‘He gave us really rough suggestions’: Stallone almost played this movie legend in Rambo

When Sylvester Stallone decided to accept the role of Rambo (despite the reluctance of Burt Reynolds), he set out on an adventure. Indeed, he not only played the character, now legendary, convincingly, he also reworked the script with the director of the film, Ted Kotchef, who admitted that the changes made by the actor were important and contributed to the success of the film.

After finishing the script, it remains only to find those who will play the other characters in the film, including the famous Colonel Troutman. Then the producer was looking for a real star to bring Rambo’s mentor to life, and so they chose Kirk Douglas – who was also Rambo’s idol. Sylvester Stallone. The legendary actor, who died in February 2020 at the age of 103, for his part, is convinced by the script, which also has similarities to his Western “Only the Untamed”. It evaluates the correlation and therefore assumes a role.

And the promotion begins: he appears in the first commercials for the film, as you can see below.

“Scandinavian” requirements

However, the producers and director Rambo Will quickly become frustrated when Kirk Douglas As soon as he arrives on the set, he starts wanting to change the dialogue. moreover, Ted Kotchef The Spartacus actor’s habit of talking about himself in the third person quickly becomes annoying.

“I could hear him repeating, “Kirk won’t say that line, Kirk doesn’t like that line.” Worse, he was too eager to steal their dialogue from other characters.“- explained the director. “He was making really awkward suggestions as if we were filming a 1940s B-movie.”

with Sylvester StalloneThey still try to satisfy Kirk Douglas By rewriting some of Colonel Troutman’s dialogues, but their efforts are not enough and the actor is still dissatisfied. For Kotchef, it completely destroys the project. Then he decides to talk to the producers of the feature film: “It will definitely take two extra weeks to shoot because I have to negotiate for him to say each of his lines.“

Ted Kotchef Then he is entitled to challenge Kirk Douglas who is given an ultimatum: he loved the script before shooting, so either he will shoot without asking for changes, or he will leave. Star’s answer? “Kirk leaves.“

And here’s how Richard Crenna will inherit the role. You know the rest: Rambo Meets real success, realistically highlighting the trauma of American soldiers after their defeat in Vietnam. The film has grossed $125 million internationally against a budget of around $15 million. In France, the feature film will attract at least 3 million viewers.

Rambo with Richard Crenna (and thus without Kirk Douglas) can still be seen on VOD.