Lorenzo Lamas Almost Didn't Land His Iconic Role In Grease

Best known for playing Lance Cumson in "Falcon Crest" and Reno Raines in "Renegade," Hollywood heartthrob Lorenzo Lamas has a career spanning decades, and he may owe it all to a chance encounter in 1977. That year, Lamas, just 19, attended the Oscars with his mother, actor and astrologist Arlene Dahl. It was at the post-ceremony Governor's Ball that mother and son happened to run into producer Allan Carr. As Lamas remembered at the Hollywood Show convention (via Remind), "It's the first time I'm meeting anybody in show business. I'm nine months out of military school ... And my mom, like moms do, pushed me in front of her, and she goes, 'Allan, I want you to meet my son Lorenzo. He's going to be a big star.'" Lamas was embarrassed, but his mom made the right call. 

A few months later, Carr was making the now classic "Grease" with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John starring as Danny and Sandy. The movie needed a hunky young man to fill a small but important role. Steven Ford had been cast as Tom Chisum, the clumsy captain of Rydell High's football team and Sandy's boyfriend, but the son of former president Gerald Ford had to drop out. Carr remembered meeting Lamas at the afterparty and reached out to the young actor offering him the role with one caveat: he would have to dye his hair blond. Lamas was happy to do it, explaining "I would have changed it into a rainbow color to do scenes with Olivia."

When it came to playing Tom Chisum in "Grease," dyeing his hair blond was the easy part for Lorenzo Lamas. The true test was learning to dance. Talking with Telegram, Lamas sang the praises of choreographer Patricia Birch, saying "She was so supportive of this kid who was not a dancer." He went on to explain how Birch incorporated his natural talents into the dance steps to help him; "I played football in high school so she had me do things I did in drills. The walk with Dody Goodman in the high school gym where I run in pace with my knees really high is nothing more than a football drill. The truth is "Grease" went on to be the highest-grossing movie of 1978 and helped launch Lamas' career. Even after decades of success as a leading man, Lamas looked back on his small role in "Grease" with pride, stating "This was bigger than life for me. And, I made so many friends. 'Grease' is the only work I have done that I will watch."

Lamas, who is with fellow '80s icon Heather Locklear, had the chance to reconnect with Oliva Newton-John while filming "The Apprentice" when she showed up to help the show's contestants make a commercial as one of their challenges. Lamas recalled the reunion on X in 2026, writing "It had been several years since we last saw each other ... She saw me dancing on the floor below and came off the stage to hug me. I fell in love with her all over again!"