Jennifer Grey Was WorriedDirty DancingWould Be a 'Glorified Porno' — Why She Said Yes Anyway

Mar. 15, 2025

Jennifer Grey in ‘Dirty Dancing’ in 1987.Photo:Snap/Shutterstock

Snap/Shutterstock

Dirty Dancingmight be a romance classic now, butJennifer Greyactually had a lot of apprehensions before signing on.

“I remember being in my agent’s office and seeing the breakdown [and] saying, ‘I have to get this part,’ ” Grey, 64, remembered. Part of her interest was because it was a “low-budget movie,” which was not common at the time. The budget was just $4.5 million, and Grey was paid $50,000.

Patrick Swayze (left) and Jennifer Grey in ‘Dirty Dancing’ in 1987.Snap/Shutterstock

“And it kind of was a little risky,” theA Real Painstar said. “It kind of felt like, it’s calledDirty Dancing. The sex scenes are described quite explicitly, and there’s no money for me or the movie. Maybe it’s just a glorified porno.”

But she was also excited about working with director Emile Ardolino, who was mostly a documentary director. “He was he was one of the reasons the movie worked, because of his sensibility,” she said. “I trusted his ability to see truthfulness.”

Grey, who was the first person cast, also felt apprehensive about starring withPatrick Swayze. They hadpreviously appeared together in 1984’sRed Dawn, and Grey felt he had treated her poorly.

And Swayze agreed. Grey said on the podcast that when the actor — whodied in 2009 at age 57— came to dance with her for the first time, he said, “I’m sorry. I know you don’t want me for this, and just know that I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze performing the iconic lift in ‘Dirty Dancing’ in 1987.

Filming the movie itself was “grueling” for Grey because she was in every scene and had never been a lead before. Now she was the “lead in a low-budget movie where you have to dance and rehearse and shoot really fast. It was rough, and we had really tough weather.”

But, she said, “I learned that very often, the more stressful and the less money you have and the less time you have, it creates a synergy that is very, very conducive to making magic.”

Jennifer Grey in 2024.Manny Carabel/WireImage

Manny Carabel/WireImage

“I actually just had a thought about Patrick,” she continued. “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.’ "

source: people.com