This classically trained dancer has been a popular player of stage, screen, and TV since the early 1980s. Swayze's wavy hair, roguish smile, and sleek athletic build ensured his heartthrob status. A high school gymnast and football player, he entered show business touring as Prince Charming in "Disney on Parade" before segueing into ice skating. Swayze next devoted himself to ballet, moving to New York, where he performed with the Buffalo Ballet Company and studied with the Harkness and Joffrey Ballet companies in NYC. Before leaving ballet due to an aggravated football injury, he performed as a principal dancer with the prestigious Elliot Feld Dance Company. Swayze began taking acting lessons and continued to dance in Broadway shows, notably taking over the lead in "Grease," before making his film debut in "Skatetown USA" (1979).

Swayze found steady work in TV with a stint as a gang member on the short-lived police drama "The Renegades" (ABC, 1983), and also in miniseries ("North and South" 1985; "North and South, Book II" 1986), and specials. He also appeared in a variety of films--teen dramas ("The Outsiders" 1983); war stories ("Uncommon Valor" 1983; "Red Dawn" 1984) before scoring as a lead playing a swaggering, hotheaded dance champion in the box-office hit "Dirty Dancing" (1987). Swayze hit the jackpot with "Ghost" (1990), a resounding hit, in which he played a murdered executive trying to communicate with his girlfriend (Demi Moore) through a phony medium (Whoopi Goldberg). He returned to the screen as a quasi-mystical surfer-bank robber opposite undercover FBI guy Keanu Reeves in the absurdly diverting "Point Break" (1991) before deciding he was a hunk with a heart in "City of Joy" (1992) and "Father Hood" (1993). In the former, Swayze was an American doctor doing good in India. In the latter, he was a wayward Dad trying to go straight. Audiences stayed away from both efforts.

Swayze failed to make an impact starring as Pecos Bill in the surprisingly dark family film "Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill" (1995). He fared better that year attempting a real change of pace as one of a trio of drag queens in "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" with Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo. A solid success, the film won its stars reams of upbeat publicity. In contrast, "Three Wishes", Swayze's third 1995 assignment, made hardly a ripple in the public mind. His glumly low-key portrayal of a hobo cum magical father-figure was arguably the weakest link in this mediocre family fantasy-drama co-starring Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.

For the next several years, Swayze appeared in a wide range of forgettable films including 1998's action movie "Black Dog" and the 1998 thriller "Letters From a Killer." In 2001, he starred in the war film "Green Dragon" which was screened at Sundance and the well-received sci-fi film "Donnie Darko," also a Sundance contender. Swayze's next high profile project was a starring role in the ensemble comedy "Waking Up in Reno" alongside Billy Bob Thorton, Charlize Theron and Natasha Richardson.

from movies.yahoo.com

  Fox and the Hound II (2006) (V) (filming) .... Cash

Keeping Mum (2005) .... Lance
Icon (2005) (TV) .... Jason Monk
... aka Frederick Forsyth's Icon (USA: complete title)
"King Solomon's Mines" (2004) (mini) TV Series .... Allan Quatermain
George and the Dragon (2004) .... Garth
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) .... Dance Class Instructor
... aka Dirty Dancing 2 (Australia) (Singapore: English title)
11:14 (2003) .... Frank
One Last Dance (2003) .... Travis MacPhearson
Waking Up in Reno (2002) .... Roy Kirkendall
Donnie Darko (2001) .... Jim Cunningham
... aka Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut (USA: director's cut)
Green Dragon (2001) .... Gunnery Sergeant Jim Lance
Forever Lulu (2000) .... Ben Clifton
... aka Along for the Ride (USA: video title)

Letters from a Killer (1998) .... Race Darnell
Black Dog (1998) .... Jack Crews
... aka Black Dog (France)
Three Wishes (1995) .... Jack McCloud
To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) .... Vida Boheme
Tall Tale (1995) .... Pecos Bill
... aka Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill
Father Hood (1993) .... Jack Charles
... aka Desperado
... aka Honor Among Thieves
... aka Mike Hardy
City of Joy (1992) .... Max Lowe
... aka Cité de la joie, La (France)
Amazing Stories: Book Three (1992) (V) .... Eric David Peterson (segment "Life on Death Row")
Point Break (1991) .... Bodhi
Ghost (1990) .... Sam Wheat

Next of Kin (1989) .... Truman Gates
Road House (1989) .... James Dalton, Head Bouncer Double Deuce Club
Tiger Warsaw (1988) .... Chuck 'Tiger' Warsaw
... aka The Tiger
Steel Dawn (1987) .... Nomad
Dirty Dancing (1987) .... Johnny Castle
"North and South, Book II" (1986) (mini) TV Series .... Orry Main
Youngblood (1986) .... Derek Sutton
"North and South" (1985) (mini) TV Series .... Orry Main
Red Dawn (1984) .... Jed Eckert
Grandview, U.S.A. (1984) .... Ernie 'Slam' Webster
Pigs Vs. Freaks (1984) (TV) .... Doug Zimmer
... aka Off Sides (USA: theatrical title)
"Renegades" (1983) TV Series .... Bandit (1983)
Uncommon Valor (1983/I) .... Kevin Scott
Staying Alive (1983) (uncredited) .... Dancer/extra
The Outsiders (1983) .... Darrel 'Darry' Curtis
The Renegades (1982) (TV) .... Bandit
Return of the Rebels (1981) (TV) .... K.C. Barnes
The Comeback Kid (1980) (TV) .... Chuck

Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979) .... Ace Johnson