Parent Trap star Dennis Quaid reveals where he thinks his character Nick Parker would be today… 25 years after starring alongside Natasha Richardson and Lindsay Lohan

It has been more than a quarter of a century Dennis Quaid played his iconic role as Nick Parker in The Parent Trap (1998), which proved to be a hit with fans and critics alike.

Having just celebrated his 70th birthday milestone days ago, the longtime Hollywood leading man pondered the question of where his character would be today in an interview with E! News.

‘I suppose he would sip some of the wine from his vineyard,’ he said, before adding ‘don’t travel too far from home’.

He went on to speculate that Nick would likely still be riding and running around the California property, making sure to point out that there was ‘no cane involved’.

Quaid continued to wax sentimental as he reflected on the fate of Nick’s relationship with Elizabeth, or Liz, played by the late Natasha Richardson.

“I think he wanted to sip some of the wine from his vineyard,” Quaid said, before confirming “Yes, he’s still with Elizabeth,” in a reference to the late actress Natasha Richardson

“Yes, he’s still with Elizabeth,” Quaid confirmed, with some obvious heartbreak over his words.

‘Natasha (Richardson), God bless her. She passed away from us about 10 years ago and she is so missed,” he continued. “What a beautiful, beautiful woman, amazing person.”

Richardson was just 45 when he suffered a head injury in a fall while taking a beginner ski lesson on March 16, 2009, just over 80 miles from Montreal.

The actress, who was married to actor Liam Neeson, initially refused any medical treatment, but after complaining of a severe headache two hours after the accident, she was flown to a New York City hospital, where she died two days later from an epidural hematoma.

Richardson played wedding dress designer Elizabeth James, who meets and falls in love with Nick on Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1986. Unfortunately, they split shortly after the birth of their identical twin daughters, both of whom were played by Lindsay Lohan in her feature film debut.

In the midst of the divorce mess, Nick gets custody of Hallie and raises her at his vineyard in Napa, California, while Elizabeth raises Annie in London, England, where she works as a wedding dress designer.

Eleven years and nine months later, the twins are randomly sent to the same summer camp, where they form an intense rivalry until they finally realize that they are twins who were separated at birth.

The parental trap ended up coming in the form of the girls deciding to switch places to convince their parents to reconcile; with each training the other to act like her before switching.

‘Natasha (Richardson), God bless her. She passed away from us about 10 years ago and she is so missed,” Quaid said of his co-star, who died after a skiing accident in March 2009. “What a beautiful, beautiful woman, amazing person”

Quaid’s Nick Parker split from his wife Liz not long after the birth of their identical twin daughters Hallie and Annie, both played by Lindsay Lohan

After Quaid shared his grief over the loss of Richardson, he revealed that he still keeps in touch with his on-screen daughter.

“She sent me a video wishing me happy birthday yesterday,” the real-life dad-of-three revealed, before sharing how convincing Lohan was during her audition for the role at such a young age.

‘She come’ to the screen test and I think she was 11 and – wow – I couldn’t believe it,’ he marveled. She was just so in control of her talent and what she was doing and during the filming.’

He went on to add: ”She made me think there were two girls. She was completely fearless’.

Quaid heaped praise on Lohan for her roles as twin daughters Annie and Hallie

‘She came’ to the screen test and I think she was 11 and – wow – I couldn’t believe it,’ the leading man marveled. She was just so in control of her talent and what she was doing and during the shoot.

Directed by Nancy Meyers, who worked from a script she co-wrote with David Swift and Charles Shyer, the romantic comedy premiered in Los Angeles on July 20, 1998, with Quaid in attendance with his then-wife Meg Ryan by his side.

The Parent Trap ended up debuting in theaters on July 29 and quickly became a huge hit with fans and critics, grossing $92.1 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of just $15 million.

It received positive reviews from critics, with Lohan’s performance in particular receiving high praise.

The film’s success led to Lohan becoming a major child star and roles in subsequent Disney projects such as the TV movies Life Size (2000) and Get A Clue (2002).

The Parent Trap opened in theaters on July 29 and quickly became a huge hit with fans and critics, grossing $92.1 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of just $15 million.

Quaid attended the London and Los Angeles premieres of The Parent Trap with his then-wife Meg Ryan by his side; they are pictured at the UK debut in July 1998

From there, Lohan jumped back to the big screen, starring in the fantasy comedy reboot Freaky Friday (2003), which became another huge hit, and Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen (2004), which came shortly before she became a teenage star with the sleeper hit Mean Girls (2004).

Quaid is currently out promoting the historical drama The Long Game, starring alongside Jay Hernandez, Cheech Marin, Julian Works, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Brett Cullen, Oscar Nuñez, Paulina Chávez, Gregory Diaz IV and José Julián.

“It’s so uplifting,” he said of the film, which tells the true story of the San Felipe Mustangs, a group of Mexican-American caddies who won the Texas State High School golf championship in 1957. “It reminds us of who we used to be as a country and how far we have come and where we still have to go.’

While The Long Game premiered at South by Southwest in March 2023, it has only just been released on April 12.