What the Hell Happened to Jennifer Grey?

The Lebeau Le Blog website has an informative article titled What the Hell Happened to Jennifer Grey? Here are some excerpts:

Grey [born in 1960] made her big screen debut in the romantic drama, Reckless [released in 1984]. Aidan Quinn starred as a teenage rebel who falls for a cheerleader played by Daryl Hannah. ... Grey appeared as one of their classmates. Critics compared the movie unfavorably to teen rebel movies like The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause.

While Reckless was in theaters, Grey appeared in an ABC after-school special. Her best friend, Tracy Pollan, starred in The Great Love Experiment. Pollan played a popular girl who participates in an experiment to boost the social profile of a shy classmate. Grey’s part was minor. She played one of the cheerleaders on Pollan’s squad.

Later that year, Grey appeared in John Milius’ Cold War action movie, Red Dawn ... based on the ... idea ... that the Soviet Union could successfully invade the United States. Naturally, a group of high school students led by Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen are America’s last line of defense against foreign occupation. When the teen militia goes to an old man for help, he asks them to watch over his granddaughters played by Lea Thompson and Grey. .... 

Jennifer Grey shooting a machine gun
in the 1984 movie Red Dawn.

Next, Grey had a supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola’s period drama, The Cotton Club. The movie was set at the famous Harlem night club in the 1930’s. Richard Gere starred as a talented musician who gets involved with the mob in order to advance his career. ... Nicolas Cage played Gere’s brother, a gangster rising up the ranks of the mob. Grey appeared as his disapproving wife. ....

Jennifer Grey playing a wife
in the 1984 movie Cotton Club.

Grey appeared briefly in the 1985 sports drama, American Flyers. Kevin Costner and David Marshall Grant starred as two competitive brothers who have unresolved issues after the death of their father. When Costner’s character returns home for a visit, he tries to set his brother up with Grey.  But the dinner doesn’t go well.  Grey winds up leaving in tears as she unexpectedly finds herself in the middle of a sibling rivalry. ...

Jennifer Grey playing a date
in the 1985 movie American Flyers.

In 1986, Grey had a small role in a big movie.  She played Matthew Broderick‘s jealous little sister in John Hughes’ comedy, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Broderick played a brilliant, charming high school student who used his gifts to skip class with his friends. .... Grey’s character was insanely jealous of her older brother and wanted to see him get caught until she is set straight by a seemingly strung-out delinquent played by Charlie Sheen.

Sheen owes his involvement in the classic comedy to his former Red Dawn co-star. Grey recommended Sheen for the part after having worked with him on Red Dawn. ....

Despite playing siblings in the movie, Broderick and Grey began secretly seeing each other.

Jennifer Grey and Charlie Sheen
in the 1986 movie
Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey
dating after making their 1986 movie
Derris Bueller's Day Off 

Later that year [1986], Grey appeared in an episode of the TV drama, The Equalizer. Edward Woodward starred as a retired intelligence agent turned private detective. In this episode, he offers to protect Grey from would-be killers. Grey’s mother has just been killed and Woodward believes that she was not the killer’s intended victim.

Jennifer Grey in the 1986 television drama The Equalizer

The Lebeau article then tells about Grey's next performance, in Dirty Dancing. Here are some excerpts:

Director Emile Ardolino wanted to cast dancers in the leading roles so he wouldn’t have to rely on stand-ins. He cast Grey because she had a background in dancing as well as acting. Billy Zane was strongly considered for the part of the dance instructor. But the dancing tests with Zane and Grey were disappointing. Val Kilmer was offered the lead, but he wasn’t interested.

Their next choice was Patrick Swayze whom Grey had co-starred with in Red Dawn. Grey initially objected to the casting of Swayze as her co-star because they she didn’t like him after they fought while making Red Dawn. Ardolino tested Swayze dancing with Grey and noticed their chemistry immediately. Screen-writer and producer, Eleanor Bergstein, described the test footage as “breathtaking”.

Following their successful screen-test, Grey and Swayze managed to bury the hatchet temporarily. But before long, they were back to squabbling on the set. The fighting grew so intense that there was concern that it would ruin the movie’s love scenes. In order to remind their stars of how great they could be together, Ardolino and Bergstein had them rewatch their initial screen-test. That got Grey and Swayze back on the same team long enough to finish the movie. ....

Ardolino encouraged Grey and Swayze to improvise as much as possible. The scene in which Swayze lifts Grey’s arm and she cracks up was one such improvisation. Grey said she found the gesture ticklish and Swayze’s annoyance with her laughter was genuine. Another improvisation was the scene in which Grey and Swayze crawl towards one another. That was originally just a warm-up before shooting a scripted scene.

