The New Johnny Castle On ABC's 'Dirty Dancing' Has Big Shoes To Fill

The original Johnny Castle, played by Patrick Swayze, was a pretty monumental role in the actor’s career, even if it took some time for the movie to really hit the cult status that it has today. In the ABC TV remake, you have to expect that whoever follows in his steps is going to live up to the role well (at least hopefully), so who plays Johnny Castle on the Dirty Dancing remake?

Colt Prattes is, above all else, an experienced dancer, which makes him perfect for the part in that sense. But other than that, he’s acted in a few TV series and he was in the live Las Vegas production of Rock of Ages, so there’s no real doubt that Prattes is going to be a worthy replacement for the originally Johnny from Dirty Dancing. Well, as worthy of a replacement as you can get for something Swayze made so iconic.

And what’s more is that, according to Prattes’ Instagram, he was already a legitimate fan long before he was given the role of a lifetime. Under a photo he posted promoting the Dirty Dancing remake, he wrote, "Growing up I watched this movie almost every weekend. It inspired me to start dancing and still inspires me every time I see it. Beyond honored to be a part of this & can’t wait for y'all to see it!" So he's definitely bringing his all into the role.

Prattes also recently talked to the New York Post about his preconceived love for the movie. "I used to watch Dirty Dancing with my stepmom every weekend," he revealed. "And I just remember watching her smile so much. Now that I’m an adult, I realize she had a crush on him."

But other than his apparent love for the original and the fact that he already has the dancing talent to go along with the role, who is the new Johnny on the Dirty Dancing remake?

Like I said, Prattes was in the Rock of Ages musical in Las Vegas and ended his run with the show in March of 2016. But even before that, he was dancing in a Pink music video and during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. He’s also been married for four years to fellow dancer and actress Angelina Mullins, who was in the NBC show Smash as a dancer. And they’re pretty adorable as far as their social media photos go.

Other than being a trained and seriously amazing dancer, though, Prattes is also apparently a writer for New Age Gentlemen LLC, which calls itself "A platform that's building better men by discussing what it means to be a gentleman." He hasn’t posted anything about the organization in a while, but what Prattes did post of his own writing says a lot about who he is as a person, and also makes it hard not to love him.

It’s hard to say if Prattes is going to do the role of Johnny on the Dirty Dancing remake justice, especially with the big shoes he has to fill, but it is pretty clear that he has the sort of talent, mindset, and experience to make him a worthy new Johnny Castle.