The only movie Sylvester Stallone regrets turning down the most
The role Sylvester Stallone regrets turning down the most was the paraplegic war veteran in 1978's 'Coming Home.' Stallone said he was afraid of the role.
(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Film » Cutting Room Floor
Mon 20 January 2025 21:15, UK
Sylvester Stallone has been refreshingly candid over the years about career decisions he later came to regret. For example, he once admitted he was âan idiotâ for turning down $34million to commit to Rocky IV before Rocky III was even releasedâa figure equivalent to an eye-watering $85m today. Stallone has also been open about roles he passed on, famously calling his decision to let Harrison Ford take the lead in Witness one of the biggest mistakes of his career.
However, there was another part he turned down that stands out as the most significant role that got awayâone he admitted he passed on because the prospect of playing it scared him at the time.
In the late 1970s, Stallone was one of Hollywoodâs hottest properties, although his decision-making was already starting to be questioned. In the wake of 1976âs Rocky winning âBest Pictureâ and netting Stallone Academy Award nominations for âBest Actorâ and âBest Original Screenplayâ, the young actor decided to star in the labour union crime drama F.I.S.T. and then write, direct, and star in the 1940s professional wrestling drama Paradise Alley. Unfortunately, while F.I.S.T. was a modest hit, Paradise Alley was a disaster that was panned by critics and made an abysmal $7m at the box office.
Before committing to Paradise Alley, though, Stallone was approached about another film â and he later admitted he was a fool to turn it down. You see, the same year wrestling misfire hit screens, Hal Ashbyâs Vietnam War drama Coming Home was a critical and commercial smash that won three Oscars, including the first for its star Jon Voight. It told the story of a woman, played by Jane Fonda, who falls in love with the paraplegic veteran she once went to high school with, all while her Marine husband is overseas fighting in the war.
Interestingly, the studio didnât initially want Voight to play the lead role in the film because his popularity with audiences had tapered off significantly in the decade following his Oscar-nominated turn in 1968âs Midnight Cowboy. The role was therefore offered to Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson, who both declined â and then it found its way to Stallone.
In 2012, the actor was brutally honest when he told Macleanâs that the idea of playing a paraplegic veteran scared him, as did the filmâs âliberal point of viewâ. However, he would later have a change of heart, realising that he was afraid that the role was the reason he should have run headlong toward it. âNow, I think I should have done it,â admitted Stallone. âUsually, whenever youâre scared of something, do it. If youâre not afraid of it, donât do it.â
Hindsight is 20/20, though, and he confessed, âI was very foolish. I didnât have the guts to do it, and at that time I really wasnât a fleshed-out actor. I donât know even if I am now.â
In 2022, Stallone told The Hollywood Reporter that, while he regretted not putting himself out there by accepting the part, he thought the right actor got it in the end. âI couldnât have done it better than Jon Voight,â acknowledged Stallone. âHe was greatâ.
Ultimately, perhaps movie history unfolded as it was always meant to. Just four years after Coming Home, Sylvester Stallone starred in his own seminal Vietnam War veteran movie, First Blood. This debut of Stalloneâs now-iconic action hero, John Rambo, was a far more complex and nuanced film than the franchise would later become, portraying Rambo as a traumatised veteran grappling with the difficulties of returning to civilian life. This time, Stallone leaned into the challenge, revising the script seven times to ensure the character and his story were crafted to perfection.
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