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Having suffered paralysis in his lip, chin, and part of his tongue due to birth complications, which resulted in his speech becoming slurred, Sylvester Stallone was frequently picked on at schools. But Stallone did eventually overcome the odds and found his footing in Hollywood, starting with 1976’sRocky, theExpendablesstar’s distinct accent becoming as iconic as the actor himself.
However, despite rising to stardom, theRockystar playfully admitted that he could never play one major character following his slurred speech, which made his biggest rival an icon in the 80s.
Sylvester Stallone Admitted He Could Never Play Terminator
Unfortunately, not only did Stallone have to face bullying in school, but he oncerecalledthat directors would often make fun of his speech pattern during auditions for commercials. But through sheer resilience in the face of adversity,Sylvester Stalloneeventually got his big break, which was then followedbyFirst Blood‘s success, cementing him as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
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But despite earning major acclaim in showbiz, theGuardiansstar playfully admitted there are certain roles he’d never be able to play following his slurred speech, which includes the Terminator. While sharing thoughts on comic book characters he’d love to play, Stallone said he isn’t built like a comic book character, joking no one would cast him as the Terminator following his pallbearer-like voice. He toldTHR:
“I don’t look like any comic-book character. Like I could have never played The Terminator. No one would make a robot with a crooked mouth and voice that sounds like a pallbearer. It just doesn’t work.”
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Interestingly,Arnold Schwarzenegger, who eventually landed the lead inThe Terminator, too initially struggled in Hollywood following his thick Austrian accent. But like theRambostar, his distinctaccent became an asset, especially inThe Terminator.
Sylvester Stallone Wasn’t Seen Fit to Play Superman
While Stallone might not see himself fit for traditional superhero characters, even though he does have two comic book roles under his belt, the actor was once close to becoming Superman. But even though the Salkinds wanted him to star in 1978’sSuperman, as the actor was hot off the success ofRocky, director Richard Donner didn’t see him as the right choice.
Donner recalled (viaTHR):
“The Salkinds wanted a name. I met with Sylvester Stallone because of them. I tried to be nice and say, “This is wrong.” I liked Stallone; he turned out to be a nice guy. He wanted to do it. I remember meeting him in his manager’s office and I was as cordial as I could be. He was a big star and I’m some punk kid.”
“He said he was gonna kill me”: Sylvester Stallone Had to Sell His Dog Make Ends Meet, Was Forced to Pay Almost 80X the Amount to Buy Him Back after Selling Rocky Script for $1,000,000
While it’s hard to imagine anyone else other than Schwarzenegger as T-800, contrary to Stallone’s belief, following his gravitas as an actor, it’s safe to say he would’ve made a great Terminator.
The Terminatoris available to rent on Apple TV.
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2539
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
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Arnold SchwarzeneggerSylvester Stallone
