Lori Petty says Patrick Swayze would do ‘ballet in the air’ while skydiving during “Point Break ”shoot
Lori Petty says Patrick Swayze would do ‘ballet in the air’ while skydiving during “Point Break ”shoot
Shania RussellSun, August 2, 2026 at 5:26 PM UTC
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Lori Petty and Patrick SwayzeCredit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty; Michael Loccisano/FilmMagicKey Points -
Lori Petty is sharing fond memories from the set of 1991’s Point Break.
The actress starred alongside Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in the cult-classic film.
Point Break returns to theaters with a 4k restoration tied to its 35th anniversary on Aug. 16 and 19.
Point Break wasn’t all bank heists and surfing — according to Lori Petty, there was also some behind-the-scenes ballet.
Back in the ’90s, one year after making her film debut in Cadillac Man, Petty skyrocketed to fame after starring alongside Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in the action film about surfers who moonlight as bank robbers. 35 years later, just in time for the film’s return to theaters, Petty is taking a stroll down memory lane.
“It was a dream, for real. It was so much fun,” Petty, 62, told PEOPLE of making the film. “Come on, it was me and 20 wet dudes. It was just so much fun just playing football and training and surfing and kissing. It was just a blast.”
Petty joked that she had a pretty sweet gig in the film, quipping, “It’s pretty easy to be in love with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. It really was not difficult.”
Lori Petty and Patrick Swayze in ‘Point Break’Credit: 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection (2)
Petty had especially fond memories of working with Swayze, who died at 57 in 2009, recalling how he would often “go skydiving before work” against the studio’s wishes.
“He loved it. He loved riding motorcycles. He loved skydiving. He loved dancing. He loved anything he could do with his body,” she recalled, noting that he even found a way to combine his love of dancing and skydiving. “He was doing ballet in the air. That was really him.”
She continued, “So he was someone who just loved to push himself at whatever he did and take it as far as he could. And he was just sweet as pie, and he smelled so good all the time.”
That level of fun-loving joy was shared among the wider cast, as Petty recalled, “We were just a pile of wet, dirty people in this house. Then we’d go down and go surfing every morning, like four or five in the morning. But we were just happy, and it was no drama and no princesses.”
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Petty also noted that the idyllic experience was bolstered by the fact that they filmed on the coast of Hawaii, soaking up golden hour and enjoying sunsets and sunrises.
“Just watching the sun come up and just knowing how blessed I was. I’m really thankful that I had the presence of mind to realize how fortunate I’ve been in my life and to be aware of it while it’s happening,” she said. “I just felt a lot of gratitude.”
Lori Petty and Keanu Reeves in ‘Point Break’Credit: 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection
At the same time, Petty had no idea how successful Point Break would become, nor that it would have such a lasting legacy.
“I knew Patrick Swayze and his talent and legacy, and I knew Keanu’s talent and stardom,” she noted. “But when you’re making a movie, you don’t really think about what it’s going to do.”
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In addition to its box office success, Point Break has enjoyed an enduring legacy as a cult classic film. The Kathryn Bigelow-directed movie tells the story of an undercover FBI agent, Johnny Utah, who becomes enmeshed with a group of bank-robbing surfers.
To mark its 35th anniversary, Point Break is back in theaters on Aug. 16 and 19. The movie will be presented in a new 4K restoration.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
