‘If not now, then when?’ Jamie Lee Curtis done wasting time

Jamie Lee Curtis says there’s nothing freaky about aging. In her 60s, she has found a gift that was unreachable when there were fewer candles on the cake.

“The moment of clarity happened when I realized that I have zero time to waste. This really hit for me at age 60,” the Oscar winner says. “I thought, ‘No matter what it is in life … if not now, then when?’ ”

For years, fans would stop Curtis and ask when she’d make a sequel to “Freaky Friday,” the 2003 body-switch comedy starring Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.

Curtis, 66, decided to take action because, well, if not now, then when?

She says she called up Disney and told them, ‘Look, I don’t know if you’re planning on doing a sequel, but Lindsay is old enough to have a teenager now, and I’m telling you the market for this movie exists. I said, ‘Guys, I have one word for you: ‘Barbie.’ The audience that was there for ‘Barbie’ will be there.”

Clearly, they were listening.

In “Freakier Friday,” opening Aug. 8, it’s 22 years later, and Tess (Curtis) and Anna Coleman (Lohan) are dealing with their ever-changing family dynamics. Anna is engaged and has a teen daughter named Harper who is about to gain a stepsister named Lily. A fortune-teller at Anna’s bachelorette party conjures a four-way switch in identities.

Beyond her summer movie, Curtis, the daughter of acting legends Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, is having a major career moment. She just shot a new series based on Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta novels with Nicole Kidman and recently earned an Emmy nomination for her work on “The Bear.” A “Murder She Wrote” reboot is also in the works.

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, actor Christopher Guest, and their two grown daughters. Her good life tips:

Rule of five

Curtis subscribes to the Five Rule when deciding what occupies her emotions at this age. “I’m always asking myself, ‘Is whatever is going on going to affect me for five minutes, five hours, five days, five months or five years?” she shares. “Five years demands all hands on deck to circle around this problem. If it’s only a five-minute problem, I write it off to ‘It’s not that big of a deal.’ ”

Patience rewarded

“I’m a total late bloomer,” Curtis says. “I’m also very patient. I think the last few years have been indicative of my patience.” That stretch has included an Oscar and an Emmy. What does that feel like at age 66? “I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I’ve been an actor since I was 19 years old. I’ve sold yogurt on TV! I just never thought in my life I’d get to do work at this level of depth and complexity and intelligence. It has just been the thrill of my creative life.”

Ready for surprises

Curtis revels in life’s shockers. For instance, she wasn’t even supposed to star in the original “Freaky Friday.” “An actress for whatever reason stopped doing it,” she recalls. “My agent called me when I was on a book tour and said, ‘Disney has asked you to step in.’ That was a Thursday. I read the script on a Friday. I flew home and met the director on Saturday. My hair was dyed red on Sunday, and I was working on the set on Monday. … Meanwhile, I had a 5-year-old and a 15-year-old at home. I was playing a 15-year-old and a 45-year-old. It was insane and a wonderful surprise.”

Celebrate life’s turns

“In college, I majored in criminology and minored in being a little sister at a frat. I was never going to be an actor. I was going to be a police officer,” Curtis says. “I came home from college, ran into a guy who used to teach tennis but was now managing actors. He said, ‘They’re looking for Nancy Drew at Universal.’ Of course, I didn’t get that part, but they said, ‘We like you.’ That’s all it takes in life sometimes. Someone likes you! Eventually, I ended up signing a seven-year contract with Universal and quit college to go into show-off business. … I mean show business.”

Keep moving

Curtis has always advocated the importance of time spent working out. “I’ve always been someone who is physical,” she says. “I don’t stop moving. I dance. I walk. I do things. I don’t sit it out,” she says. “You just need to move.” She says the goal is gym three times a week, plus a balanced diet. “Do I mess up? Sure. I’m human,” she adds.

A good hustle

Curtis feels lucky to be in an industry that she loves. “Making a living is not the same thing as making a life,” she says. “I’m grateful to make a life as an actor despite the rejection. You hustle … and I love a good hustle.”

The time is now

She is all about the big swings. “Life hinges on the decisions we make in a couple of seconds,” Curtis says. “Take the chance. A few seconds can change the course of your life.”

A love story

Curtis remembers the exact moment she saw Guest for the first time, which was 38 years ago. “I opened Rolling Stone magazine and turned to a page where there were three guys with their arms around each other. I said to my friend, ‘I’m going to marry that guy.’ And I pointed to a picture of Christopher Guest.” Cut to two months later at a Hollywood restaurant. “Chris was sitting two tables away. We waved at each other … and then he called me the next day. We got married four months later. Lucky me.”