That can’t-eat, can’t-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over- the-fence, World Series kind of stuff! It Takes Two, the beloved Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie, hit theaters in 1995, and fans are still nostalgic for the film decades later.
The movie has become even more beloved in the wake of Kirstie Alley’s death in December 2022. Alley — who portrayed social worker Diane Barrows and Amanda Lemmon’s (Mary-Kate) parental figure in the fan-favorite film — died in early December 2022 at age 71 after a short battle with colon cancer.
Hours after the Cheers star’s family announced her passing via Instagram, her It Takes Two costar Steve Guttenberg — who played Diane’s love interest and Alyssa Callaway’s (Ashley) father, Roger Callaway — took to his own account to pay tribute to the Fat Actress alum.
“Kirstie met me at her house with a tuna sandwich on my favorite bread. ‘Steve, I know all about you and your love of rye bread … eat some tuna,’” he remembered Alley saying while shooting the 1995 film. “We were rehearsing It Takes Two and every day she amazed me with her generosity of the tangible and with her soulfulness. The world is a bit empty without Kirstie.”
As avid Mary-Kate and Ashley fans remember, the romantic comedy centers on their lookalike characters — one rich (Alyssa), one down on her luck and waiting to be adopted (Amanda) — as they switch places and attempt to set up their parental figures. The movie also starred Friends alum Jane Sibbet as Roger’s gold-digging fiancée and Philip Bosco as the Callaways’ butler.
The movie was a clear spin on the iconic story of the Prince and the Pauper, as well as The Parent Trap. (The original Parent Trap was released in 1961, while Lindsay Lohan’s version came out three years after It Takes Two.)
Nearly 20 years after the release of the ‘90s classic, Guttenberg gushed about working with the Olsen twins in a 2014 interview with HuffPost Live.
“They were adorable,” the Three Men and a Baby star recalled at the time. “They came to my house one time for a little pool party. They were great kids. Their parents were terrific, lovely kids.”
He noted that the Billboard Dad actresses were down-to-earth despite their extreme net worth — Mary-Kate and Ashley had already amassed a fortune by 1995, thanks to their hit movies and dual role on Full House — and would play games with them on set.
“They were very, very balanced and stable kids,” Guttenberg continued. “I remember having races with them for a quarter. I knew they were worth a billion dollars but I’d go, ‘For a quarter, we’re gonna have a race!’ I’d win, ‘cause they’re worth a billion dollars, I’ll take the quarter.”
After emphasizing just how “great” the Two of a Kind alums were as children, the actor noted he’ll still see them “once in a while.”
Keep scrolling to see where the cast of It Takes Two is today:
