Val Kilmer reportedly turned down “Dirty Dancing” because he didn’t want to get typecast in the role as a hunk. Johnny Castle probably shouldn’t get offended though, because Kilmer garnered a reputation for being highly selective of his projects. In fact, he turned down the following films as well: “Dune,” “The Godfather: Part III,” “Interview with the Vampire,” “The Matrix,” and “Se7en.”
“I only cared about the acting and that did not translate to caring about the film or all that money,” Kilmer said of his career in a Reddit Q&A, according to The Things. For what it’s worth, Swayze did find trouble getting cast after “Dirty Dancing.” For instance, he almost lost out on a role in “Ghost” because the producer “made the mistake of seeing some of his other movies,” via People.
But Swayze isn’t the only one who almost didn’t star in “Dirty Dancing.” His co-star Jennifer Grey almost lost out to the role to Winona Ryder and Sarah Jessica Parker. But producer Linda Gottlieb said, “Jennifer Grey was pushed into the audition room by her father and we were in love.”
