Sylvester Stallone: Roles He Missed That Other Actors Made Famous

With a career spanning more than 40 years, A-lister Sylvester Stallone has had a long string of hits and a fair number of misfires. He's also missed out on several high-profile roles, either because he turned them down or because another actor was chosen.

Here are a few notable roles that Sylvester Stallone missed out on that other actors made their own, creating some of the most iconic roles in Hollywood history.

1. Axel Foley, "Beverly Hills Cop"
Stallone wasn't the first choice for this role, initially given to Mickey Rourke, according to ShortList.com. When Rourke pulled out of the project, the part went to Stallone, who rewrote the original comedy script and turned it into an action film. When the project unraveled, Stallone also pulled out and the script was later reworked to turn it back into a comedy. The role went to Eddie Murphy, who not only cemented his star status with it, but made the character so popular it spawned multiple sequels.

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2. Superman
According to GamesRadar, Stallone – fresh off his career-making role in "Rocky" – went after the iconic role, but lost to Christopher Reeve, who was perhaps the most famous Superman of all time. Marlon Brando, who also had a role in the film, had casting approval and did not want Stallone in the role.

3. T-800, "The Terminator"
Arnold Schwarzenegger was so memorable in this role that the first film spawned a popular and long-running franchise. Schwarzenegger's image is so heavily associated with this role that it's tempting to think it was created just for him. However, the part was initially offered to fellow action star Stallone, who declined, according to Complex.

4. Det. John Brook, "Witness"
According to Empire magazine, Stallone still regrets turning down this role, which later went to Harrison Ford. The film focuses on a detective investigating a murder witnessed by a young Amish boy. The detective eventually falls for the boy's mother, played by Kelly McGillis. As Stallone remarked to Empire, "I'd never had a love affair with an Amish chick."

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