Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Seyfried Have a Mean Girls Reunion

Excerpted from “MIAMI,” a storybook presented by Interview and AMI. Available exclusively at Art Basel Miami Beach. 

As dizzying, mischievous, and glittery as a late-night joyride through Miami, Lindsay Lohan’s superstar career has always kept us guessing. She took a risk in the crowd-funded thriller The Canyons; was the subject of an Oprah Winfrey Network docuseries, Lindsay; starred in David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow in London’s West End; and was once appointed the artistic director of French fashion house Emanuel Ungaro. She’s also opened her own Mykonos beach club, hosted the MTV Movie & TV Awards, and even had me thrown out of Manhattan hotspot Le Baron in 2012. (Legend!) Lohan moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2014 to protect her privacy; in the meantime, pop culture has truly missed her. Luckily, the former Disney child star has returned to our screens in the Netflix original Falling for Christmas. In a conversation with her Mean Girls costar Amanda Seyfried, the enigmatic LiLo spills on her new husband, her Housewives obsession, and returning to Hollywood on her own terms. -CAT MARNELL

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AMANDA SEYFRIED: I’m an interviewer! [Laughs] How did the shoot go?

LINDSAY LOHAN: It was really fun. It was, like, ’80s-themed Miami.

SEYFRIED: Incredible. But you’re in New York?

LOHAN: Yeah, I’m in New York. [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: I’m upstate. It couldn’t be any different. I’m in fucking rural farmland. How long are you going to be there? Are you going to get a place?

LOHAN: Not right now. Whenever I come it’s for work, so I always take an extra week and a half, if I can, to just do family time.

SEYFRIED: That’s smart.

LOHAN: New York’s just so fast. It’s exhausting.

SEYFRIED: Yeah, but isn’t Dubai fast?

LOHAN: It is, but you can pick and choose.

SEYFRIED: I guess that’s like L.A.

LOHAN: I feel like it’s anywhere, it’s however you make it.

SEYFRIED: Especially during the pandemic.

LOHAN: I loved being stuck at home. [Laughs] I was like, can’t it always be like this?

SEYFRIED: I was like, “Nobody is expecting anything of me?” This job, it’s not just shooting, it’s press. And that’s what you’re doing right now, a massive press tour. First of all, I love this genre.

LOHAN: [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: I don’t understand why the Christmas movies have not come out yet, but we all know that Netflix makes better ones. Have you ever felt like, at the end of a movie, you’re not done yet?

LOHAN: Yeah. Especially when you shoot some of the Netflix movies. It’s six weeks, so it’s really quick, and by the end you’ve just come into the character.

SEYFRIED: I don’t know what the first day was like for you, but I’m always terrified.

LOHAN: I’m nervous the first day.

SEYFRIED: I don’t know how long it was since you were on a film set.

LOHAN: It was years.

SEYFRIED: So you must have felt that pressure times a thousand.

LOHAN: Yeah. You also have to get to re-know how everything works. And then it’s the little things, like that moment of, “Did I just blank out on everything?” [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: Do we all have impostor syndrome?

LOHAN: Maybe a little bit.

SEYFRIED: Maybe the reason that you and I still feel so insecure at the beginning of a movie is because we care.

LOHAN: Yeah. It’s that feeling of, is it ever the best that it can be? You want people on set to enjoy watching you do it. You want everyone to laugh or cry, and you want everyone to feel that emotion with you.

SEYFRIED: It’s that reaction from the director that you’re desperate for. So you got the script, and what happened?

LOHAN: I was like, “Oh, this is a fun, heartwarming movie.” I wanted to come back with something that every age range could watch. It had humor and sensitivity. And then while doing it, I was like, “I want there to be more physical comedy.” So we added some.

SEYFRIED: So you could pull some strings.

LOHAN: Yeah. Which is such a good feeling, because I never used to be able to do that. Even down to the editing process, I was able to have a say.

SEYFRIED: I don’t think most people understand how much of what we do is taken out of our hands. Unless you’re a producer.

LOHAN: Yeah, but if you really assert yourself and express your opinion it really works.

SEYFRIED: Especially now. We’re the same age. When we were working in our late teens, early twenties, nobody gave a shit what we thought.

LOHAN: Yeah.

SEYFRIED: It feels like things have changed. I don’t know if it’s because we’re older and people respect us more or because we’re asserting ourselves because we feel more comfortable, but I finally feel like I’m not a kid anymore.

LOHAN: That’s true, but I think people still see us as teenagers.

SEYFRIED: As Karen and Cady [their characters in Mean Girls].

LOHAN: [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: That was my first movie. You were in the middle of the whole thing and you created a really fun vibe. I didn’t know how good it was going to be.

