Among the plethora of faces that popped up in the 2023’s highest-grossing billion-dollar and 8 Oscar-nominated movie, Barbie, Sylvester Stallone was also set to leave his mark, believe it or not. However, conflicting schedules and clashes with Tulsa King made it difficult for him to be present on the sets. Nevertheless, Stallone’s “Kenergy” was felt throughout the movie. However, Stallone is now glad audiences missed the opportunity to witness him as one of the Kens, as he deemed himself too ugly for the role.
Sylvester Stallone Thought He Was Too Ugly to Play Ken!
When the iconic action hero Sylvester Stallone graced The Tonight Show stage, he spilled the beans to Jimmy Fallon about how the unexpected yet intriguing opportunity to appear in the Barbie movie landed in his lap. Despite his initial excitement for the cameo, pesky schedule conflicts threw a wrench in the works.
Adding a touch of humor, Stallone at one point of the conversation confessed he would have been too ugly for Ken, humorously suggesting that audiences may have dodged a bullet by not witnessing him on screen, given his self-deprecating view of his own beauty scale. He revealed,
“I met [Ryan Gosling] at a dinner,–Obviously we are opposites. He’s good looking. I’m not. Seriously! Could you imagine me as Ken? It doesn’t work at all.”
But let’s not forget, that Stallone isn’t just an actor but the OG poster child for macho masculinity and masculine beauty, and he’s still rocking it! With roles like Rocky and Rambo, he’s not only shaped the action movie genre but also influenced an entire generation of men to channel their inner Stallone. Who wouldn’t want to see Stallone flexing his muscles in a doll-sized all-pink dream world?
The Surprising Influence of Sylvester Stallone on All the Kens in Barbie
When crafting the second half of the Barbie movie, Greta Gerwig, being the biggest Stallone fan there ever is, attempted to infuse some of Stallone’s essence to showcase the macho Kens, especially after uncovering the mysteries of patriarchy.
Stallone’s influence was so strong that Ken’s wardrobe, including his iconic fur jacket, screamed Stallone chic. Despite his absence on set, Stallone’s presence was felt everywhere, from the posters adorning the Kens’ gym walls, inspiring their workouts, to the meticulously chosen outfits. As he revealed,
“The director said, “Do you want to be in the film?” I said, “I’d love to be in the film.” And then I was stuck on Tulsa King, so I couldn’t be on. And then they took kind of my image, and with Ryan [Gosling]. And it was, like, amazing. So that’s the story… They put him in a fur coat.”
Stallone may not have physically appeared, but his essence certainly left its mark, turning Barbie’s world into a mini Stallone shrine.
During his visit to The Tonight Show, Stallone also discussed the possibility of passing the baton to Ryan Gosling for potential Rambo sequels, expressing his wish for Gosling to take on the role. He said,
“[Ryan] goes, ‘I was fascinated by Rambo and I used to go to school dressed as Rambo and people would chase me away and I still didn’t stop. I’d vacation as Rambo.’ He just kept saying that he had a lot of affiliation with Rambo,–And I thought, you know, this is interesting. If I ever pass the baton, I’ll pass it on to him because he loves the character.”
Although nothing has been confirmed yet about Gosling taking on that role, this only compels fans to imagine what it would be like to see Gosling as Rambo. And fans can’t wait!