Sylvester Stallone became the iconic John Rambo in First Blood, a movie that then led to the Rambo franchise rising. His role took over the world by storm and the franchise rose to massive success. When one talks about Stallone, Rambo or Rocky would be the first thought in mind. Iconic roles only become that way if the actors manage to not let them slip away.
Sylvester Stallone

Often enough, big-name actors have given up on roles thinking that they won’t do that well only to see the opposite happen. The role of the Veteran hero was also almost not Stallone’s as other actors were potentially in line to play the character.

Al Pacino Was Going To Play Rambo Before Sylvester Stallone

Before Sylvester Stallone, many actors were in line to play John Rambo. The character first appeared in First Blood and then went on to get multiple movies afterward. The movie itself took a long time to release and saw various changes. The actor was himself involved in reframing the script to perfection. However, there was a slight chance that he would not have taken the role of Rambo.
Al Pacino
One of the actors who was in line to play the character was none other than Al Pacino. Other actors who were also going to take up the role were Paul Newman, Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, James Garner, Ryan O’Neal, Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, and Clint Eastwood. They all had an issue with how long the movie was taking and did not want to trouble themselves with the length of the process. The constant changes in the script were not helping either.

Actors found it difficult to be a part of the movie without seeing any long-term stability in the script. The controversy regarding the characters involved was higher considering that the movie was based on a novel.

Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo Was Known To Be Too Dark

Rambo was a character that was met with heavy controversy. Not because of Sylvester Stallone’s acting but because of the character itself. His actions were not very justified just because he was a veteran and they were more so met negatively.
Sylvester Stallone in Rocky
Real-life veterans too were against the same. He was deemed too aggressive and violent. The actor took it upon himself to fix the character as much as he could. From reducing the movie’s kill count to sparing lives. No better actor could have brought his complicated character to life other than Stallone.

Source: Screen Rant