Patrick Swayze is 'The Beast,' and not ready to say goodbye

By April MacIntyre Dec 3, 2008, 2:40 GMT

Patrick Swayze in The Beast, courtesy of A&E

Patrick Swayze wants you to look forward to seeing his work in the upcoming A&E series "The Beast", and stop worrying for his health.

The "Road House" star dismissed National Enquirer reports that he was saying his last goodbyes and preparing for the end of his battle with Pancreatic cancer.

"They're reporting that I'm on my last legs and saying goodbye to my tearful family!" He told reporters.

The National Enquirer categorized Swayze as "so weak that he could barely walk without feeling faint. Sometimes he feels out of breath and has to sit down."

Swayze claims he is getting better and defeating the normally fast moving cancer and responding well to medical treatment.

"It's upsetting that the shoddy and reckless reporting from these publications cast a negative shadow on the positive and good fight I'm fighting."

Swayze, who became a huge star in films like "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," stars in the A&E Network original scripted drama series, “The Beast” on January 15th at 10PM ET/PT.

Travis Fimmel & Patrick Swayze - courtesy of A&E

“The Beast,” starring Swayze and Travis Fimmel, centers on an unorthodox but effective FBI veteran, Charles Barker (Swayze), who takes on a rookie partner, Ellis Dove (Fimmel), to train in his hard-edged and psychologically clever style of agenting.

From A&E:

In the premiere episode of “The Beast,” the mischievous Barker hazes Dove as they go undercover on their first case to infiltrate a weapons smuggling ring. Barker brilliantly manipulates situations, constantly tests his new partner’s abilities and pushes him to delve deeper into the roles of the undercover characters he creates. 

Matt Decaro & Patrick Swayze - courtesy of A&E

Although Dove takes a liking to Barker, the new job takes its toll on him. The stress and danger of being an agent quickly makes him realize that he can no longer maintain normal relationships outside of work. Yet that’s not the worst of it. The rookie is confronted with a larger challenge: An FBI Internal Affairs team feels Barker may have gone rogue and they try to enlist Dove as a double-agent in the bureau's investigation of his mentor.

“The Beast” is executive produced by Allan Loeb and Steven Pearl for Scarlet Fire Films (“New Amsterdam”) and Cory Concoff (“Beltway”) for Fuel Filmworks.  John Romano (“American Dreams,” “Third Watch”) serves as the showrunner and executive producer. 

Patrick Swayze

The pilot script was written by William Rotko and Vincent Angell.

Michael Dinner (“The Wonder Years,” “Grey’s Anatomy”) directed and is executive producer on the pilot. He continues to serve as an executive consultant on the series.

“The Beast” is produced by Sony Pictures Television for A&E Network.