'Grease' Casting Director Reacts to Criticism the Actors Were Too Old: 'It's a Fantasy'

John Travolta was 23 when Grease was filmed in 1977, and the late Olivia Newton-John was 29

The casting director behind Grease says the movie was "better for" its use of adult actors playing high schoolers.

In a new oral history of the classic 1978 movie musical published by The Guardian on Wednesday, casting director Joel Thurm pointed out that Grease "is not a documentary" as he referenced the common criticism that none of the film's cast members were actual teenagers at the time of filming.

"People might say the cast is too old, but Grease is not a documentary; it's a fantasy," Thurm said in the oral history, which covers how the original Chicago-based stage musical was adapted for the big screen.

"It is a non-PC fairytale that is better for the cast not being teens," Thurm added. "The only thing that was important was that the cast all looked about the same age as each other, which they did."

John Travolta, who starred as Danny Zuko in Grease, famously stood out as younger than much of the rest of Grease's principal cast during filming in summer 1977 at age 23. In the outlet's new oral history, actor Michael Tucci, who played Sonny LaTierri, said he originally believed he was "too old for the role" as he had entered his 30s before production on the film had started.

Related:Grease Cast: Where Are They Now?

The late Olivia Newton-John, who costarred as Sandy, was 29 at the time Grease was filmed; Stockard Channing, who played Rizzo, was the principal cast's oldest member at 33 during filming, according to a 2016 Vanity Fair article about the production.

In The Guardian's oral history, casting director Thurm added that "there wasn't a question in my mind" that Grease would prove popular after its release in 1978.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"The critics didn't matter, since they forgot that audiences go to movies to have fun," he told the outlet. "The timing was right as we were having a 50s revival with Happy Days on TV and the music put the album on the charts for a decade."

Following Newton-John's death at age 73 in August 2022, Thurm recalled to PEOPLE that casting the star as Sandy was "very simple," though the actress initially held reservations about taking the role.

Related:Olivia Newton-John on Why She Initially Turned Down Grease

"John was already pre-set, and John asked me, 'What do you think of Olivia?' I said, 'She's wonderful.' He said, 'What do you think of her for Sandy? That's a great idea.' And once John said that, and that's who John wanted, I stopped anything else," he said at the time, later explaining that Newton-John "didn't jump at the offer."

"She said, 'Okay, I want to see a screen test with John and myself and then I'll let you know if I want to do it,' " he recalled.

Thurm confessed this was a first for him, telling PEOPLE: "I think I've never heard of a case where an actor being offered a role said, 'I want to see me before I say yes.' But that's how smart she was."Block Article

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.