LOHAN: I had a feeling, just because you don’t always have that much fun making movies and I knew it was going to show through. But I never realized what it would be, still today.

SEYFRIED: Ten years ago I used to be like, “Yeah, yeah, I was Karen in Mean Girls, for fuck’s sake.” Now I’m like, “I was Karen in Mean Girls!” I’m very proud of it. You had a lot to do with where it went and what it was. I don’t know if you know that. I’m sure you felt the pressure but it didn’t seem like you did. You were working really young, and you were really good, but you were still a kid. If you had kids and they were in your position, what would you do differently?

LOHAN: Oof.

SEYFRIED: What would you have changed?

LOHAN: I wouldn’t have moved to L.A. so quickly. It was a whole different world that I wasn’t prepared for at my age.

SEYFRIED: Yeah. People also take advantage when you’re really young. And the fame thing, I’ve never experienced that level of it.

LOHAN: It was such a different time then.

SEYFRIED: It was. No matter what, there are a lot of predators. But now the paparazzi are losing control.

LOHAN: Yeah. People have control over their own lives because of social media.

SEYFRIED: What would it have been like if we all had social media back then?

LOHAN: What would we have been like on social media? [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: Being young on Instagram is horrible. But I did the same thing when I was 18. I moved to L.A. as soon as we wrapped, because that’s what you do, right?

LOHAN: That’s what you think you’re supposed to.

SEYFRIED: And it turns out to be wrong in a lot of ways.

LOHAN: You grow up pretty quickly.

SEYFRIED: You have to. Okay, I need to know what music you’ve been listening to.

LOHAN: I listen to old mixes, like Fleetwood Mac and that kind of stuff. I’m really bad with finding new music these days. But I’m big on watching TV.

SEYFRIED: Exactly. That’s all I do. It’s fine, right?

LOHAN: It depends on what you’re watching. I can binge Housewives and Bachelor in Paradise.

SEYFRIED: If someone asked me to do a podcast about The Bachelor, I would, because that’s how big a fan I am. It’s crazy the things that we get sucked into.

LOHAN: It’s refreshing for us because it’s a way to zone out everything else and really not have to think.

SEYFRIED: I know. Where’s your husband right now?

LOHAN: He’s in New York.

SEYFRIED: Huuusband.

LOHAN: [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: How long has it been?

LOHAN: We’ve been married since April 2022.

SEYFRIED: Was it a big wedding?

LOHAN: No, it was just family.

SEYFRIED: And he’s with you in your hotel?

LOHAN: Yeah. It’s weird because traveling for movies and stuff, I’m a very attached type of person so I don’t like to do everything alone. I’m always like, “Can you please come?”

SEYFRIED: Of course.

LOHAN: How do you do that with your kids?

SEYFRIED: It’s a logistical nightmare. I just don’t want to work as much as I used to. I don’t want to leave them, but also bringing them with me is such a thing. My son’s only two, so it’s too much to bring him places. What are you going to do next?

LOHAN: I’m debating whether to start another movie at the beginning of the year. I want to produce, too, and direct something that I’m not necessarily in. I feel like because I’ve experienced being on set so much and know so much about how everything works, I want to try it from behind the camera.

SEYFRIED: Are you going to shadow people?

LOHAN: I feel like I do that already. I’m like, “Maybe we should shoot it like this.”

SEYFRIED: [Laughs]

LOHAN: Then sometimes I’m like, “I probably shouldn’t say that. It’s not really my place.” [Laughs] I don’t know if it’s like this for you, but when I read the script, I already envision the scenes. I have an expectation of what it should be.

SEYFRIED: Right. And then you get on set and sometimes it’s a really nice surprise and sometimes it’s awful because it isn’t the way it looked in your head. We have good imaginations, considering we’re actors.

LOHAN: Yeah.

SEYFRIED: I know this sounds ridiculous, but do you think, because you’ve had so many years off, that you’ve banked chilltime where you can now just go, go, go?

LOHAN: A little bit, but I also need that time in between. I want to do a few fun things, and then I want to do some more serious things. And I want to have kids.

SEYFRIED: You do?

LOHAN: Yeah. So that’s another thing. [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: It’s funny, because I’m so obsessed with people having kids. It’s not my business, so I really had to tone down asking people about it, but since you brought it up—

LOHAN: [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: Don’t worry about timing. Your talent isn’t going away. I know everybody’s careers go up and down, we cannot stop those ebbs and flows, but your head’s in the place where you’re like, I want to work and I want to have kids. So just do it.

LOHAN: Yeah.

