MOVIE NEWS – Even though Sylvester Stallone signed on with the makers of The Godfather, the studio didn’t even consider him as an extra because they didn’t think his physique was suitable for the gangster film. The Italian stallion’s offer was rejected.

Coming to Paramount+ in November is the Sylvester Stallone-starring Tulsa King, where the veteran action star plays an old mobster. Sly reveals that he wanted to star in Francis Ford Coppola’s big-budget gangster movie when he was first starting, but the head of The Godfather, Paramount, said the Italian stud didn’t fit the bill turned him down.

When the film was made 50 years ago, Stallone was not yet a household name, nor did he have any false hopes about his potential role. So he didn’t want to play one of Corleone’s characters; he didn’t even sign up to play a speaking character; he just wanted to be an extra in the wedding scene at the beginning of The Godfather. “I went to Paramount and asked if I could be an extra at the wedding,” the actor recalled to Empire magazine. “They said they didn’t know; I’m not that guy. And I said, ‘I’m not the type to hide in the background behind the f*cking wedding cake’?”

After half a century, everything fell into place, and Paramount made Tulsa King, in which Stallone worked with Yellowstone showrunner Taylor Sheridan. “After fifty years, I finally get my chance as a gangster, and it’s perfect. It’s all coming true for those who are patient,” said the actor, who said yes as soon as he read Sheridan’s script. Stallone was impressed by the combination of Westerns and gangster movies and couldn’t refuse the offer, and Paramount had no problem with his physique.

The Tulsa King, which opens on Paramount+ on 13 November, stars Dwight Manfredi (Stallone) as a mobster who has been under the spell of crime since childhood. Manfredi spent 25 years in prison for refusing to rat on his partners, and after his release, his boss gives him the job of starting a business in Tulsa, but things don’t work out in Oklahoma town. In addition to Stallone, the series stars Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, Max Casella, Domenick Lombardozzi, Vincent Piazza, Jay Will, A.C. Peterson and Garrett Hedlund.

Source: Empire Online