The passing of actress Michelle Trachtenberg has reminded some of how she nearly starred in a classic 2000s Disney film!
It’s striking when an actor passes away at a young age with little warning. This has happened to Michelle Trachtenberg. Fans of the actress were stunned on February 26 as word came of her being found dead in her Manhattan apartment at the shockingly young age of 39.
Details are sketchy, but Trachtenberg had recently undergone a liver transplant, and speculation that there might have been complications. It’s a sad end to a bright young talent.
Trachtenberg made her debut as a child actress on various TV shows, such as The Adventures of Pete and Pete. She got her big break in 1996, starring in the film adaptation of Harriet the Spy and followed that up by playing Penny in the Disney film Inspector Gadget.
Trachtenberg’s most famous role was in 2000, becoming part of the cast of the hit supernatural series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was Dawn, Buffy’s younger sister, who oddly had never been seen before. It turned out Dawn was a bundle of mystical energy given human form.
Trachtenberg played the role until the show’s end in 2003. That freed her up for more movie and TV roles. And as it happens, one of them could have been starring in a movie that’s now become a beloved Disney hit!
Michelle Trachtenberg nearly became Freaky
Long before Disney’s current remake kick, the early 2000s had the company going for more original fare for their live-action movies. However, the idea of remaking Freaky Friday was strong. The 1976 adaptation of the popular novel about a mother and daughter swapping bodies had been one of Disney’s bigger hits of that era, notable for a young Jodie Foster in the lead.
As with any film, there were changes in the script and development. Originally, the idea was a psychiatrist mother and her newspaper-writing daughter, but as detailed in a great oral history of the film for The Hollywood Reporter, director Mark Waters decided having them be opposites was better, so the daughter was changed to a rocker.
To no shock, producer Andrew Gunn wanted Foster to play the mom, but the two-time Oscar winner declined as she thought it’d be “stunt casting.” The studio turned to Annette Benning, who was well-established as a top actress and star and could have pulled off the role.
Trachtenberg was signed on to play the daughter, Anna. It would have been an interesting direction for her as it would have gotten her to show off her musical talents. Also, Anna was originally written as a goth type and Trachtenberg could have pulled that off easily with her looks and her experience with Buffy.
However, Buffy was prepping for its final season, and the producers refused to allow Trachtenberg to be freed to film Freaky. Thus, Trachtenberg was forced to drop out. Benning was tested against scores of young actresses, including future stars Kristen Stewart, Kristen Bell, Brie Larson, Emmy Rossum, and more. None of them clicked with Benning herself dropping out.
That led to the casting of Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, with Lohan changing Anna from goth to more laid-back. It was clear this pairing worked as the movie was underway.
We know what happened next: Opening in August of 2003, Freaky Friday was a monster hit, grossing $160 million off a $26 million budget. It was just as big on home video and its audience has grown over the last two decades.
How Trachtenberg’s career could have changed
Had Trachtenberg starred as Anna, it’s questionable if Freaky would still be as good. She’d have played the role differently and while a capable actress, it’s uncertain if Trachtenberg could handle the dynamic of the mother trapped in a teen body.
Yet she could have shown a different edge with the goth character and still good chemistry with Benning or Curtis. Obviously, the film’s success could have boosted Trachtenberg in Hollywood, paving the way for bigger roles.
Still, many will agree it was the Curtis-Lohan dynamic that made Freaky Friday such a great movie and two different actors couldn’t match that. The fact that the pair are reuniting for a sequel only shows why this casting was critical to the movie's becoming a classic.
Trachtenberg would work for Disney in the 2005 film Ice Princess as a math whiz using her skills to become a figure skater. It wasn’t a bad turn by her but the film failed to be a box office success.
Trachtenberg would go on to more fame as the wicked Georgina Sparks in the CW series Gossip Girl. That showed more range for her and lends credence to how she could have played a dual role in Freaky Friday.
While Trachtenberg seems to have never regretted not getting the part, her passing is a reminder of how close she came to being in one of the most beloved Disney films of the 2000s and how that could have changed the careers of herself, Lohan and the movie’s reputation.
Freaky Friday streaming on Disney+.