Michelle Pfeiffer Admits She Was ‘Terrified’ Grease 2 Could Never Match The Orignal’s Success

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Michelle Pfeiffer reminisced about her lead role in and the significant pressure she felt. She explained that she faced a tough challenge, as the film was inevitably going to be judged against the 1978 original.

Honestly, I was really scared,” Pfeiffer shared on the Smartless podcast. “I mean, think about it – it’s Olivia Newton-John and Grease was just phenomenal, with such a dedicated fanbase and incredible success.” Grease 2 came out in 1982, and at the time, I was still working my way up – I’d only had supporting roles in three movies before that. She explained that the way Grease 2 was marketed created these unrealistically high expectations, and I was terrified the film just wouldn’t measure up to the original.

[People in the audience] didn’t know who we were, and they were running ads calling the movie ‘too hot,’ she explained. “I thought, ‘Please don’t say that! What if they don’t find me attractive? I don’t want them to think I’m trying to seem hot!”‘ Pfeiffer, who was 23 at the time, was seen as an unexpected choice among the actresses being considered. More well-known performers such as Lisa Hartman, Pat Benatar and Kristy McNichol were also reportedly in the running for the role of Stephanie Zinone. In a 2012 interview with Interview Magazine, Pfeiffer admitted she hadn’t been ready for the audition.

Michelle Pfeiffer Recalls Her Grease 2 Audition

That experience was quite unexpected for me. I had been taking singing lessons and also studied dance because I really enjoyed it, but I never thought of myself as a professional performer,” she remembered. “I went to this audition on a whim, and somehow, after repeatedly dancing and singing during the audition process, I actually landed the role. Early in the development of Grease 2, Travolta and Newton-John were asked if they would return, but they both said no. That paved the way for Pfeiffer and Maxwell Caulfield (as Michael Carrington).

Grease 2 wasn’t successful in theaters, making only $15 million despite costing $11 million to produce. The film also received very negative reviews; film critic Roger Ebert famously said it simply repeated the ideas from the original Grease “without the stars, without the energy, without the freshness and without the grease.” Despite this setback, Michelle Pfeiffer received positive attention for her acting, and quickly bounced back. Her role in 1983’s Scarface proved to be a significant turning point in her career.

[Grease 2] was a valuable learning experience for me,” Pfeiffer explained in a 1985 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “Before the movie even came out, there was a lot of publicity. Maxwell and I were heavily promoted with large advertisements. We couldn’t possibly meet those expectations, and we didn’t. The resulting disappointment was significant, but it taught me not to anticipate success.” Newton-John later shared in 2003 that plans for another Grease sequel were underway, but the project was eventually canceled.

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2025-10-01 20:36