With the Rambo and Rocky movies under his belt, there’s no denying that Sylvester Stallone is a legendary name in his own right. We’re so used to seeing him in the boxing ring or showing off his fighting skills in combat as a weathered Vietnam veteran, it’s almost impossible to picture him as anything else.
That said, although the action movie star has solidified himself within the genre, there was a time when he came very close to starring in some seriously big hitters in the form of these Quentin Tarantino flicks.
Quentin Tarantino, who has recently been in the spotlight for news on his upcoming new and last movie, was flying high in the ‘90s following the success of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. But it sounds like he had his eyes set on Stallone for a couple of his now-famous characters.
The two roles in question? The first was Louis Gara in Jackie Brown, a part which eventually went to Robert De Niro. The second was Kurt Russell‘s role of Stuntman Mike in the Death Proof segment of Grindhouse.
As for the reason he turned down the latter role, Stallone put it down to being a family man at the time of being offered the part. “I said, ‘There’s no way. I have two daughters, and this fellow, his hobby is putting teenagers in his car and smashing them into a wall’. That’s not going to work,” he says [via Macleans].
Given that the character of Stuntman Mike is a vicious psychopath who takes great pleasure in torturing and killing women with his car, it’s understandable that Stallone might have wanted to keep the part at arm’s length.
For more action-packed adventures, check out our list of best spy movies, best sports movies, as well as our Creed 3 review and deep dive on the hidden meanings behind the Rocky and Creed villains. Don’t forget to take note of all the new movies coming out this year, too!