The executives at Vestron were convinced they had a flop on their hands. After watching the film’s original cut, producer Aaron Russo commented that they should “Burn the negative and collect the insurance.” At one point, the marketers of Clearasil were interested in a sponsorship deal to promote the movie. But when they learned about the abortion scene, they requested to have it removed. When the producers refused to drop that subplot, Clearasil backed out.

Dirty Dancing originally received an R-rating. Scenes were trimmed from the original cut to obtain a more desirable PG-13. Vestron, convinced that no one would like the movie, planned to give it a limited release in theaters and then dump it to video where they hoped they could make some money back.  Producer Linda Gottlieb said that at the time, “I would have only been grateful, if when it was released, people didn’t yell at me.” ....

Shortly after Dirty Dancing was released, Grey's career was interrupted by an automobile accident.

You would think that in 1987 as her career was taking off like no one could have ever imagined that Grey would be having the time of her life.  But you would be wrong.  Unfortunately, Grey was recovering from a personal tragedy just as she was becoming a star.

At the time, Grey was dating her Ferris Bueller co-star, Matthew Broderick. The couple went on vacation in Ireland when Broderick had a bad car accident. He crossed over into the wrong lane instantly killing a local mother and her daughter. Broderick suffered a fractured leg, fractured ribs, a concussion, and a collapsed lung. He spent four weeks in the hospital. Grey’s injuries were less severe, but the incident scarred her for life ....

The impact was emotional and physical.  My body was never the same, my head was never the same, my ambition was never the same.

The full extent of Grey’s injuries was not immediately apparent. Over time, ligaments which had been ripped in the accident degenerated leaving her with chronic pain. According to Grey, she avoided taking prescription pain medication out of fear of addiction. She said she had lived the wild life in her youth but wanted to remain sober as an adult.

The timing of the accident completely overshadowed Grey’s career success .... Following the accident, Grey said she pulled back from her career.  ....

Lebeau continues to describe and illustrate Grey's career and then ends its article thus:

So, what the hell happened?

Well, first of all, Grey was never really that big of a movie star to begin with. Prior to Dirty Dancing, her biggest claim to fame was a relatively small role in Ferris Bueller. Dirty Dancing could have made Grey into a big star, but for reasons that are perfectly understandable, Grey backed away from her career to recover from the trauma of a lethal car crash.

As regular readers know, one of the first rules in the movie star playbook is to strike while the iron is hot. If you want to get on the A-list and stay there, you have to capitalize on your hits.

Obviously, Grey failed to do that.  But even if she hadn’t taken some time off, it’s questionable whether or not the success of Dirty Dancing would have translated to her career. Look at her co-star Patrick Swayze who continued working steadily after Dirty Dancing. He struggled to capitalize on that success as well. Three years later, he seemed to have missed his opportunity until Ghost rejuvenated his career. And even that was a temporary shot in the arm.

Obviously, things could have been different for Grey than they were for Swayze. But all things being equal, actresses have a harder time in Hollywood than their male counterparts. And Grey didn’t have the typical Hollywood look. ...

Eventually, Grey started a family and that became her primary focus. ....

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Some of Lebeau's readers commented on his remark that "Grey was never really that big of a movie star to begin with."

RB
I also don’t think she would have had much longevity anyway, as an A list actress, regardless. Her role in Ferris was minor, I remember Mia Sara getting more attention. Swayze’s comments about how Grey excelled at being this “in the moment” actress, you can see that on screen, but she also isn’t an actress with great range. She’s fun and quirky. It works well on TV, where I didn’t know she has continued to work more or less steadily.

Terrence Clay
In regards to her career, I think her performance in Dirty Dancing put her in a leading lady category when, in fact, she was more of a decent character actress. Dirty Dancing is actually a coming-of-age story not a rom com so how was she ever going to follow that up? She should’ve kept her nose and worked as a character actress. We should’ve seen more of her. ....

I think part of her appeal to both audiences and Hollywood alike in the mid to late 80s was the fact she looked like a younger, cuter and, ultimately, sexier version of Barbara Streisand. Once she lost that nose, that subconscious familiarity disappeared as well. ....

No talent killed Jennifer Grey’s career. Anyody could have played the bitchy sister in Ferris Bueller and people went to see Dirty Dancing because Patrick Swayze was at the height of his hotness.

gcreptile
she seems like a nice person, I think that persona has also kept her, not on the A-List, but always in fame’s orbit. Like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, she might eventually find a future in sit-coms. And I also agree that she would probably never have become as a big a star as she might have hoped. But maybe she could have been someone like Jamie Lee-Curtis.

