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Jennifer Grey Turns Down Role In ‘Dirty Dancing’ Remake, Shares Memories Of The Late Patrick Swayze

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 04:47 PST, Aug 17, 2016

Jennifer Grey, the 56-year-old American actress starring in the Red Oaks web series, surprised her fans when she turned down a role in the ABC remake of Dirty Dancing, the 1987 romantic drama that made her famous. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the actress did not feel that it wold be appropriate for her to appear in the remake, even though she admitted that she was flattered to be offered a role in the upcoming television movie.

The original Dirty Dancing remains one of the world’s most enduring movies. Jennifer Grey played the role of the young and sheltered Baby, who falls for Johnny Castle, her dance instructor played by the late Patrick Swayze. The original movie evokes a sense of nostalgia due to its music, dance, and the romance between the on-screen characters. In fact, the movie features one of the most amazing romantic scenes ever made, which many fans would recognize as one of the scenes filmed at the lake, featuring a half-submerged Swayze lifting up Jennifer Grey high up over the lake.

According to Moviefone, Jennifer Grey was the perfect actress to play the leading female role as she was a born dancer who had inherited the art from Joel Grey, the Oscar-winning actor who exhibited his dance moves in movies like Cabaret.

Additionally, Jennifer had undertaken supplementary dance training to refine her dance steps for the movie. On the other hand, Patrick Swayze was never the original choice for the lead actor in Dirty Dancing, as he was originally thought to not have the right ethnic looks. However, Jennifer Grey had a terrific chemistry with Patrick from the start, winning him the lead male role in the movie. Later, Swayze credited Jennifer Grey for turning the movie into a phenomenal success, despite the mood swings that he claims she had during the filming of the movie. According to the Telegraph, Patrick Swayze has described their moments of friction in his autobiography The Time of My Life.

“She seemed particularly emotional, sometimes bursting into tears if someone criticized her. Other times, she slipped into silly moods, forcing us to do scenes over and over again when she’d start laughing.”

Today, Jennifer Grey doesn’t focus on any tensions that may have prevailed on the set of Dirty Dancing but instead shares her fond memories of working with the late actor, who she also starred against in the 1984 movie Red Dawn. Jennifer Grey reveals that Patrick’s protective nature and dedication always made her feel comfortable on set, allowing her to concentrate on delivering a good performance. Ultimately, both actors were able to successfully portray their on-screen characters, who were supposed to be 10 years younger than themselves.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jennifer Grey spoke about how the fearless Patrick Swayze complemented her perfectly during the making of the movie.

“His fearlessness with my fearfulness — like his lack of Jewishness and my super Jewishness — together was like a marriage where you have two opposites. He’d do anything and I’d be scared to do anything.”

Overall, Jennifer Grey enjoys being nostalgic and loves relishing the fond memories of the 80s when she was having the time of her life. In Jennifer’s opinion, she might have felt out of place in the upcoming version of Dirty Dancing, as it is hard for her to let go of the excitement of the classic era that saw her turn from an everyday actress into a superstar.

Additionally, the actress confesses that it would be difficult to recreate the magic of the enchanting soundtrack of the 1987 original movie. And even though she may not be featuring in the upcoming remake of Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey finds it exciting and thrilling to see how the earlier version of the movie will be reinterpreted and remade in a new format with new actors to reprise the earlier roles.

[Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP Images]

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