It’s hard to imagine the iconic Dirty Dancing movie with anyone other than the unforgettable Patrick Swayze and the fabulous Jennifer Grey as the stars. But did you know neither of them was the first choice for the roles? Can you believe it?

Casting Chaos

Sarah Jessica Parker and Sharon Stone both auditioned for the role of Baby before it eventually went to Grey. Swayze’s character, Johnny Castle, was initially meant for Billy Zane, but they switched to Swayze because Zane didn’t have the right dancing style for the movie.

Just like in the movie, Swayze was an experienced dancer, and Grey was a natural talent but with no training. Swayze loved dancing so much that he battled through even the more difficult scenes despite a long-term knee problem.

Swayze Stunts

Isn’t it incredible that Swayze almost didn’t take on this part because he was worried about aggravating his knee injury further? But you may not know that he not only took on the part, but he insisted on doing all of the stunts himself!

One particularly memorable scene, where Johnny and Baby dance on a log over a lake, almost went too far when Swayze had to visit the hospital for a session of swelling drainage.

Working Title

Nowadays, you can’t imagine this classic movie having any other title than Dirty Dancing. But, believe it or not, many movie executives and censorship officers thought that Dirty Dancing was too risqué a title, and they thought it sounded like some raunchy movie.

They came up with suggestions like “I Was a Teenage Mambo Queen,” but thankfully, they stuck with the original. Thankfully, the creators resisted, and the title remained. 

Super Speedy

But for Dirty Dancing, the creators were short on both money and time—so not only did they do it on a super-tight budget, but they created the whole film in less than three months.

The actors had just two weeks of rehearsals to learn all those incredible dance moves, and the whole film was completed in just 43 days!

Too Good-Looking to Be True.

Cynthia Rhodes was the total package! She was a talented actress with fabulously impeccable dance moves and exquisite beauty. But her good looks actually caused her some problems, as during the scene where Penny is supposed to be in terrible pain, the actress simply still looked too beautiful to be believed!

They had to add more make-up to make her look sweaty and pale, as her natural beauty looked too healthy. 

Golden Couple.

As beloved and famous on-screen couples go, you can’t get much more iconic than Johnny and Baby. Their chemistry is so potent, and viewers are still moved by their love story all these years later.

But this wasn’t the first time these two actors had worked together – they had also co-starred in 1984’s Red Dawn. 

And now, let’s look at some of the most memorable movie mistakes. The main goofs in the movie come from the fact that it was set in the 1960s but filmed in the 1980s. You can spot characters sporting 80s hairdos and fashions throughout the movie. At one point, Grey can even be seen wearing a pair of 80s sneakers that weren’t even invented in the 60s!

Setting Struggles

The movie’s story is set in the beautiful Catskills upstate New York.

The movie was filmed in Virginia and North Carolina, but if you look closely at the scenery, you’ll see it was filmed in an actual location.

The movie’s surroundings, especially the types of trees and bushes shown around the resort, are clearly found in the Midwest rather than in the New York areas—which is great!