Craig Hansen
I too doubt how much Grey could have capitalized on her sudden fame post-Dirty Dancing even without the accident and nose job. Keep in mind that despite being 27 when she filmed Dirty Dancing she had to that point spent her career portraying teenage girls. Fast approaching 30 by that point she simply could not have continued playing teens for much longer, and her youthful cuteness may have prevented her from being accepted in more adult, mature roles in films anyway. Grey’s prospects may have been limited regardless, but again we will never know for sure, she could have surprised in something if given the chance.

Val Kilmer Turned Down the Role of Johnny Castle

I recently discovered the Lebeau's Le Blog website, which is very informative about movie actors and actresses. The website reports that Val Kilmer turned down the role of Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing.

The article says:

Kilmer was one of many actors who turned down a lead role in the coming-of-age musical drama. Lawnmower Man Jeff Fahey also turned down the male lead. ... Heather Graham turned down the Jennifer Grey role. ... 

For his part, Kilmer said he turned down the part of Johnny Castle for fear of being type-cast as a hunk.

Fall Out: Kilmer was type cast as a hunk anyway. In 1988, he played the hunky swordsman in Ron Howard’s fantasy film, Willow. So he traded out a hunk role in a hit for a hunk role in a box office disappointment. However, Patrick Swayze struggled against his hunky image for the rest of his career. So maybe Kilmer was right about turning down Dirty Dancing. It seems unlikely that he and Grey would have had the same chemistry that Grey had with Swayze. Maybe Dirty Dancing starring Val Kilmer wouldn’t have even been a hit.

The article includes this fake poster.

In 1986, the year when Dirty Dancing was made, Kilmer's movie Top Gun was released. This is what Kilmer looked like.

The actor Val Kilmer in the 1986 movie Top Gun.
The movie Dirty Dancing was filmed in 1986.

The Lebeau article's reader comments included the following.

dwmcguff
Obviously I love this article. And there is no way to know how the movie would’ve turned out if Kilmer had been in it instead of someone else. .... Kilmer is one of the most famous current actors for turning down roles ....

Craig Hansen
As far as Dirty Dancing is concerned, I think it became the runaway success it did directly because of the chemistry between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. That’s what sold audiences. That, and the hit soundtrack that played on the radio for months on end. Romance films and Romantic comedies in general, more than most other genres, seem to live or die on that most elusive of things: chemistry between the leads.

It’s impossible to know for sure, but I suspect Kilmer and Grey probably wouldn’t have made as natural a duo as Swayze and Grey. ...

Val Kilmer is a terrific actor, but he doesn’t have the same kind of natural dancing talent or training Swayze had, and at the moment I’m having a hard time imagining Kilmer dancing around in DD’s scenes like Swayze did. Maybe he could’ve pulled it off, who knows?

Danielle Charney
... I had to chime in -- i love Kilmer and always have- to me he is ten times the actor that many who have surpassed him are -- Cruise, DeCaprio and others. While I love Dirty Dancing -- and you sort of have to like Swayze for some reason ... he really can’t act. He is so over the top. The light-footed direction and music, Jennifer Grey, and the dancing made that movie soar. And Jerry Orbach- even if on screen ten minutes- always works for me.

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Jeff Fahey, who likewise turned down the Johnny Castle role, looked like this in the 1986 movie Psycho III.

The actor Jeff Fahey in the 1986 movie Psycho III.
Dirty Dancing was filmed in 1986. 

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I doubt that Heather Graham turned down the Baby role. Graham was born in 1970, so she was only 16 when Dirty Dancing was filmed.

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Dr. Ruth turned down the role of Mrs. Schumacher after she was informed that the character is a thief.

Dr. Ruth

Mrs. Schumacher (center)

The Original Choice to Play Johnny Castle Was Billy Zane

Wendy Leigh wrote in her biography, Patrick Swayze: One Last Dance, that "actor Billy Zane was the original choice to play Johnny Castle." The MGM movie company decided in 1984 to make Dirty Dancing but then delayed the project for two years while looking for an actor to play Castle. (Page 91)

Leigh did not explain why the original choice to cast Zane as Castle was canceled.

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Jennifer Grey has said in a video interview (at 2:25) that when she was auditioning for the role of Baby Houseman, she thought that the role of Johnny Castle would be given to Billy Zane.

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Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article about Zane:

Zane was born [in 1966] in Chicago, Illinois, to Thalia and William George Zane, Sr., both of whom were amateur actors and founders of a school for medical technicians. His parents are both of Greek descent (from Chios through his mother and Mani through his father), and his family's original surname, "Zanikopoulos", was anglicized to "Zane" by his parents, who also raised him Greek Orthodox. He has an older sister, Lisa Zane, who is an actress and singer.

