Dustin Hoffman Turned Down Role Of Rambo For Being Too Violent

When you think of Rambo strutting his stuff in some forest or other, gun in his hand, bullets hanging from every joint, and bad guys being blown apart every way you turn, who do you think of? Sylvester Stallone, or Dustin Hoffman perhaps?

Obviously it’s Stallone seeing as he has played the gun toting psycho in four films to date with a fifth being rumoured for production next year. If they leave it too long before making the next one, Stallone will be using a zimmer frame to get around in it.

However, it could have been a whole different story had Dustin Hoffman accepted the role of John Rambo for First Blood in 1982. According to Digital Spy, he told Extra that he was approached by producers first and Stallone only got the gig as a second choice.

“I was the first one to be asked to do Rambo, but it was a little too much violence.”

A little too violent? You can say that again. I just don’t know how the producers could have thought Hoffman was right for the role. Rain Man yes, Rambo no.

In the same interview, he also admitted regretting turning down Richard Dreyfuss’s role in Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, and being upset that the part of James Bond never came his way.