Fans of The Parent Trap were in for a sweet surprise while watching Elaine Hendrix and pro Alan Bersten on Dancing With the Stars season 34 premiere night.
The pair’s performance on the Tuesday, September 16, episode kicked off with a close-up shot of Hendrix, 54, sporting a large black hat over her face and slowly lifting her head toward the camera. The moment was an ode to the 1998 film, where Hendrix — who portrayed Meredith Blake — wore the sunhat poolside while being introduced to Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid)’s daughter.
“Elaine has such an incredible acting career, but Meredith Blake is such an iconic character, we had to pay homage to it. ” Bersten, 31, exclusively gushed to Us Weekly after the performance on Tuesday. “So many kids have grown up with [The] Parent Trap. So many people are watching it now and discovering it now for the first time and realizing how great it is. I really wanted to showcase Elaine as Meredith Blake, but also as Elaine.”
As Hendrix performed a cha-cha to Kesha’s “Woman” with Bersten, she had her The Parent Trap costar and real-life best friend Lisa Ann Walter cheering her on from the audience.
“Alan is my show security blanket, while Lisa is my life security blanket,” Hendrix quipped to Us. “She pushed her production to be here. I was like, ‘Girl, don’t ruffle any feathers. If you miss it, it’s fine.’ But no, of course, she made it happen. She’s my ride or die and I love her.”
As the Nancy Meyers film begins to approach a milestone 30th anniversary, Hendrix teased that “there’s a lot of talk” about reprising her role.
“It’s above my pay grade. All I know is that we’re all ready. We would all do it, absolutely. I love it,” she said. “I have the millennials to thank for #justiceformeredithblake.”
Now, however, Hendrix has her eye on the mirrorball trophy — and is hoping to make it through next week’s double-elimination.
“You never know what’s gonna happen,” Hendrix said. “I thought I was gonna have a good time, but just how much I love it is really exceeding my expectations. I want to keep going because I love the learning and I love the rehearsal. I love getting emails from it. I mean, I’m just loving every second of it.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to stream next day on Hulu.
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