SEYFRIED: The best part is that you found a partner that you wanted to marry. You seem like you’re in a nice space. 

LOHAN: Yeah, I’m ready.

SEYFRIED: You look so chill.

LOHAN: Thanks. I feel it. It’s different working now, especially the press part. It used to feel very hectic, whereas now I’m like, it doesn’t have to feel that way.

SEYFRIED: What was it like moving to Dubai?

LOHAN: It’s so detached from everything that I’m used to when I’m here in the States. And there are no paparazzi. It’s nice to have a separate world that’s my own.

SEYFRIED: Do you think you’re going to raise your children there?

LOHAN: That’s what we’ve talked about. It’s so safe there, and the schools are great.

SEYFRIED: Where’s your husband from?

LOHAN: He’s Kuwaiti-Lebanese.

SEYFRIED: Does he cook?

LOHAN: Yes. I have to beg him.

SEYFRIED: Lebanese food is the best food in the world

LOHAN: It’s so good.

SEYFRIED: How many languages does he speak?

LOHAN: English and Arabic.

SEYFRIED: You know Arabic a little bit. 

LOHAN: I can listen and kind of pick it up, but I don’t speak it. His mom helps me, but it would be really cool to actually be fluent.

SEYFRIED: If your kids are going to grow up in a household that’s bilingual, that seems like your shot, you can learn with them. 

LOHAN: Yeah.

SEYFRIED: So what did you do when you weren’t working?

LOHAN: I started the podcast [“The Lohdown with Lindsay Lohan”] because I wanted to get comfortable with getting myself out there again. I’m a creative person so I need to do things that give me an outlet. I was dabbling and I was like, “Maybe I’ll sing again.” And then I was like, “No, I’m not really into this. I’ll just wait to see what scripts I get and if there’s something I connect with.” Also my husband was like, “You need to act again. You’re good at it.”

SEYFRIED: Yeah.

LOHAN: That encouragement is always good to have.

SEYFRIED: How often were people trying to send you scripts and being like, “We’re going to get you back in.” I imagine a lot of people were sending you shit all the time.

LOHAN: Not really. Probably because I wasn’t presenting myself in a way that I was interested.

SEYFRIED: You were just unavailable. 

LOHAN: Yeah. And I really liked that. [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: Did you get FOMO?

LOHAN: Yeah. Before I did Falling for Christmas, I was starting to get it. I was like, “Everyone’s doing great projects and I want to do one, too.”

SEYFRIED: I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t stop working when I was pregnant.

LOHAN: You didn’t?

SEYFRIED: No, it just timed out well, and it will for you. You’re obviously very full of inspiration, so you have to follow that, too. Everything can happen simultaneously.

LOHAN: I agree.

SEYFRIED: Where are you going to spend Christmas?

LOHAN: I think we’ll be in Lebanon.

SEYFRIED: Is your family going to come?

LOHAN: I think so.

SEYFRIED: That’s nice. I’ve never been. Is that your summer place?

LOHAN: This summer we went to Bodrum [Turkey]. I used to go to Greece a lot, but it’s just different now. Mykonos, specifically, has changed. It’s just too crazy for me.

SEYFRIED: Is it too overrun with tourists?

LOHAN: Yeah. It’s too “go, go, go.” It’s not as relaxing as when I had first gone years ago. For vacations, you need to find places where you can force yourself to chill.

SEYFRIED: I haven’t done that in a long time. Maybe one day. I’m going to Disney World with my kids.

LOHAN: Stop! We were just in Florida and I wanted to go to Disney World! It’s the happiest place on earth. [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: They say that. Let me update you after I go. 

LOHAN: When I was doing Disney movies, Disney World, Disneyland, that was my jam.

SEYFRIED: You were the princess for the day, every day.

LOHAN: Yes.

SEYFRIED: That’s everybody’s dream. How young were you?

LOHAN: I was 12 or 11, and then kept going, because I kept working with Disney.

SEYFRIED: A blessing and a curse. What a crazy dream world. I can’t imagine having to be so adult for so long.

LOHAN: When you’re young you don’t realize it as much. It starts to hit you when you get older. 

SEYFRIED: Yeah. You’re like, “Oh, I was having to make decisions that young.” But what happens when your kids want to act?

LOHAN: Maybe they won’t. What can you do? You have to support whatever your kids want to do.

SEYFRIED: Exactly. We got to do what we wanted.

LOHAN: Yeah. And our moms were there, which was good. It was hard for me on Mean Girls, because I still had to finish school. Remember?

SEYFRIED: Yeah. You were 16. I was 17. You were the only one in school.

LOHAN: I used to get so angry when I had to go, because I wanted to hang with everyone.

