[American Infidel]

James Caan almost played Rocky Balboa in Rocky I because the studio wanted a more experienced actor to play the lead role. Stallone - to his credit - stuck to his guns and would only agree to the deal if he could play Rocky Balboa, which was (IMHO) the much better choice.

RIP James Caan

[oldvirginian]

“James Caan almost played Rocky Balboa...”

In an interview Stallone once said he would have buried the Rocky script in the back yard before he would let Caan play the part.
Don’t know what he had against Caan.