Jennifer Grey said Patrick Swayze was ‘in tears’ as he apologised to her for his behaviour during their Dirty Dancing screen test.
The duo starred in the iconic romantic drama Dirty Dancing back in 1984, but despite being on-screen lovers, their relationship away from the cameras was famously frosty.
Jennifer and Patrick, who passed away in 2009, previously starred together on the 1984 action drama Red Dawn, and she said his attitude toward her on set while filming that movie prompted her to plead with producers to sack him from Dirty Dancing.
“Patrick was playing pranks on me and everybody,” she said of her experience on Red Dawn during an interview on The View.
“It was just, like, macho, and I just couldn't take it. I was just like, ‘Please, this guy, that's enough with him’,” Jennifer stated.
She said she was opposed to having Patrick sign on as handsome dance teacher Johnny, despite his extensive training and dedication to the role.
Jennifer said he found out she wanted him off the movie, and he pulled her aside before their screen test to apologise for upsetting her.
“He pulled me down the hall and said to me, ‘I love you, I love you, and I'm so sorry. And I know you don't want me to do the movie,’” she explained.
“And he got the tears in his eyes. And I got the tears in my eyes - not for the same reason. I was like, ‘Oh, this guy's working me,’” she quipped.
“And he goes, ‘We could kill it - we could kill it if we did this,’” Jennifer added.
She was eventually won over by Patrick after she realised they had incredible chemistry, and said there was “no competition” over who her leading man would be.
“We go in there and he takes me in his arms and I was like, 'Oh, boy. I'm done,' “ she said of the screen test.
“There was no competition. He was, like, the easy chair I'd been dreaming of my whole life,” Jennifer quipped.
The 62-year-old actress will be reprising her role as Baby for the upcoming Dirty Dancing sequel.
Patrick, who had been battling pancreatic cancer, sadly died at the age of 57 in 2009.