SEYFRIED: The world was so different then. I’m so glad we’re still here. What’s your next movie?

LOHAN: It’s called Irish Wish. It’s a Netflix rom-com.

SEYFRIED: Is it based in Ireland?

LOHAN: Yeah, I was just there for seven weeks.

SEYFRIED: That’s a dream. The rom-com is coming back and I’m here for it.

LOHAN: If it’s done right, it’s good. It doesn’t all have to be cheesy and over-the-top.

SEYFRIED: I just feel like people stopped making them.

LOHAN: I noticed that before I did Falling for Christmas. I was like, “Well, if I’m going to do a movie, it has to be a rom-com because there aren’t any right now.”

SEYFRIED: Yeah. And you’re good at it. You have to be funny, and also romantic. You know how to do that.

LOHAN: Now it’s just deciding what else to do.

SEYFRIED: A musical?

LOHAN: That would be fun. Also, I’ve never done action.

SEYFRIED: Marvel?

LOHAN: Yeah. That would be cool. Or a thriller.

SEYFRIED: Would you do a play?

LOHAN: I would. I did one in London, Speed-the-Plow.

SEYFRIED: Oh my god, I totally remember that.

LOHAN: Which was so scary to do because it was Mamet. But I felt so good after. I was like, “Oh, I can really do this.”

SEYFRIED: I would kill just to do one week, all of us playing our own roles on Mean Girls on Broadway.

LOHAN: That would be really fun. 

SEYFRIED: Because a Mean Girls 2 is never going to happen, is it?

LOHAN: I don’t know. I heard something about it being a movie musical and I was like, “Oh no.” We can’t do that. It has to be the same tone.

SEYFRIED: Yeah. It would just be completely different.

LOHAN: Exactly. [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: Anyway, Tina [Fey] is busy. She’ll get around to it. Listen, we’re all part of each other’s worlds whether we like it or not, and it is really nice to be in contact as adults.

LOHAN: Yeah, everyone’s still the same. It’s fun to have certain memories that we can’t share with anyone else.

SEYFRIED: I’ll never forget any of those moments. We killed Toronto. That Sutton Place was just a real shithole at the time. But that bar was great. We were way too young, having way too much fun, and the movie ended up being more than anyone could have imagined. We’ve had such crazy lives.

LOHAN: Yeah.

SEYFRIED: I just love reconnecting. When they asked me to interview you, I was like, ”Oh my god, what a perfect opportunity.” I’m not good at interviewing, obviously. I know we’re being listened to and watched, but it doesn’t feel like it. 

LOHAN: [Laughs] No, it doesn’t. It just feels like a nice catch-up.

SEYFRIED: And I also feel like we’re both in a place where we’re both peaceful. Let me see your ring. Oh, shit!

LOHAN: [Laughs]

SEYFRIED: That’s so good. You pick it out or he did?

LOHAN: He did.

SEYFRIED: Good for him. 

LOHAN: I know. 

SEYFRIED: How long ago did you meet him?

LOHAN: Almost four years.

SEYFRIED: How long were you dating?

LOHAN: Since we met. It happened right away, which has never happened in my life. When you know, you just know.

SEYFRIED: That’s sexy. I’m really happy for you.

LOHAN: Thank you.

SEYFRIED: How old is he?

LOHAN: 32. No, 33.

SEYFRIED: It’s fine, you don’t need to know, he’s in his thirties. [Laughs] I’m so glad we got to do this.

LOHAN: Me too. Thank you for doing this. I’m glad it was me and you.

SEYFRIED: I’ve had to ask people to interview me. Interview always did it and now all these other magazines do it. Everybody’s always like, “No, I can’t.” And I’m like, “I fucking totally can!” I’m rooting for this movie. I’m rooting for you. Keep me posted on things.

LOHAN: Yeah, let’s stay in touch for sure.

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Hair: Evanie Frausto using Redken at Streeters Agency

Makeup: Kristofer Buckle at Crosby Carter MGMT

Nails: Elle Gerstein 

Set Design: Andy Harmon at LaLaLand 

Lighting: David Diesing

Digital Technician: Jonathan Nesteruk

Photography Producer: Jemma Hinkly 

Tailor: Carol Ai

Photography Assistant: Zach Helper 

Fashion Assistants: Fernando Cerezo and Conor Manning

Hair Assistants: Marin Mullen and Jaz Shepard

Set Assistants: Paul Levine and Tin Nguyen

Casting: Establishment New York 

Production: Taylor Brown, Perris Cavalier, Zhane Santisteben, Claude Shwartz and Jonah Rollins at The Morrison Group 

Post-production: TwoThreeTwo