Jennifer Grey recently spilled the tea about her chaotic filming experience with Patrick Swayze during the 1984 action film Red Dawn. Appearing on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, the actress opened up about the cut love scene between her and Swayze, describing it as unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.
Grey, now 64, recalled the chaotic circumstances surrounding the scene, which was supposed to show emotional depth. Instead, it quickly turned disastrous when Swayze showed up intoxicated. "We were in this, you know, sleeping bag, and he was nervous or whatever, and he came, you know, drunk," she confessed. The scene was meant to be one of the more tender moments, and Grey had initially looked forward to it, calling it part of the reason she agreed to take the job.
Things took another turn when she admitted, "And so, I was super paranoid, and I was scared. I didn't sleep the whole night." Grey explained how her own nerves, compounded by her use of marijuana at the time, left her unprepared. This led Swayze to forget his lines, which added to the tension on set.
The ill-fated scene was cut from the film, with producers promising to reshoot it later—a promise they never fulfilled. Reflecting on the production environment, Grey revealed her co-stars often pranked her. "They would put firecrackers in my door," she shared, adding how the antics only intensified the already stressful atmosphere.
Despite the memory of their chaotic cooperation during Red Dawn, Grey and Swayze's relationship took on new significance when they worked together again on the iconic film Dirty Dancing. Ahead of their screen test for the 1987 hit, Swayze approached Grey, expressing his remorse for his behavior during their earlier collaboration. "I love you, and I'm so sorry. And I know you don't want me to do the movie," he told her, which Grey recalled happened with tears welling up in both their eyes.
It was this emotional connection during the screentest, when Swayze pulled her close and declared, "We could kill it — we could kill it if we did this," which left Grey convinced of their undeniable chemistry. She admitted, "He takes me in his arms and I was like, 'Oh, boy. I'm done.'" This bond would help them create one of cinema’s most celebrated films, Dirty Dancing, which grossed around $214 million worldwide and secured both their places as Hollywood icons.
Looking back on the experience, Grey acknowledged her determination during her youth to perform well, even if it sometimes made her seem overly serious. The chaotic circumstances surrounding the love scene may have resulted in its removal from the film, but they also provided insight not just on the early careers of Grey and Swayze, but also on the dynamics of film production which can often be unpredictable and tumultuous. The legacy of their collaboration remains deeply impactful, echoing the complexity of their artistic partnership.
