-favorite role as Anna Coleman is Lindsay Lohan. Disney fans are no stranger to Lindsay’s talent, especially given her roles in iconic films like The Parent Trap (1998), Life Size (2000), and, of course, Freaky Friday (2003).
Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis)
Much like her daughter, Anna, Tess Coleman has grown since the events of the 2003 film. She is still an accomplished psychiatrist and is preparing to embark on her first book tour. She is also a fiercely devoted mother to Anna and grandmother to Anna’s daughter, Harper, but this devotion leads to her overstepping her boundaries at times. It would seem as though she has moved past the freaky day her and her daughter had over two decades ago. But even though she has put her mother-daughter identity crisis behind her, fate has decided that her family needs to learn to walk a mile in each other’s shoes yet again.
Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Tess Coleman in both Freaky Friday (2003) and the upcoming Freakier Friday, is multi-award-winning actress, entertainment icon, and Disney Legend. Jamie has made her mark across the worlds of Disney, from her Emmy® Award-winning stint as the perpetually frazzled Donna Berzatto in The Bear to a throwback to her horror movie roots as Dean Cathy Munsch in the anthology series Scream Queens (2015-2016). Read more about Jamie Lee Curtis’ unforgettable Disney roles here.
Harper Coleman (Julia Butters) and Lily Reyes (Sophia Hammons)
Harper Coleman, Anna’s teenage daughter, is a surfing fanatic that has a hard time relating to her mother. Unbeknownst to her, she’s actually a lot like Anna when she was Harper’s age—moody, upset about her mom getting married, and swapping bodies with her mom. Luckily for her, her mom and grandma know a thing or two about how to navigate a body-swapping situation. Unluckily for her, the best chance the group has of switching back into their own bodies is by Harper teaming up with her soon-to-be stepsister, Lily, a person with whom she does not get along (and that’s putting it lightly.) Harper Coleman is played by Julia Butters in the new film. This is the actress’s second role for Disney, having already voiced Lorelei, the moody firstborn daughter of Fear Co. CEO Johnny Worthington III, in the animated series Monsters at Work (2021-2024).
Lily Reyes is the daughter of Anna’s fiancé, Eric. A 15-year-old transplant from England, Lily is classmates with Harper and desperately wants to return to London to study fashion. She’s not particularly pleased about joining Anna’s family because of her distaste for Harper, specifically (can you imagine sitting next to your soon-to-be-sister in first period?) Things only get worse when a four-way body-swapping incident zaps her into the body of her soon-to-be grandmother, Tess, forcing her to work with Harper (in Anna’s body) to split their parents up. (Did someone say reverse Parent Trap?) Freakier Friday features Sophia Hammons as Lily Reyes, in her first Disney role.
Jake (Chad Michael Murray)
Chad Michael Murray reprises his role as Anna’s first love from the 2003 film, Jake. He may be all grown up, but Jake is the same person he was in high school– still riding a motorcycle and now managing The Record Parlour. As Anna’s “first love,” Jake plays an important part in Harper and Lily’s plot to stop their parents from getting married. Disney fans know and love Murray for his many Disney roles. Murray ruled the 1990s and early 2000s with his roles in classics like One Tree Hill and Dawson’s Creek. He later stepped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Agent Carter and even appeared alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in Scream Queens. Disney fans (us included!) are so happy to have Murray reprise his iconic role in Freakier Friday.
Ryan (Mark Harmon)
In Freaky Friday (2003), Ryan was getting ready to marry Tess Coleman, much to Anna’s chagrin. Tess (as Anna) tries to get Ryan to postpone the wedding until she and her daughter can swap back into their own bodies. Anna (as Tess) gives a toast at their rehearsal dinner where she praises Ryan for his role in her mother’s happiness, a selfless act of love that allows the mother-daughter duo to swap back into their own bodies just in time for the wedding. Now, over 20 years later, Mark is still part of the family and can be found accompanying his wife to their pickleball games (although he would much rather be working on his ’66 Mustang) Playing Ryan in both Freaky Friday (2003) and Freakier Friday is Mark Harmon, best known for his long-standing role as Special Agent Leroy Gibbs in NCIS.
Eric Reyes (Manny Jacinto)
Eric Reyes is a successful chef and restaurant owner, a devoted father to his daughter, Lily, and loving partner to his fiancée, Anna. Though he means well, he unknowingly stirs up trouble among the rest of his new family when his daughter and soon-to-be stepdaughter can’t seem to get along. Manny Jacinto, who plays Eric in the new film, can be seen throughout the worlds of Disney as The Stranger in The Acolyte and Scott Denoga in Hailey’s on It! and Disney’s Road Trip.
For the best FREAKin’ summer ever, make sure to get your tickets for Freakier Friday, only in theaters August 8.