"I realize the movie is giving me more, the more I ask of it," said Grey.
Jennifer Grey is feeling nostalgic! The 63-year-old actress posted a "pretty rare still" on Wednesday, April 12, with her former co-star Patrick Swayze taken on the set of Dirty Dancing, their iconic film together. Grey captioned the Instagram image, "This is a pretty rare still, taken on the set of #DirtyDancing while #PatrickSwayze and I rehearsed one of our love scenes (because we’re fully clothed)."
Although the film was released over three decades ago, she still loves talking about the film and her experience at the time. She told EW she never tires of talking about the cult classic because "there are so many layers to this movie. There is so much goodness under what feels like a fluffy rom-com fairytale. There is so much depth in the structure of the characters and the relevance to what's going on right now. The movie is a period piece, so it takes place in 1963 and we were shooting it in the late eighties," she explained.
Sadly, her co-star Swayze passed away in 2009 at the age of 57 after battling pancreatic cancer. Grey remembered how he handled his cancer prognosis with courage. She believes it's important to honor his memory and their work together.
Grey told the outlet that she is the "person responsible for this story right now because I'm maybe one of the last living people who [starred in the film]. I don't want to have nothing to say when I'm asked, and I don't want to be bored, because I think that's a wasted moment. So then I think, 'Well, what is there here?' And then I just start to go deeper. And I realize the movie is giving me more, the more I ask of it."
Thankful for them. 💘 pic.twitter.com/fUPJy9i0AG
— Dirty Dancing Movie (@DirtyDancingMov) November 24, 2022
The dancer also opened up about how the movie impacted her life in an interview with PEOPLE. "It gets me every time. It feels like I'm living it when I'm watching it. And then I'm realizing that Patrick [Swayze] is gone," Grey revealed as she was moved to tears when a classic clip from the film was shown during a morning show appearance.
Never a dull moment when Baby and Johnny are together. 💕 pic.twitter.com/SH18ojn6Bu
— Dirty Dancing Movie (@DirtyDancingMov) February 28, 2023
The Road to Christmas star hopes to honor him in the upcoming sequel of the classic. Grey said that she won't be part of any sequel unless she feels it appropriately honors the late actor's legacy. "We're not giving up any dates at the moment because… really, what I'm doing, my whole job with this, is to get it right, get it really right, in Patrick's honor, in honor of all of the fans' relationship with the movie. If you're going to do that movie again, it has to be right," she told Good Morning America. "It's definitely happening. I'm very excited to say that. It's something I refuse to do unless it's perfect, so I'm doing my very best to make sure we honor it."
Happy 35th anniversary, Dirty Dancers! We're celebrating with a brand new 4K UHD. Get yours now: https://t.co/WO11agXI5g pic.twitter.com/ZNHTsmLX6x
— Dirty Dancing Movie (@DirtyDancingMov) August 23, 2022
References:
https://ew.com/movies/jennifer-grey-refuses-dirty-dancing-sequel-unless-it-honors-patrick-swayze/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Photo by Astrid Stawiarz (R) Photo by Jason Kirk