It turns out that the two actors didn’t have the best relationship off-screen.
The wildly popular love drama from the 1980s, “Dirty Dancing,” continues to keep a special place in the hearts of fans everywhere. The film’s popularity is universally acknowledged, but the interesting story of its making has frequently remained a secret.
None of the many stories that have surfaced throughout time have been as sensational as the recurrent story about the resentment between the movie’s actors, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. In the aftermath, the conflicts that developed behind the scenes have been discussed openly by both stars, revealing light on their complicated working relationship.
In the 1987 film “Dirty Dancing,” Frances “Baby” Houseman, a young woman, travels with her controlling parents to a resort for a family holiday. Baby discovers herself caught up in a passionate romance with the alluring dancing instructor, Johnny, throughout her stay. Baby falls in love with Johnny despite him not meeting her parents’ expectations, and their undeniable connection makes a lasting impression on viewers.
As reported by IMDb, the movie quickly gained popularity after its debut, shattering records and becoming the first movie to sell more than a million copies on home video. Due to its enormous success, there was a prequel released in 2004, a stage adaptation, and a remake for television. Nothing, however, has ever come close to matching the undying admiration for the original masterwork, which still fans of all ages.
While “Dirty Dancing” propelled both Patrick Swayze, who portrayed Johnny, and Jennifer Grey, the embodiment of innocent Baby, into stardom, their relationship behind the camera was far from harmonious. Although they had previously collaborated on the 1984 action movie “Red Dawn,” “Dirty Dancing” was the one that really put their relationship to the test.
According to BuzzFeed, Swayze felt there was a maturity gap between him and Grey, which led to him becoming frustrated with the actor on production. Everybody associated with the production was affected by the tension that resulted from this personality contrast.
In his autobiography, as cited by Telegraph, Swayze revealed, “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.”
On the other hand, Grey shared with The Hollywood Reporter that her initial encounters with Swayze were marked by a rocky start. She explained, “His fearlessness with my fearfulness … together was like a marriage where you have two opposites. He’d do anything, and I’d be scared to do anything.”
Surprisingly, Grey believed their combative dynamic contributed to the film’s success, saying in a separate interview with PEOPLE, “Our being forced to be together created a kind of a synergy or like a friction. I actually just had a thought about Patrick. I feel like if I could say anything to him now, I would say, ‘I’m so sorry that I couldn’t just appreciate and luxuriate in who you were instead of me wishing you were more like what I wanted you to be.’”
Tragically, Swayze’s life was cut short in 2009 due to pancreatic cancer. Grey, on the other hand, has continued her acting career and shown off her flexibility in various movies, from comedies to dramas. But in the minds of loyal admirers, she will always be associated with her legendary performance as Baby in “Dirty Dancing.”