Sylvester Stallone is now one of the greatest action stars of all time and it is impossible to imagine Hollywood without him. Before the actor made a name for himself with series like Rocky or Rambo, Stallone was struggling in the film industry. He got tons of rejections for bigger roles. In the early 1970s he auditioned for a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather – and was rejected.
Sylvester Stallone auditioned for several roles in The Godfather
When Sylvester Stallone heard about The Godfather, it was clear to the Italian-American that he wanted to star in the film about the Italian mafia in New York City. So, according to Variety, Stallone auditioned for the roles of Paulie Gatto and Carlo Rizzi as he definitely embody a gangster wanted. However, he was ultimately rejected for both roles.
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The wedding scene in The Godfather
In order to at least be part of Coppola’s classic in some way, he also applied to be an extra for the iconic wedding scene at the beginning of the film. But here too he received a rejection from the responsible studio Paramount. As he revealed to SiriusXM, the producers told him he see “not Italian enough” out of. A hard blow for the young actor.
From Sylvester Stallone’s The Godfather cancellation, Rocky was born
Instead of finally giving up due to this defeat, Sylvester Stallone was inspired to take his destiny into his own hands. A short time later he wrote the script for his boxer film Rocky, which is about an underdog who… against all expectations, makes it to the top.
He insisted that he would only sell the script if he himself had the lead role of the boxer is allowed to hatch. The film ultimately brought Stallone international recognition as an actor and writer – and even won the Oscar for Best Picture.
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Today has Sylvester Stallone made his big dream come true, to impersonate a mafia gangster. In the series Tulsa King, the Rocky star plays a former mafia boss who lives in exile in Oaklahoma. Tulsa King season 2 is set to come to Paramount+ later this year.