For good reason, the 1987 classic Dirty Dancing continues to win over younger viewers today.
Onscreen, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey had such a great relationship that many of their emotional performances seemed far more genuine than they actually were.
But Swayze and Grey first worked together in the 1984 movie Red Dawn, which came out before they featured in Dirty Dancing.
Grey had a negative impression of that movie after working with Swayze during its production. Swayze apologized to Grey and drew him aside before the filming started.
Thus, Frances “Baby” Houseman and Johnny Castle were born.
Swazye departed away in 2009, but admirers will never forget his voice, his persona, or those amazing dance movements.
There have been many rumors about Swayze and Grey’s relationship, but regardless of whether they got along on set or not, the movie was fantastic!
Swayze was quite complimentary of his co-star in an interview with the American Film Institute.
He claims that the times when Grey is laughing or crying were successful because “they’re real.” Swayze acknowledges being upset with Grey and promises to work on helping her focus and get over her fear.
Swayze recalled in his autobiography, The Time of My Life, “She looked extremely passionate, frequently bursting into tears whenever someone criticized her.”
He explained, “Other times, she went into ridiculous moods, prompting us to repeat scenes when she’d start laughing.
The actor said that he “didn’t have a whole lot of patience for completing several retakes” in his letter.
Being 8 years older than Grey, whose acting techniques irked Swayze, he had a different style.
Swayze, who has danced his entire life, described it as a “teaching moment” because Grey was a young actress with a lot of talent that “needed to be fostered.”
He claims that because of Grey’s personality, the character “Baby” was particularly remarkable.
“One of the most remarkable performers around in terms of her capacity to be present in the moment right now,” Swayze said of her.
Even if there had been difficulties working together, the two stars expressed nothing but praise for one another.
Swayze and Grey appreciated one another and were true pros.
You could notice specific times in Dirty Dancing where Patrick was truly irritated with Jennifer if you watch the movie again.
After growing weary of having to reshoot situations in which the actor would become irate with Grey, the director opted to leave some of those moments in.
However, if you looked for behind-the-scenes video of Swayze teaching Grey how to dance for the movie, you would have thought those two were destined to be together.
They appear to have been born for these jobs.
If they had cast someone else to play Johnny and Baby, the movie would simply not have worked.
Watch the video below to hear the late, great Patrick Swayze speak:
