It’s hard to imagine anyone else but Patrick Swayze leading the way in Ghost 35 years ago, but it turns out that he was quite far down the list of options for the role.
The tear-jerking romantic drama was released on July 13, 1990, and instantly became one of the biggest hits of all time thanks to the star-studded cast, an amazing soundtrack and that pottery wheel.
Jerry Zucker’s film followed the ghost of murdered banker Sam Wheat (Patrick) as he attempted to warn girlfriend Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) about his killers, through the unwitting help of psychic Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg).
The flick broke box office records and grossed more than $505million worldwide, landing five Oscar nominations and two wins – and, 35 years later, still regularly appears on the list of best romance movies.
However, it could have been a very different story as those behind the scenes wanted an entirely different line-up.
Speaking to Metro ahead of the milestone anniversary, noted casting director Janet Hirshenson revealed that Swayze – who died in 2009 at the age of 57 – was actually the 10th choice for the part.
Unpacking the history, she lifted the lid on how the director was eventually tricked into letting him audition in the first place.
‘We did a lot of movies with Patrick, I loved him very much. And that was a crazy casting,’ she recalled, revealing that casting partner Jane Jenkins did most of the work on the 1990 classic.
‘For Patrick’s part, the studio only wanted to make it with one of 10 box office actors. The 10th choice was Patrick, but Jerry Zucker didn’t want to cast him because he’d just seen Roadhouse, and didn’t think he was right.
‘He was Texan, and [the character] was supposed to be a banker. Jane said, “Well, there are Texans that are bankers, you know!” They kept saying no…’
While she didn’t tell us who those other nine actors were, she confessed Jenkins ‘concocted’ a plan with Swayze’s casting agent to get him the role.
‘She made an appointment and Jerry went crazy,’ Hirshenson continued. ‘Jane and the agent planned it, so she called his agent and yelled at her, like “How dare you set this up?!” Then she [told Jerry], “I don’t know, he’s here… We’ve got to see him…”
‘So, he came in and she read with him. It was the producer and Jerry, they came in and did the reading…. The producer was crying during the audition. At the end of the scene, Jerry Zucker jumped up and went, “Well that’s it!”’
Ghost, also starring Tony Goldwyn, Rick Aviles, Vincent Schiavelli and Armelia McQueen, was met with huge praise from fans and critics alike when it first hit the big screen more than three decades ago.
It currently commands a huge Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%, with many branding the movie ‘perfect’, ‘classic’, ‘timeless’ and ‘brilliant’.
Although Swayze and Moore were the main love story, it’s fair to say that Goldberg stole every single scene she was in – she took home a best supporting actress Oscar for her efforts as Oda Mae, as well as a Bafta, a Golden Globe and a string of other trophies.
But it turns out that Zucker wasn’t originally sold on the Lion King legend, and initially declared that he didn’t ‘want to use her’.
Reflecting on how she eventually landed the role, Hirshenson confessed that her audition took place in an airport.
‘Whoopi Goldberg wasn’t set and Patrick loved the idea also,’ she added. ‘Jerry and Patrick ended up going to Atlanta, where she was shooting a movie, and they met in the airport so Patrick could read with Whoopi.
‘The two of them became very, very close friends. They had such great chemistry, I thought.
‘Who else could have played her but Whoopi Goldberg?!’
We totally agree.
This article was originally published on June 12, 2020.
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