One of the most intriguing aspects of the beloved 1987 romance flick Dirty Dancing was the relationship between Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey). Over the years, Grey has been quite vocal about the lack of chemistry shared between herself and Swayze during filming, and with ‘Baby’ no longer in the corner, the 62-year-old actress is once again shedding light on her less-than-favorable connection with the late actor.
While speaking with People, Grey noted that her and Swayze were “not a natural match,” which seemingly affected their chemistry while filming and caused tension between them. Grey also noted that the pair were forced to keep working together, and if she were able to speak to Swayze today, she would apologize for trying to change who he was as a person.
The same way Baby and Johnny were not supposed to be together … a natural match, right? And we weren’t a natural match. And the fact that we needed to be a natural match created a tension. Because normally when someone’s not a natural, you… both people move on, but we were forced to be together. And our being forced to be together created a kind of a synergy, or like a friction. I actually just had a thought about Patrick. I feel like if I could say anything to him now I would say, ‘I’m so sorry that I couldn’t just appreciate and luxuriate in who you were, instead of me wishing you were more like what I wanted you to be.’
Despite Grey’s hindered chemistry with Swayze, their characters were beloved by fans around the world and resulted in the movie grossing $214 million worldwide and receiving positive reviews from critics — namely, Grey and Swayze’s standout performances.