Sylvester Stallone Was Once Rejected for This Role in ‘The Godfather’ and Was Left Disappointed

Sylvester Stallone is one of the most legendary actors in the entertainment industry who began his journey with the Rocky franchise which remains a classic film to this date. From Rocky, he went on to act in Rambo, The Expendables, and many more films that have propelled him in his career. While he’s managed to secure incredible lead roles in films, there are some unsuccessful instances. Nonetheless, there was one role Stallone desperately wanted to play and it wasn’t even a lead or a supporting role, but an extra for the classic film: The Godfather. The film starred Al Pacino and Marlon Brando among others and remains one of the most incredible action films to this date. 

In an interview with Empire magazine, the Creed actor talked about how he faced rejection by Paramount for the film. The scene he auditioned for is an extra for the wedding that takes place in the movie. He elaborates on the experience by stating, “I went to Paramount and said, ‘Can I be an extra in the wedding scene?” Although Stallone genuinely expected to have been picked given his social standing at the time. But to his disappointment, they denied him the opportunity to do so. As per Stallone, “They said, ‘Yeah, we don’t know if you’re the type of guy.”

Dejected, Stallone responded perplexed, “I’m not the type? To play in the background, hiding behind a f****** wedding cake?” The fact that the casting team believed he was ineligible to play someone who wasn’t even remotely going to be visible on camera baffled Stallone. He might have walked away from this role in frustration and bewilderment given he could’ve acted alongside Pacino, but this small miss led him to much larger things in life.

Stallone presently has amassed a whopping $400 Million from the decades he’s spent in the acting industry. His success story goes on to prove with a little hard work, grit, and a burning passion, anything can be achieved. In his book: “The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood’s Kings of Carnage” which was released earlier this year, Stallone elaborates on the struggles he had to face in life and how he had pushed through every terrible stroke of luck. Apart from being practically broke in his early days, Stallone had a droop on the left side of his face that impacted his speech. He compares his speech post the droop to “the guttural echoing of a mafioso pallbearer”. 

Stallone may have had a rough past that left him homeless, and perhaps hopeless…But a dialogue from his film stands as a perfect testimony to how Stallone has continued to roll with the punches of life and survive to become the incredibly strong and inspiring personality he’s well known for today. In his film Rocky Balboa, Stallone’s character says,” It ain’t about how hard you’re hit, it’s about how you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward.”