10 More Movie Roles Obviously Designed For Other Actors
1. Sylvester Stallone As Axel Foley - Beverley Hills Cop
What made Beverly Hills Cop so good when it arrived is how it flew against typical action film fare, swapping out the macho bravado super cop for something more chaotic and comedic. Axel Foley, a reckless danger to the force, finds himself way out of his depth when he leaves Detroit to pursue a personal case in Beverly Hills.
Whilst several actors were considered for the role, the closest who got to the starting line was mainstay action megastar Sylvester Stallone. In fact, he actually got cast.
Stallone was, in a way, a perfect fit. The role of Foley would've given him an opportunity to almost play a parody of his other, hyper masculine work and his name value alone would've sold the film. Instead, he took the script and rewrote it, turning the Beverley Hills Cop into a straight-forward action flick. Stallone presented this version to the studio two weeks before production was set to begin but was simply told "no". Days later, he would be replaced by Eddie Murphy.
This means there's possibly a script for Beverly Hills Cop there, in theory, that stars an Axel Foley designed specifically for Stallone’s style of big muscles, big guns and big explosions written by the actor himself... assuming Paramount didn't immediately shred it.
Thankfully, the project got back on track and Eddie played the role like it had been his all along and became a film star overnight because of it.