Michelle Pfeiffer Thought She 'Humiliated' Herself at 'Grease 2' Audition Before Landing Breakout Role

Michelle Pfeiffer said she walked out of her Grease 2 audition thinking she’d failed, before landing the role that changed her career.

"I left with my tail between my legs, feeling so humiliated," the actress said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly's 2023 oral history of the cult classic.

Despite believing she had blown her shot, the audition ultimately landed her the starring role of Stephanie Zinone and launched her path to Hollywood stardom.

However, she recalls, "I had zero expectations of landing this part...My agent sent me on it, honestly, I think, just for the experience."

At the time, the three-time Oscar-nominated star was still finding her footing in Hollywood. Landing the lead role in the 1982 musical seemed like a long shot, especially since she didn't consider herself a singer or dancer.

Pfieffer remembered the audition being packed with hopeful performers, describing it as a “cattle call” with actors, dancers, and singers constantly coming and going from the audition rooms.

"I was not a singer," Pfeiffer confessed. "I was taking voice classes to really improve my stage voice at the recommendation of my acting coach. And I certainly was not a dancer."

Things only became more stressful when it was time for the dance portion.

"The last phase of the audition was the dancing part," Pfeiffer said.

She added, "It literally was like you see in the movies where one line would come and they would dance across the stage and then the next line would come and they would dance across the stage."

Trying to avoid attention, she kept moving farther back in line.

"I kept moving further to the back, so I ended up in the very last line and stumbled my way through because I couldn't remember the choreography," she said.

Pfeiffer left the studio convinced she had embarrassed herself. But before she could completely give up hope, someone stopped her on the Paramount lot.

She said," I think it was [director] Pat Birch's assistant, ran after me across the Paramount studio lot."

"I said something about being really embarrassed," Pfeiffer added.

Pfeiffer ultimately landed the role of Zinone, as the fearless leader of the Pink Ladies, starring opposite Maxwell Caulfield.

Although Grease 2 failed to impress critics when it hit theaters, it slowly built a devoted fan base over the years.

Today, the film enjoys cult-classic status, with fans continuing to attend anniversary screenings and celebrate its memorable songs and characters.

Before slipping into the iconic Pink Ladies jacket, Pfeiffer had appeared in television series including CHiPs and Fantasy Island, as well as in Hollywood Knights and the TV adaptation of Splendor in the Grass.

Pfeiffer went on to become one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actresses with acclaimed performances in Scarface, The Witches of Eastwick, Dangerous Liaisons, and The Fabulous Baker Boys.