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No square-jawed jock, this guy worships the Hives and the Vines.
He rides a Ducati and wears a leather jacket.
His hair is manageably long.
Hes too cool for high school, but not in an eye-roll-y way.
So ofcourseAnna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) swoons after their first official conversation.
But that was on a Thursday.
On its 20th anniversary,Freaky Fridayremains a millennial classic for many reasons.
But lets not sleep on Murrays effortlessly appealing performance.
It was up to the actor to make Jake his own.
He kind of had a swagger to him, Murray says.
He was nonchalant about a lot of things except for his honest feelings about both girls in his life.
He wasnt full of anything other than This is who I am, this is what you get.
And that was it.
Jake never did learn that Anna and Tess unwillingly switched bodies overnight.
Thats why hes appalled at school when his peer begins acting like a holier-than-thou adult.
(At least Anna is back to her regular self by the time they share a first kiss.)
Murray was perfectly cast as the object of affection.
He currently co-stars in the Canadian seriesSullivans Crossing, set to air on the CW in the fall.
(Note: This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike.)
What do you remember about how this part came to be?I went through the typical casting process.
I was reading with a bunch of guys.
I know one of them was Jared Padalecki.
We were buddies and goofed off before the audition.
I believed in myself and had fun with it.
And I say that with all the hysterical comedy that comes with it.
But I do remember being an overconfident 19-year-old.
And I dont know where that stemmed from.
I think I had far more confidence than brains.
Twenty years later, he told me, Its funny.
I knew right away from the moment that you started acting in the scene with Lindsay.
I could tell just from her reaction to you being in the room.
I dont know how he meant it.
I just know that he saw a reaction he was hoping to get, and the rest is history.
Annette Bening and Kelly Osbourne were originally tapped to star.
Did you interact with them at all?I didnt know that about Kelly Osbourne!
When I signed on, it was Annette Bening and Lindsay Lohan.
I think she was coming off an Oscar nomination?
I found out a few weeks before shooting that Jamie was coming on.
We were almost done with preproduction.
Did you and Jake share any similarities at the time?Some of the wardrobe.
I had an OCD thing where I always had to wear a necklace.
I believe Im wearing a football necklace.
It looks like a choker.
Its actually a football.
And Mark dug it.
Seriously, what was going on with it?Mark said, Keep it.
It was the first time in my life I had my hair long.
Its long again right now.
Did you get to ride the Ducati?I wasnt allowed because of the insurance policy.
So I could only start it and stop it.
When were driving down the street, and shes snuggling up on the back of me?
What was Lindsay like back then?Awesome.
I mean, she was so young.
We all were just a bunch of kids goofing around making a movie.
She would talk and hang out, but she had so much work, right?
I never really wanted to bother her.
And when there was a big setup or downtime, shed have to go to school.
Thats one of the downsides when youre a child actor.
May I ask if she was a good kisser?
[Laughs]I dont really recall.
Youre so focused on the choreography and camera angles.
But there is a funny story there.
So Lindsay was really nervous, as anyone would be for a first onscreen kiss.
Shes like, Its going to be great!
Its going to be awesome!
Somehow it gets to the point where I hear a knock on my trailer door.
Its Jamie, and she goes, Come, come, come.
Now Im in her trailer and Lindsay is in there.
And Jamie says, We just want to talk to you about this onscreen kiss.
Im like, Okay, great, whatever makes you comfortable.
Were going to crush it.
And Jamie says, See?
Dont even worry about it!
Youre just doing the work.
Then what happened?Ultimately, long story short, Jamie goes, Forget about it, come here.
And she kisses me and pulls away and goes, See?
Im like, Oh, its great!
How cool is that?
We grew up watchingTrue Lies,Trading Places.Halloweento this day is my favorite horror movie.
Were you comfortable flirting with her in the coffee house?That was the first scene I shot.
It wasnt uncomfortable flirting with Jamie; it was just nerve-racking to not screw it up.
Like, am I flirting too much?
[Whispers]Am I coming off creepy?
You worry about all those things.
But Jamie was the best and was right there supporting me.
It wasnt originally in the script.
He said, I have this idea do you remember the movieSay Anything?
John Cusack is standing outside and holding the speakers in the air?
I want to do that moment.
I told him I cant sing, and he said, Even better!
We shot it in a neighborhood where everyone was already asleep.
I felt so bad for them.
It took forever to round them up.
And it was so sweltering hot in there.
But the girls crushed it!
And Jamie learned that solo and she studied and studied her butt off.
And then she studied Lindsays backing so she could flip it and play the whole thing.
Did you know right away thatFreaky Fridaywas a hit?Can I say the truth?
Thats when I realized it was successful.
But I was just a kid running around, trying to make movies and live out a dream.
Also, I was told to never read reviews.
But didnt fans shriek when they saw you?I dont remember!
My memory is shot.
I dont know why.
Ive never touched a drug in my life, so its not that.
My memory for some reason is very diluted.
Then, generally speaking, whats your all-time freakiestFreaky Fridayfan experience?I was in Thailand.
We were at a grocery store in Phuket.
The girl did not speak English very well but spoke it enough to have a small conversation.
And she just went up to me and said, Jake,Freaky Friday.
I smiled and was so awestruck.
I take a 23-hour flight and she can identify me!
Have you been in touch with Jamie or Lindsay?I saw Jamie on the set ofScream Queens.
Glen Powell and myself and Patrick Schwarzenegger played brothers.
I gave her a hug.
I also secretly saw her at Disneyland.
I gave her a wink and a nod.
I havent seen Lindsay in about 15 years.
But Im a homebody and an introvert.
Im not great socially.
The sequel was announced a few months ago.
Are you involved?They announced it, and then everyone went on strike.
So I think the development is on hold for the moment.
It would be awesome to come back and have Jake come in and reenter the world of mayhem.
It would be fantastic.
Id be all in.
Do you still have the football necklace?I do!
I kept every necklace from every job.
I have a box in the garage.
It was pleather, so it wore out.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
