Is there anything Ronda Rousey can't do? She's a UFC superstar, she's written an autobiography (and will star in a movie based on it), and now she's playing Patrick Swayze -- in a remake of one of his movies, that is.
Rousey is moving full speed ahead with her acting career, stepping into the role that catapulted Swayze to stardom in a new take on Road House, reports Variety.
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Rousey is thrilled about the idea of starring in the remake, but also wanted to be respectful to Swayze's family -- according to Variety, she reached out to Swayze's widow, Lisa Niemi, and got her blessing to play the role.
http://t.co/hVA44maR3h pic.twitter.com/YakdrFHSGv— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) September 9, 2015
The 1989 cult hit saw Swayze as a bouncer with a philosophy degree who's hired to clean up after The Double Deuce, one of the rowdiest bars around Missouri.
Rousey should have no problem with the physicality required to beat up scumbags in a bar, and the gender-reversal of the role feels like a victory in an industry where women are still frequently excluded.
But it will be interesting to see who gets cast opposite Rousey in the Kelly Lynch role -- and we're not the only ones who will be curious. According to Lynch herself, Road House megafan Bill Murray repeatedly calls her husband, Mitch Glazer, on the phone every time he watches the movie to tell him that he's watching her have sex with Swayze: “Kelly’s having sex with Patrick Swayze right now. They’re doing it. He’s throwing her against the rocks.”
"Mitch was just walking out the door to the set, and he said that Bill once called him from Russia [...] And God help me when AMC’s doing their Road House marathon, because I know the phone is just going to keep ringing," Glazer said in 2012. "It doesn’t matter if it’s 2 or 3 in morning. ‘Hi, Kelly’s having sex with Patrick Swayze right now…’”
We'll just have to wait and see if the new remake gets the Bill Murray stamp of approval.