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How Matthew McConaughey Helped Dirty Dancing Remake Star Lose 20 Lbs.

Exclusive! Colt Prattes tells E! News how he lost 20 lbs. to take on the iconic role of Johnny Castle in ABC's remake of Dirty Dancing

By Tierney Bricker May 24, 2017 5:05 PMTags
Watch: "Dirty Dancing" Star Lost 20 Pounds For ABC's Remake

Prepare to fall in love with a new Johnny Castle.

Taking on the Dirty Dancing role Patrick Swayze made iconic in the 1987 film is no easy task, and it's made even harder when you need to lose at least 20 pounds for the role. But that's exactly what newcomer Colt Prattes did for ABC's remake, premiering tonight at 8 p.m.

"I actually had to lose about 2030 because nobody was that big in the '60s," Prattes revealed to E! News at Dirty Dancing's PaleyLIVE premiere.

And Prattes said he went on the same diet regime Matthew McConaughey did for The Dallas Buyer's Club, the 2012 film that he dropped 38 pounds for in order play a man diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, a role that won him an Oscar.

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See How the Dirty Dancing Remake Stars Compare to Original Movie's Cast
ABC

"I looked it up on YouTube," Prattes said. "He said it's like, eight ounces of fish in the morning, eight ounces of fish at night, and then all the red wine you can drink!"

Prattes isn't the only star taking on an iconic role, with Abigail Breslin stepping into Baby's (Jennifer Grey) dancing shoes for the TV movie. While the Scream Queens star said "the lift" is the first thing people think of when they look back on Jennifer Grey's performance, she "always liked" the character's independence. 

"For the time period that the movie was set in and just in general it was always cool for me to see a girl who was into a guy but didn't let him control her life," Breslin said. "And she took control of it herself, and I think that's really cool." 

To hear more from the Dirty Dancing remake stars, watch the video above. 

Dirty Dancing airs tonight at 8 p.m. on ABC.