Abigail Breslin 'terrified' of recreating Dirty Dancing lift

Written by . Published: May 11 2017

Abigail Breslin was "terrified" of recreating the iconic Dirty Dancing lift for the upcoming TV remake.


The Scream Queens actress plays Frances 'Baby' Houseman in the TV movie, based on the classic 1987 film. While she was grateful for the amazing role, Abigail admits she was more than a little apprehensive about performing the dance routine in which Baby runs up to love interest Johnny Castle and he lifts her horizontally above his head.

"I was terrified," she told ETOnline. "I could, like, feel my heart racing so much. And then when I was up there and we held it, I was just like, 'Ahhh! I did it. I'm here.'"

Her co-star and pal Sarah Hyland, who plays her sister Lisa, watched Abigail and Colt Prattes, who plays Johnny, nail the lift for the first time and was so proud she got emotional.

"I wanted to cry," she said. "When I saw Abby do the lift for the first time… I've known Abby since she was one, I was six. To see her conquer something like that is really amazing because I really do feel like a big sister to her, in real life as well as the film."

Abigail, 21, never thought she would be able to play Baby, a part made famous by Jennifer Grey, because she had no dance experience.

"I was like, 'Ugh, I want to be like Baby. I want to dance like that,'" she continued. "But I'm the most uncoordinated human being on the face of the Earth, so it didn't seem like a likely scenario for me."

While Abigail was worried about the lift, Cole admits he was more concerned about delivering Patrick Swayze's memorable line, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner".

"I feel like I gotta do it with an eyebrow," he explained. "Just as naturally as possible."

The TV movie airs on 24 May (17).