Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were the teen idols of their time. The duo got their first taste of the spotlight while playing the role of Michelle Tanner on Full House. After the sitcom ended, they moved on to their own direct-to-video series. They also starred in some short-lived sitcoms and made several movies. However, today their circumstances have changed.
One of these movies was Holiday in the Sun. Filmed in the Bahamas, the film starred the Olsen twins and a newcomer named Megan Fox.
Fox would obviously go on to have an extremely successful acting career of her own. In a recent interview, Fox shared her thoughts on the twins and her experience working on the film.
Screenwriter David Wager Was Shocked He Was Chosen To Work With The Olsen Twins
In a 2021 interview with E! News, screenwriter David Wagner spoke about his experience working on Holiday in the Sun. For starters, Wagner was completely shocked that he was approached to write a film for the twins.
Wagner and his writing partner Brent Goldberg were responsible for films such as Van Wilder and The Girl Next Door. In fact, the duo were on the set of Van Wilder when they were approached about writing a film for the Olsen twins.
"You wouldn't think that they would approach two guys in their twenties kind of writing R-rated comedies," Wagner said. "You wouldn't think that we would be their first choice, but when they told us the concept of the movie, it definitely piqued my interest."
Initially titled The Last Family Vacation, Wagner said he identified with "that time in your adolescence when you're starting to become embarrassed of your parents and it's that natural shift from kid to teen and how much time you want to be with your parents. So we were intrigued by that concept. When is it time to say, hey I don't want to go on vacations with my mom and dad anymore?"
Wagner described the Olsen twins' team as "an amazing machine." He also revealed their manager, Robert Thorne, requested specific things he wanted to see in the film. These included a private jet, a yacht and a move from a colder climate to a tropical destination.
"Their team really knew their audience and what they wanted and the wish fulfillment aspect of it," Wagner said.
Co-Star Ben Easter Said He Was Nervous To Work With The Olsen Twins Due To His Age
Ben Easter played Jordan Landers, Ashley's love interest, in the film. He also spoke with E! News about his experience and revealed there was some anxiety about his role. That anxiety was specifically about the age difference between him and the twins.
For starters, Easter was told the girls were lied to when viewing his audition tape.
"My manager called me and was like, 'The girls watched the tapes of the auditions and Ashley really wanted to meet you,'" he said. "I was like, 'Oh my god' Then I was like, 'Oh s***.' I was a little bit nervous because of my age. My manager was like, "I think they told the girls you were 16.'"
In reality, Ashley was 14 and Easter was 21. Easter was understandably "a nervous mess" when he went in to meet the twins for the first time.
"I was like, I don't want to lie," Easter said. "I'm not a lying kind of guy. This isn't what we do, I'm from Iowa. This is not how we roll. I am the worst liar. I was like, 'Please don't bring this up, please don't bring it up.'"
Thankfully, Easter's nerves went away "immediately" after meeting the girls. He described them as "the most kind, almost shy people. You expect something totally different after I did my research on them."
Thorne eventually asked Easter his age and expressed some concern over the age difference. Ashley, however, insisted it wasn't a problem and named another co-star of hers that was older.
"We hit it off right off the bat," Easter said. "They could see I was professional and I wasn't some creep."
Megan Fox Said She Was 'In Awe' Of The Olsen Twins' Clothes While On Set
A 15-year-old Fox made her acting debut in the film as mean girl Brianna Wallace. While it was unclear at the time how big her career would become, Easter said he recognized her potential.
"I will never forget it. I remember meeting her and her mom. She was so kind and she was ridiculously beautiful. Again, shy," he said. "I remember standing there thinking, this girl is so beautiful and she has the last name Fox. This is ridiculous. She belongs in L.A. It's not even a stage name. I remember laughing with her mom about it. I was like, 'You guys have to go to LA. You have to go there. She could have a really good career.' They were so nice."
Easter added, "I have not talked to Megan or ran into her since then, and it's been really cool to see her career grow and flourish and have the success she deserves. She's a really nice, good person."
Despite the film being released in 2001, Wagner claimed he didn't realize Fox was in the movie until recently.
"But I can always say now that I wrote a Megan Fox movie and I never even knew it," he joked.
Fox herself even spoke about her impressions of the Olsen twins in a recent interview.
"I resonated with those movies," Fox said. "The Olsen twins had the most amazing closet full of clothes, I was in awe of all the clothes and how fashionable they were back then."