If you grew up watching Lizzie McGuire, chances are you remember more than just Lizzie’s animated alter ego or Gordo’s never-ending crush — you remember Matt McGuire’s seriously spiky hair. Now, Jake Thomas, the actor behind Lizzie’s mischievous little brother, is revealing the real story behind that unforgettable 'do.
In an exclusive chat with PEOPLE, Thomas, 35, opened up about how the iconic hairstyle came to life — and yes, it was all his idea. “When we filmed the pilot in 1999, my hair was just flat and product-free,” he shared. “But when I saw all the cool guys at the time — Travis Barker, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joey Fatone — rocking spikes, I wanted in.”
So when he sat in the makeup chair before shooting the series, Thomas made the call: “I want to do spikes.” And the team ran with it. From that point on, his hair became part of the show’s DNA — and, apparently, a significant line item in the hair-and-makeup budget. “By season 2, we were going through tubs of hair gel just to keep it up,” he joked.
Of course, behind every cool Y2K hairdo is… a lot of cleanup. “Every night I had to wash all that gel out. It was like scraping glue off my scalp,” Thomas laughed. “It was sharp. It could be used as a weapon.”
Eventually, when Lizzie McGuire wrapped, Thomas ditched the spikes with zero regrets. “I immediately rejected it and went for the swoop,” he said. “Now I’ve kind of embraced the ‘updo’ again, but that phase? It’s had its time.”
The nostalgia runs deep. Lizzie McGuire ran for 65 episodes between 2001 and 2004, leading to The Lizzie McGuire Movie and launching Hilary Duff into pop culture royalty. But thanks to Matt McGuire — and his gelled-up crown of chaos — the show also left its mark on our hair memories.
Source: People Magazine
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