On October 26, 2010, Moviehole posted the first part of Clint Morris’ article titled 50 Original Casting Choices. Sly made the list twice so far:
- 50. The Terminator (1984) – Sylvester Stallone as ‘The Terminator’
We’ve all heard the stories of O.J Simpson (James Cameron’s favourite to take on the role before coming to the humorous conclusion that America wouldn’t believe such a ‘nice guy’ could be a killer) and Lance Henriksen (He did a great screen test, arriving to the office in character, but wasn’t quite Terminator material. Instead, Cameron cast him as a cop in the film) being up for the T-800, but did you know Sylvester Stallone was actually offered the role of the time-travelling assassin? Sly passed not long before Cameron got wind of Arnold Schwarzenegger, actually.
- 40. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) – Sylvester Stallone as ‘Axel Foley’
You all know this one, right? Sly was originally cast as Axel Foley in a more action-centric, less-comical “Beverly Hills Cop” movie. Sly ultimately abandoned the project (all the tinkering with the script turned him off) and the project was later rewritten for “48 Hours” and “Trading Places” funnyman Eddie Murphy.