Abigail Breslin Talks Up Her Dirty Dancing Remake
Abigail Breslin, now 21, says that she definitely felt the gravity of remaking a film as beloved as Dirty Dancing. Thirty years after the original film's release, the TV remake starring Abigail as Baby and Colt Prattes as Johnny (played originally by the late Patrick Swayze) will air on ABC tomorrow, May 24. And a lot of the pressure to get it right came from friends and family. Abigail told ABC news, "One of my best friends, she was like, 'If you don't do a good job, I will kill you.'"
Prattes came to the role with a Broadway background and dance training, but Abigail confesses that learning to dance for the movie took her hugely out of her comfort zone. "I don't think that the words graceful and Abigail Breslin have ever been in a sentence together. I was terrified. I was really lucky I was working with Colt and everybody on the choreography end of things."
Abigail with Sarah Hyland, 26, who plays Baby's big sister Lisa, at the Dirty Dancing premiere, Beverly Hills, May 18
Abigail was also bolstered by meeting Jennifer Grey, who was 26 when she played Baby in the original 1987 film, which remains her most famous role. Now 57, Jennifer was very supportive of the remake. "I met [her] after we filmed and she was lovely and so sweet, but before hand, we mostly hung out with each other. We were doing something that was a little bit different. It's kind of hard to get advice from those who were in the original when that's of its own unique experience."
Prattes came to the role with a Broadway background and dance training, but Abigail confesses that learning to dance for the movie took her hugely out of her comfort zone. "I don't think that the words graceful and Abigail Breslin have ever been in a sentence together. I was terrified. I was really lucky I was working with Colt and everybody on the choreography end of things."
Abigail with Sarah Hyland, 26, who plays Baby's big sister Lisa, at the Dirty Dancing premiere, Beverly Hills, May 18
Abigail was also bolstered by meeting Jennifer Grey, who was 26 when she played Baby in the original 1987 film, which remains her most famous role. Now 57, Jennifer was very supportive of the remake. "I met [her] after we filmed and she was lovely and so sweet, but before hand, we mostly hung out with each other. We were doing something that was a little bit different. It's kind of hard to get advice from those who were in the original when that's of its own unique experience."