5 Wild Facts About the Original ‘Road House’ Ahead of its Remake

Lauren Novak January 26, 5:56 pm

Road House Patrick Swayze, 1989 — United Artists/Everett Collection

Road House has been returning as fan-favorite nostalgic content ahead of the remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal (It premieres on March 21, 2024, on Amazon Prime Video). Will Gyllenhaal’s version of Dalton live up to the iconic performance by the late Patrick Swayze? Only time will tell! Until then, let’s take a look at some surprising facts about the 1989 original movie, starring Swayze as Dalton, a bouncer with a Ph.D. in philosophy.

Kelly Lynch was not the first choice to play Doc

Road House Kelly Lynch, Patrick Swayze, 1989

United Artists/Everett Collection

Kelly Lynch played Dr. Elizabeth Clay (“Doc”) but she wasn’t always supposed to. Annette Bening was originally cast for the role but ended up getting fired, reportedly for not having chemistry with Swayze.

Swayze had some problems on set

United Artists/Everett Collection

First off, he apparently hated his hair in the movie and called it the “bane of my existence.” He also suffered from some knee problems and had to have some fluid drained from his left knee while filming the movie.

Red was a member of Elvis Presley’s Memphis Mafia

Clambake from left, front, Will Hutchins, Elvis Presley, Red West, 1967

Everett Collection

Red West played Red Webster, the auto parts store owner in the movie. In real life, he was a member of Elvis Presley‘s “Memphis Mafia” and close friends with him. They went to high school together and later acted in several of Presley’s films as well as worked as a stuntman.

All actors did their own stunts

Everett Collection

Speaking of stuntmen, Road House didn’t need any! Sam Elliott said that all of the actors did their own fighting and stunts. He said, “You hear all that bullsh** about ‘It’s all stunt doubles’ and all that sh**. Well, it isn’t. All the actors, as far as I know, did their own fighting. I f**king got the sh** kicked out of me for the entire film.”

There was a sequel

If you haven’t heard of the sequel, don’t fret. It was a direct-to-DVD sequel that came out in 2006 titled Road House 2: Last Call. Dalton was dead in the film and Johnathon Schaech starred as Dalton’s son who tries to solve his father’s murder. Have you seen it?

Learn more about the remake here:

How Does This First Look at Prime Video's Jake Gyllenhaal-Led 'Road House' Remake Strike You?

Jake Gyllenhaal plays ex-UFC fighter Dalton, who works as a cooler at a rough-and-tumble Florida Keys bar in the film, directed by Doug Liman (Mr. & Mrs. Smith) and produced by Joel Silver (Die Hard, the original Road House).

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