Road House 2024: Daniela Melchior praises diversity in remake of 1980s cult classic

Between his hit movies Dirty Dancing in 1987 and Ghost in 1990, Patrick Swayze stared in the 1989 cult classic Road House, alongside Cocktail actress Kelly Lynch.

Now, 35 years later, the movie is being re-imagined with actor Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead opposite Fast X starlet Daniela Melchior.

The latest version of the movie – about a former UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse and uncovers a crime ring – features a more diverse cast than the original, something Melchior loved.

READ MORE: Blade Runner star M. Emmet Walsh dies aged 88

“I was really happy to feel that as well in this project, because we all came from different parts of the world, with different backgrounds, with different inputs as actors and as people,” the Portuguese actress told 9Honey Celebrity in London.

“It’s amazing, I love it. And yeah, I hope it really grows [in Hollywood] in that way.”

READ MORE: Jimmy Barnes’ daughter Elly-May opens up about dad’s health battle

The Guardians of the Galaxy actress says she wanted to bring a fresh take to this role to avoid comparisons to Lynch’s version of the character, who is a doctor at the local hospital who becomes the love interest.

“In my everyday life, I don’t have expectations, or I try to not have expectations, for anything or anyone,” Melchior tells 9Honey Celebrity.

“That scares me in a way, that the audience could have expectations for my character, but we don’t even have the same name.

Iconic Hollywood couples from the ’80s

“She [Lynch] was playing Elizabeth, I’m playing Ellie, so it’s a very different take on it, it’s a different character, I would say. It’s a more contemporary one.

“And I totally respect what she did in the movie, beautifully, so I didn’t even try to get close for sure with my Ellie.”

Melchior appears in Road House alongside Gyllenhaal and Connor McGregor but has previously counted the likes of Vin Diesel, John Cena, Chris Pratt and Henry Golding as her co-stars.

However, the ultimate for her co-star bingo card would be Meryl Streep: “because why not, right?!”

For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Melchior says she’d also like to work again with her The Suicide Squad co-star, Aussie Margot Robbie, for one very unique reason – a tattoo.

“She did all those tattoos on the first version of Suicide Squad… In The Suicide Squad, she didn’t do any tattoos.

“At that time, actually, I only had a tiny one that I’ve done like a few years ago. I just got the courage to do a few more a few weeks ago.

“So yeah, but the next time that I work with her, definitely I’m gonna ask her to do more, to do me one.”

Road House is streaming worldwide on Prime Video now.

Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.