After completing a year abroad in Switzerland at The American School in Switzerland, Zane graduated from Francis W. Parker School and attended Harand Camp of the Theater Arts, located in Evanston, Illinois.

Zane's first two screen roles were in the science fiction films Back to the Future in 1985 and Critters in 1986, around the same time he appeared in the music video for Sheena Easton's song "Do It For Love".

In 1984, Zane was only about 18 years old, so it seems that the Castle character originally was supposed to be only slightly older than the Baby Houseman character, who has just graduated from high school when the movie takes place.

Swayze was born in 1952, so he is about 14 years older than Zane. When the movie was filmed in 1986, Swayze was about 34 years old. If Zane had played the role, he would have been about 20 years old. Grey was born in 1960, so she was about 26 years old, but her character was only about 18 years old.

In the movie, Swayze playing Castle looked significantly older than Baby.

In the movie Back to the Future, Zane played a character named Match. Here is a picture of him, holding a match in his teeth, from that movie:

The actor Billy Zane playing
the character Match (second from left)
in the movie Back to the Future, filmed in 1985. 

Here are some more pictures of 19-year-old Zane playing Match.

In 1986, the year that Dirty Dancing was filmed, Zane's movie Critters was released. Here are a pictures pictures of Zane acting in that movie.

The actor Billy Zane playing
the character Steve Elliot
in the movie Critters, released in 1986.

Looking for these pictures, I found a movie review, titled Critters -- "The Ballad of Billy Zane", that praised his acting in the movie:

There were a few things I went into this movie unaware of. One, that it would genuinely scare me. Two, the possibility of gaining a new workout song for the rare gym trip. And best of all, I had no idea Critters would treat me to prime, 80’s Billy Zane. Say one thing about this movie, say it has Billy Zane sporting the “wrap your sweatshirt around the waist” look. ...

As I understand it, this movie was a response to the popularity of Gremlins. The latter is definitely a better movie, but Critters I found to be much creepier. ... The crites are balls of fur with a smile full of razors. ... Seemingly shot out of cannons, these little guys can end your existence in the blink of an eye.

Zane took a flesh eating Furby to the stomach! It’s horrifying. ...

The acting was surprisingly good for what the movie was. When I watch actors in scary films all I’m really looking for is if they look frightened. That’s it. ...

Also in 1986, when Dirty Dancing was filmed, Zane's next movie Brotherhood of Justice, was released. Here are a couple of pictures showing how he looked in that movie.

The actor Billy Zane playing
the character Les in the
movie Brotherhood of Justice,
released in 1986. 

While looking for these pictures, I found a movie review praising Zane's acting in this movie (emphasis added).

I’d definitely recommend this movie for all Keanu Reeves fans. It was interesting to see Reeves basically dipping his toe in the action waters for the first time. Especially considering how the action genre would go on to provide Reeves with some of the biggest movies of his career including Speed, Point Break and The Matrix.  Some solid work from Kiefer Sutherland and Billy Zane (the perfect choice for the brooding bad boy of the group) also make The Brotherhood of Justice worth watching.

Since Zane acted so well in Critters and in Brotherhood of Justice, both released in 1986, he probably would have acted well in 1986 in Dirty Dancing, if he indeed had played Johnny Castle.

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Here is a picture of Zane playing a character in the television show Matlock in 1987, the year that Dirty Dancing was released.

The actor Billy Zane on the TV show Matlock
in 1987.

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Zane Wikipedia article (quoted above) mentions that "in 1986, around the same time he appeared in the music video for Sheena Easton's song "Do It For Love". I could not find that video on YouTube. If someone can send me a link, I will post the video here.

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If Zane had played Johnny Castle, he might have become as famous as Patrick Swayze became. Zane's acting career was respectable, but it was such that cultural critic Lebeau has published an article titled
What the Hell Happened to Billy Zane? You should read the entire, well illustrated article. It begins like this:

Billy Zane got his start in one of the most beloved science fiction movies of the 80’s.  He gained popularity on one of the quirkiest TV shows of the 90s.  And he played the least-loved character in what was at the time the highest-grossing movie ever.  His list of credits include several popular films.  But when the handsome actor tried to transition into leading man roles, something didn’t click.  Zane has worked steadily since 1985, but somehow he never became a household name.

What the hell happened?

Zane made his debut with a bit part in Robert Zemeckis’ sci-fi comedy, Back to the Future. He played Match, one of bully Biff Tannen’s goons.  According to Zane, he auditioned for the role of Biff which ultimately went to Thomas F. Wilson.  Biff’s goon squad was cast from actors who auditioned for Biff but didn’t get the role.

