“She was wonderful, absolutely wonderful,” Mills says of O’Hara.
She was very Irish.
She was very warm and demonstrative, and extremely talkative.
Maureen O’Hara and Hayley Mills in ‘The Parent Trap’.Everett Collection
She never stopped talking and laughing and hugging you.
She was a real force of nature.
When she walked on set there was this energy telling us that Maureen had arrived.
Hayley Mills (and Hayley Mills) in ‘The Parent Trap’.Everett Collection
It was all natural, too.
“But it was also about something important.
But she never admitted she was.
When the ’60s kicked in, people were getting divorced and the impact on the children was dreadful.”
Mills played both Susan and Sharon in the film, with a little help from stand-in Susan Henning.
“Working on the film was such a great experience and such fun for a kid.
I had just turned 14.
One of my favorite scenes is from the dance,” Mills recalls.
I especially loved the fight between me and my twin, played by Susan Henning.
We really loved doing that.
Instant karma, that was.
That was the moment I knew what it felt like to be an American teenager."
The Parent Trapwas Mills' second film with Disney, following the success of her debut inPollyannaa year prior.
And it all began with a meeting with Disney, the animator and producer who made her a star.
None of this had been planned.
I just happened to be one of these extraordinarily lucky people.
I had no idea my life would be turned upside down.
Of course I had heard of Walt Disney, he was like this magic wizard.
I had seenBambiand thenSnow White, so to meet the man who made these films was incredibly exciting.
But it really all came together so easily.
Don’t waste this very special and precious time.
Oh, and don’t forget to go to school.'"
The Parent Trapis currently available to stream on Disney+.
