Why Sylvester Stallone Said ‘No One Wanted’ Hulk Hogan in ‘Rocky III’ at First

Sylvester Stallone is mourning the loss of his Rocky III costar and friend Hulk Hogan, who passed away yesterday at the age of 71. During a sit-down interview with TMZ, Stallone reflected on their time working together on the film, and dropped some surprising info about the reservations some people involved with the film evidently had about his casting.

“At first no one wanted him because he was too big,” Stallone told TMZ. Hogan stood 6 feet, 7 inches, and famously towered over Stallone’s Rocky Balboa as the character Thunderlips in the 1982 film. But Stallone wasn’t having any of it.

“I said, ‘That’s the whole point, it’s like David and Goliath, the bigger the better,'” he recounted.

Stallone went on to explain how Hogan’s wrestling background was a major boon to the filming process, despite his massive size.

“So he showed up in magnificent shape. And the thing was he would start to roll around and he would literally pick me up and drop me to the ground, and I thought I would literally be pulp when I land,” Stallone recalled. “And yet he would always break the fall, and he would do things that you. wouldn’t see like a magician. I’ve had a lot of punches thrown at me and no one was more accurate and precise than him. It was extraordinary for a man of that size.”

Hogan’s massive size was used as a key part of the scene, where Rocky participates in a charty exhibition match with Thunderlips.

Although Rocky III debuted to mixed reviews, it went on to earn $270 million at the box office and spawned the hit single, “Eye of the Tiger.” The film would play a key role in launching Hogan’s Hollywood career, where he would go on to star in a variety of film and television projects.