Her new action-comedy-romance The Fall Guy may be winning over moviegoers’ hearts after its premiere last week at SXSW, but star Hannah Waddingham seemingly only has eyes for one man: Patrick Swayze.
The Ted Lasso actress joined Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt—fresh off their hilarious Oscars “feud”—as well as fellow The Fall Guy cast members Stephanie Hsu and Winston Duke to debut the stunt-heavy film at Austin’s Paramount Theatre on Tuesday, March 12. Adapted from the 1980s TV series of the same name, the movie follows a stunt performer who steps up to find a missing actor from his ex-girlfriend’s directorial debut to save the whole production.
But while they were promoting that great movie, Waddingham and the rest of the actors talked to Letterboxd about other film titles that they personally love. While Hannah touted the greatness of classics like 1999’s The Green Mile and 1985’s Back to the Future (also a favorite of her co-star Ryan), her sheer passion for one film in particular stood out:
The man that has ruined me for all other men, because no one will ever compare, Dirty Dancing. I remember being there, 13 years old, and once it was finished literally going [makes a shocked face] in the cinema. I was shook by Patrick Swayze. There’s not been a man ever since who’s been as hot as Patrick Swayze, bless him.
Waddingham, of course, is talking about the iconic 1987 romantic drama Dirty Dancing, which followed a young woman, Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey), who falls in love with dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) while vacationing in the Catskills for the summer with her family.
One of the best ’80s movies of all time, Dirty Dancing is an enduring favorite thanks to the sizzling chemistry between Swayze and Grey, who both earned Golden Globe nominations for their performances, as well as the movie’s memorable dance numbers, including that iconic lift. And it cemented Patrick’s place in the pantheon of cinema’s all-time greatest heartthrobs—the actor would go on to make viewers swoon even more in the 1990 romance-thriller Ghost and was named People‘s “Sexiest Man Alive” a year later.
Tragically, the world lost Patrick Swayze to pancreatic cancer at age 57 back in 2009 but it’s clear that love and admiration for the actor deservedly continues all these years later, especially in the Waddingham household. You can make like Hannah W. and have yourself some alone time with Swayze’s eternally hot Johnny Castle by streaming Dirty Dancing with a Hulu subscription. And if they ever do make that long-rumored Dirty Dancing sequel, maybe famous superfan Hannah Waddingham can join Jennifer Grey for some dance lessons at Kellerman’s—after all, the multi-talented actress knows her way around a song-and-dance number.
If you want to see Hannah Waddingham, Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt and the rest of that star-studded cast get up to some action fun (and, apparently, break some Guiness World Records) in the upcoming 2024 movie The Fall Guy, the comedy hits theaters on Friday, May 3rd on the 2024 movie release schedule.
