‘I weighed myself every time’: Sylvester Stallone turned down one of the biggest films of all time

Before Rocky in 1976, Sylvester Stallone was like any aspiring actor: any small role was fine. On the verge of giving up on her career, she tried everything by asking for a small role in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. Well, not even a role, just on the set. Alas, the answer was no, and the refusal was marked forever.

“For some reason gangsters have this aura and I was amazed every time. I remember auditioning for The Godfather to appear among 250 people in a wedding scene. They told me that I didn’t know enough Italian for themThe actor told Fox News in 2023.

Born to an Italian immigrant father and an American mother of Ukrainian Jewish descent, Sylvester Stallone It felt like a heavy blow. He already spoke about this topic in an interview with Empire magazine in 2022.

“I went to Paramount and said, “Can I do something extra in the wedding scene?”Stallone recalls. “They said, “Yeah, we don’t know if you’re that kind of guy.” I said, “I’m not the type? Playing in the background and hiding behind the wedding cake?’“

However, after that he will get one of the main roles in No Place to Hide, which was later named a rebelUntil he wrote small roles Rock : The rest is history, and ironically, the one who “wasn’t Italian enough” will now be nicknamed “The Italian Stick”!

He’ll also have the rights to play a gangster role with Paramount thanks to the Tulsa King series set for 2022 by Yellowstone showrunner Taylor Sheridan. Sylvester Stallone Plays a gang leader in a show that already has 2 seasons, a third and a spin-off.

“All things come in their time to those who wait“, he said of the role, adding that Sheridan had in mind a “gangster who goes west” concept for the series. “It is very much attached to the West, but how does this play out across the country? Well, take the gangster and place him next to the cactus and let the fun beginStallone explained.

The Rocky Saga is still available to stream on Prime Video. As for Tulsa King, the series can be found on Paramount+.