Jennifer Grey Recalls Awkward First Scene with Patrick Swayze in Red Dawn

Before they danced into Hollywood history with Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze shared a much less glamorous moment on the set of Red Dawn.

The actress, best known for her role in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, recently shared a story about their first-ever intimate scene during a conversation on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast.

Grey revealed that during filming in 1984, Swayze showed up to their sleeping bag scene intoxicated and unprepared. “He didn’t know his lines, and they decided to cut the scene, saying they’d reshoot it later—but they never did,” she explained.

It wasn’t just Swayze’s behavior that made the day challenging. Grey admitted she wasn’t completely sober either, having smoked marijuana the night before, and she was on edge after her neighbors pranked her with firecrackers. “I didn’t sleep all night, so I was already anxious and irritated,” Grey said.

Her frustration boiled over during filming. “I was self-righteous and told him, ‘You’re killing me,’” she recalled, adding that Swayze’s on-set “alpha” behavior didn’t help. Despite the tension, Grey acknowledged that it was a difficult experience for both of them.

This rocky start left Grey hesitant when Swayze’s name was suggested for Dirty Dancing. “I thought, ‘Anybody but him,’” she admitted. However, the two eventually patched things up and delivered one of the most iconic movie performances of all time.

Red Dawn, which also starred Charlie Sheen and Lea Thompson, became a box office hit, grossing $38 million. A remake was released in 2012 featuring Chris Hemsworth.

Looking to the future, Grey touched on the possibility of a Dirty Dancing sequel. “I’m committed to honoring the original and Patrick,” she said. “The story has to stay true to what made the first film special—making people feel seen and alive.”

With that commitment to authenticity, fans can only hope that the magic of Dirty Dancing will live on in a way that stays true to its legacy.