According to Zane, hanging out on the Universal set was a lot of fun:

“What was amazing about that was I had a crash course in Hollywood, being on the back lot of Universal for about six months. It was the best playground on the planet. Michael J. Fox was very funny. He would play dead on a New York street, lie dead in the middle of the road, where the trams would come by, and they would have to stop and we’d come running out of the buildings and try to pilfer everyone for their Polaroid cameras and watches, like a highway robbery. Or we’d go up to the Psycho house at dusk with Maglites and shine them into the windows. We were kids and having a hoot!”

Back to the Future was a critical and commercial hit and one heck of a lucky break for a film debut.  It was successful enough to spawn two sequels.

In 1986, Zane appeared in a less-beloved science fiction movie, Critters.

Critters was basically a Gremlins rip-off.  Alien creatures who are furrier and have more teeth than the gremlin invade a rural Kansas town.  A young boy and his family have to deal with the alien invasion.  Dee Wallace Stone, best known for playing the mom in E.T. and Cujo, played – what else – the mom.  Zane played the older daughter’s boy friend who sneaks off for some barnyard hanky panky.  Probably not a good idea.

Reviews were mixed with many critics giving the movie points for having a sense of humor.  It was a modest hit at the box office and three sequels followed.

Zane also appeared opposite Keanu Reeves, Kiefer Sutherland and Lori Loughlin in the TV movie, The Brotherhood of Justice.

The movie was based on a true story about a group of teens who decided to form a vigilante group to prevent violence.  Reeves played the leader of the pack.  Zane played a bad boy who smoked and brought guns to a knife fight.

Meanwhile, Zane was making guest appearances on TV shows like Heart of the City in 1986 and Matlock in 1987.  On Matlock, Zane played a shifty garage mechanic testifying against his soon to be ex-wife.  Only a country lawyer like the one played by Andy Griffith can get to the bottom of this in 46 minutes! ....

Lebeau's article ends thus:

So, what the hell happened?

Well, for starters Zane was never really a star.  In the early 90’s everyone expected him to hit it big.  But it just never happened.  Zane’s career consisted largely of independent movies the average movie goer had never heard of.  And when a movie he made did cross over to main stream audiences, he was usually playing a scumbag.  Having a major role in the biggest movie of all time can take your career to the next level or it can make an entire generation of teenage girls hate you.

As Zane pointed out, his financial situation with his large alimony payments forced him to work steadily.  He wasn’t in a position to be picky about what direction his career took.  Sure, committing to a crappy horror movie pays the bills.  But it also means you aren’t available if a better offer comes along.  Zane was jumping from one project to the next which rarely leads to good career choices.

When Titanic was rereleased in 3-D, Zane was asked if he was frustrated with the state of his career.  He admitted that his career wasn’t where he wanted it to be, but claimed to be happy all the same:

It’s an interesting thing. "Always the bridesmaid," as they say for the ladies? It’s always nice to be on the verge. If Titanic 3-D is a unique or curious reminder of that body of work, then wonderful. I’m someone who believes in pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps. It’s been interesting for me, and at times difficult. But I’ve never been in a better space.”

You should listen to Billy Zane.  He’s a cool dude.

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A link on Lebeau's article led me to another website's article, titled Underrated Actors Special: Billy Zane, which explained to my why Zane did not get the Castle role (emphasis added):

Whether it’s Robert DeNiro, Johnny Depp, or Sean Penn, many hardcore method actors can never escape the comparison to the legendary Marlon Brando. For Billy Zane, his uncanny resemblance to Brando proved to be a double edged sword throughout his career. Casting directors often tried to cast him in star-making roles because of his looks and it won him a number of leading men and villainous parts. Other times, his looks cost him roles because of what he may have lacked in talent. ....

Zane did not have to search long for a job. Three weeks into his move to Los Angeles, Zane won the role of Biff Tannen’s accomplice “Match” in the 1985 blockbuster, Back to the Future. It wasn’t so much of a standout role since he was paired in a trio alongside J.J. Cohen and Casey Siemaszko. .... Afterwords, Zane was cast as an ill-faded horny boyfriend in the Gremlins knockoff Critters.

Zane was working primarily on television shows when he was initially cast as Johnny Castle in 1987’s Dirty Dancing. The film’s producers thought his Brandoesque looks were perfect for the womanizing dance instructor in the Catskills. Unfortunately, his lack of dancing skills forced him off the project and he was immediately replaced with Patrick Swayze which would end up becoming his star-making role.

So, Zane did not get the Castle role because he did not dance well.