> At a Glance
> – Chad Michael Murray told the Like A Farmer podcast that seeing Jamie Lee Curtis in Trading Places made 8-year-old him realize he “liked girls”
> – The moment resurfaced when the two starred together in 2003’s Freaky Friday
> – Why it matters: The reveal adds a nostalgic twist to the recently reunited cast’s decades-long bond
Chad Michael Murray‘s teenage stardom is well documented, but a childhood memory he shared on January 7, 2026 shows his Hollywood story started earlier-and involved another star entirely.
A First Crush at Eight
While guesting on the Like A Farmer podcast with host Pat Spinosa, the 44-year-old actor traced his earliest “light-bulb” moment to the 1983 comedy Trading Places.
> Murray recalled:
> “She’s a hooker in that. And I think that was when I was like, ‘Oh, nope. I like girls.'”
He joked that the feeling was immediate: “I was like, ‘What is that? I feel something.'”
From Fan to Co-Star
Fast-forward 20 years and Murray-by then known for Gilmore Girls and One Tree Hill-landed the role of Jake in Disney’s Freaky Friday opposite Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.
- Curtis was already “Hollywood royalty” in his eyes.
- He calls her the first “icon” he ever worked with.
- The actor lists her résumé-Halloween, True Lies, Trading Places-as “unbelievable films.”
Reunion in 2025
The pair reprised their mother-son dynamic in 2025’s Freakier Friday, joined again by Lohan.
> Murray on the sequel:
> “It felt like a high school reunion, you know? Felt like no time had passed, and yet we had entire lives in between.”
He credits Jamie Lee Curtis for pushing the follow-up forward, simply stating:
> “It’s just all Jamie Lee – Jamie Lee made it happen.”
Key Takeaways
- A pre-teen Chad Michael Murray discovered his “type” watching Jamie Lee Curtis in Trading Places.
- The childhood crush became a professional partnership with 2003’s Freaky Friday.
- Both stars returned for the 2025 sequel, with Murray praising Curtis’s enduring energy and vision.
From first blush to full-circle collaboration, the actor says working with Curtis remains one of the most memorable chapters of his decades-long career.
