'Grease' Star Reveals His Career-Making Role Almost Went to President Gerald Ford's Son

Nowadays, it's easy to associate any one of Grease's original cast members with their fictional counterparts.

Whether looking at John Travolta's dashing and suave Danny Zuko or Olivia Newton-John's soft-spoken Sandy Olsson, virtually every actor fit perfectly into their roles on the hit 1978 musical comedy.

In an alternative universe, however, original Grease cast member Lorenzo Lamas revealed that his role as the chisel-jawed jock Tom Chisum would have actually gone to the son of a U.S. president.

Speaking with Remind Magazine, Lamas revealed that his involvement in Grease initially stemmed from a chance encounter with his mother, the late actress Arlene Dahl, and some very influential folks in 1970s Hollywood following the Academy Awards.

"Everybody sits down at tables, and they serve a wonderful meal, and my mom and I were sitting kitty-corner to [producer] Allan Carr," Lamas recalled. "Shirley Eder, a publicist at the time, was a friend of my mom's, and she came over to our table, and she said, ‘Arlene, you have to introduce Lorenzo to Allan Carr, he's producing the musical Grease for Paramount.' So, my mom and I get up and walk over to Allan Carr's table."

"It's the first time I'm meeting anybody in show business," Lamas revealed. "I'm nine months out of military school, and Allan Carr says, ‘Oh, Ms. Dahl, you are absolutely gorgeous,' which she was. And he recognized her right away."

Two months later, Lamas said Carr got in touch him with about portraying the character of Tom in the musical: a role originally meant for Gerald Ford's son, Steven, before the actor got cold feet due to a potent case of stage fright, according to a previous interview with Lamas.

"My career started from Grease," the actor said of his small but memorable role in the movie. "If it's on cable and I catch a bit, I sit down and watch the whole thing."

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 12:02 PM.