Behind-The-Scenes Secrets They Didn’t Tell You About Dirty Dancing

From Italy To Ireland

The producers initially wanted the character of Johnny to be played by an Italian- American, so they considered casting Billy Zane. In fact the actor later became well-know for his part in Titanic. Nevertheless when it was Zane’s turn to impress them with his on-screen test, they realized his moves weren’t quite up to scratch. Luckily for Patrick Swayze, he certainly had all the right moves in the audition. so the producers decided to make the lead character Irish instead of Italian, so Swayze would fit the role.

From Italy To Ireland