He’s having the time of his life.
In the new TV adaptation of “Dirty Dancing,” premiering Wednesday at 8 p.m. on ABC, actor Colt Pra꧋ttes dons the tight, black tank top of Johnny Castle, the role made famous by Patrick Swayze in the classic 1987 film.
It’sღ a m꧅ajor moment for the first-time movie actor.
“You get aunts and uncles and cousins that you haven’t seen since you were 6 saying, ‘I always knew [you’d be famous]!’ ” Prattes told The Post. “Everybody I know has made jokes,♚ like, ‘Get ready for your s𝓰ocial media to skyrocket.’ ”
However, despiꦏte his rippling abs, “[My Instagram] is usually just pictures of me, my dog and my wife.”
The pressure that comes with playing the late Swayze’s part — the🧸 heartthrob of an entire generation — isn’t lost on Prattes.
“I used to watch ‘Dirty Dancing’ with my stepmom every weekend. And I just remember watching🌟 her smile so much,” he recalled. “Now that I’m an adult, I realize she had a crush on him.”
Prattes’ life🌜 up until now has been filled with more hardscrabble hoofing than leading-man glamour. On Broadway, he performed in the chorus of “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” starring Daniel Radcliffe, and the most recent revival of “West Side Story.” He also high-kicked around the country in “A Chorus Line.”
Before “Dirty Dancing,”🔴 his most high-profile achievement was a🗹s a dancer in Pink’s 2012 music video “Try.”
But Prattes was no dance prodigy.
“I was a late bloomer,” he said. “One of my teachers very early on told me, ‘You’re never gonna catch up to the real dancers, ☂so you’d better learn how to do tricks.” Bu🔯t Prattes was defiant, declaring: “ ‘No, I am gonna catch up!’ ”
As a teen in Marietta, Ga., he decided to attend a performing arts high school ꩲ90 minutes away from home after watching his friend Billy Tighe — who has since perfoꦜrmed in “Pippin” on Broadway and “Finding Neverland” on tour — act in a production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at the school.
“I had never seen t🙈hat kind of happiness,” he remembered. “And it was something I wanted to be a part of𒆙.”
Plus, he added, “Somebody told me you𓃲 can me𝓀et girls.”
It worked. Today he is married to an actress, Angelina Mull🎃ins, who’s currently on tour with “Aladdin” in Chicago. The two live in LA.
While filming ඣ“Dirtyꦫ Dancing,” Prattes formed a lasting friendship with co-star Abigail Breslin, who plays Baby, the role originated by Jennifer Grey.
“Abby’s my girl!” Prattes said. “We tꩲalk every day now. She’s become a very close friend.꧃”
The duo quickly discovered that their characters — Johnny, a professional dancer, and Baby, a naive novice — paralleled their♒ real lives.
“Abby had never danced before, and she openly said in an interview about how nervous she was about whoever her Johnny was gonna be. Because if you haven’t danced, you haven’t been lifted,” Prattes said, alluding to the famous scene ꦇwhere Baby runs to Johnny ꦚand he hoists her over his head.
“And if you haven’t been lifted, when your e💟yeline goes from 4 or 5 feet off the ground t🦋o 10 feet off the ground, it’s terrifying.”