Every Actor Who Almost Played Rocky Balboa

The Rocky film franchise remains one of the greatest film series dedicated to boxing or sports in general. Sylvester Stallone began his successful acting career as the lead role throughout the series. Stallone managed to write the script in just three days after seeing Muhammad Ali fight Chuck Wepner. While John J. Avildsen directed the first part of Rocky, Stallone added more when he became director starting with the second Rocky Balboa movie. Many stars have starred and starred in the same film, such as Mel Gibson in Braveheart, but Stallone was not the only choice for the film. Each of the talented actors listed below were considered for the part before Stallone was ultimately cast.

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James Caan Almost Played Another Famous Italian

James Caan rose to prominence in the early 1970s, especially for his role as short-tempered gangster Sonny Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film. Considering Caan’s previous experience as another hot-tempered Italian, he could have played Rocky Balboa quite well. Although Rocky had a soft side, unlike the Corleone mafia. However, Caan broke away from the mobster image when he starred as Walter Hobbs, Buddy’s biological father, in Elf.

Ryan O’Neal Had Prior Boxing Experience On His Resumé

Ryan O’Neal began his acting career as Rodney Harrington on the ABC soap opera Peyton’s Place. This role gave him fame and led to an Academy Award nomination for Love Story in 1970. O’Neal’s potential involvement in the Rocky franchise made sense given his former career as an amateur boxer before he ventured into acting. O’Neill even competed in two Golden Gloves championships in the 1950s.

Burt Reynolds Starred Alongside Stallone In Driven

Burt Reynolds became famous for his role as Quint Asper in the 1960s western Gunsmoke. He subsequently developed a strong reputation in both Westerns such as Smokey and the Bandit, and action films of the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Coincidentally, Reynolds and Stallone starred together in the 2001 film Driving, dedicated to the car racing championship.

Robert Redford Starred In All The President’s Men The Same Year As Rocky

The 1969 Western film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid featured Paul Newman and launched Robert Redford’s acting career. Redford also gained notoriety when he portrayed The Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward in the 1976 film All the President’s Men. Despite all possible stars being considered for the part, Stallone was stubborn and always refused to sell Rocky’s script even after United Artists offered him $250,000 to settle and hire Reynolds or O’Neal instead. Keep in mind that at this time, Stallone was not yet in the industry, so the money would have changed him, but he stuck to his mind. While the money was tempting, “the scar, the self-hatred and watching Ryan O’Neal play Rocky” wasn’t worth it to Stallone, according to Foster’s 2015 Daily Democrat interview. Luckily, his stubbornness eventually paid off exponentially, with the Rocky movies fetching far more than $250,000.