The Surprising Line Patrick Swayze Hated Saying In Dirty Dancing
Any self-respecting child of the 1980s can recite every word in Dirty Dancing. Some even know the dance moves — just us?
Meanwhile, some of the most iconic lines and scenes have truly interesting stories behind them. For example, you know when Jennifer Grey's Baby can't stop giggling during a dance montage? Not planned, according to Collider. And per Vogue France, Grey didn't want to rehearse the lift at the end of the movie in that huge dance scene out of fear it would go awry, so instead, what you see is a lucky take.
But would you believe that Patrick Swayze, who of course played the rough and tender Johnny Castle, actually thought one of the most quoted lines from Dirty Dancing was awkward to say? This is a tidbit that Grey recently revealed to Woman's Day when talking about the 1987 film that basically helped shape every girl's life — because, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." Except, this line was actually one of Swayze's most hated parts of the script.
What Grey shared about her legendary costar's feelings about the "Nobody puts Baby in a corner line," is "What's amazing about it is when we read it Patrick didn't want to say it. He thought it was a terrible line."
There's a good reason why Patrick Swayze struggled with the line
It's okay — we will give you a moment to recover from the shock of what the now 60-year-old told Woman's Day.
But it turns out there was some confusion about whether the line would make sense during rehearsals, with Grey explaining, "When you see it on the page, sometimes lines are really hard to say. Like I had a really hard time saying that thing I said to him, 'I'm afraid of walking out this room and never feeling the way I feel,' that whole thing." Yes, yes. We remember that line, and are seriously as obsessed with it as the "Baby in a corner" line. So, wait. Grey wasn't in love with it upon first blush either?
"There's certain things that feel kind of clunky when you're the actor, and the clunkiness sometimes makes you do something interesting or awkward with it," Grey elaborated, adding, "and I think the idea of 'nobody puts Baby in a corner' means much more about I won't be marginalized. I won't be silenced. I won't let you bonsai me because I will take my shape, even if it displeases you, even if it makes me unpopular, even if I'm deeply imperfect and flawed, I'm going to be fully who I am."
Yup, exactly what we got out of it — and feeling so glad Swayze ended up delivering the line anyway, and with such a memorable effect.