Bend man returns to the big screen in Disney’s ‘Freakier Friday’

Published 9:30 am Saturday, August 2, 2025

The sequel to Disney’s “Freaky Friday” hits theaters this week with Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis and an actor from Bend.

Chris Carlberg, now the owner of an investment firm, was brought back to the set of “Freakier Friday” to reprise his role as the drummer who plays in the band Pink Slip.

The cast has grown up over the past 22 years and Carlberg is no longer an actor and musician hungry for his next role, he said. He’s become a father, just as Lohan and Christina Vidal Mitchell (who plays the part of band member Maddie) have become parents.

Time has similarly passed for the characters in “Freakier Friday,” as the story follows Anna (Lohan) as she navigates the challenges of creating a blended family that includes her daughter and soon-to-be stepdaughter, with the support of her mother Tess (Curtis). Scenes of the new film are eerily familiar, including the plot’s main event. But this time, with all four women under one roof, it involves double the body swaps.

How was Carlberg cast in the new movie?

Carlberg was initially hesitant to revisit a role connected to a part of his life he had long left behind. But his wife encouraged him to reach out to see what might happen.

Carlberg called and left a voicemail for Andrew Gunn, a producer of both films by WaltDisney Studios Motion Pictures, and the producers were thrilled.

A signed poster of Pink Slip for Disney’s 2003 film “Freaky Friday.” Chris Carlberg is shown in the second row and is reprising his role as the drummer in Disney’s 2025 film, “Freakier Friday.” (Submitted photo)

“I got a call back from another producer the next day. He said, ‘We are so excited to hear from you. We didn’t know how to get a hold of you,” Carlberg said. “They kept saying, ‘Oh, this will be such a fun Easter egg for all of the super fans.”

Carlberg said he found the experience of returning to the set surreal. During filming, which took place last summer, the actor was met with fans wearing Pink Slip T-shirts who remembered him from the 2003 film.

In some ways, it felt like no time had passed.

“Once we got back to filming and the original cast and all of us chatting, it felt like we didn’t miss a moment. We fell right back into the banter and the old jokes and the catching up,” Carlberg said.

Full circle moment

Carlberg recently returned from Los Angeles with his wife, Lacey, and two children. The family participated in a red carpet premiere, live shows and other promotional events surrounding the film’s release.

“It’s been a really exciting full circle moment,” Lacey said in an email.

One of the band’s live shows took place under wraps at Disneyland, where Pink Slip performed live for the first time. During the filming of “Freaky Friday,” the shots with the band were produced with previously recorded playback, Carlberg said.

“We all came up (on stage) and rose out of this elevator and then boom, there’s Jamie (Lee Curtis) and Chad (Michael Murray), and Julia (Butters) and Sophia (Hammons) and Manny (Jacinto) and everyone’s up there talking about the movie and then the band is introduced,” he said.

From right, Lacey Carlberg, Chris Carlberg, Chad Michael Murray and the Carlberg’s daughter attend a promotional event for “Freakier Friday.” (Submitted photo)

Butters plays the role of Anna’s daughter, Hammons the role of Anna’s soon-to-be stepdaughter and Jacinto plays the part of Eric, Anna’s fiancé.

For Carlberg, the best part of revisiting a chapter from his former life was sharing it with his family.

“Hands down, my favorite moment of all of this is looking out and seeing my wife and my kids jumping up and down and yelling the words back and being a part of it. That was everything to me,” Carlberg said.

At this phase in his life, Carlberg is no longer hungry for the next thing.

“I’m content. I’m happy. I love my community. I love where I live. I love what I do. So, I really just get to soak this in. It’s been incredible,” he said.

“Freakier Friday” begins showing at the Regal Old Mill on Thursday.