Veteran actor Sylvester Stallone has said that he would like Ryan Gosling to take over the role of John Rambo – if he were to ever give it up.
In an interview on ‘The Tonight Show’, Stallone said that Gosling would be his choice to take on the iconic role if the franchise were to be rebooted.
Stallone played the iconic character of damaged US Army Special Forces veteran John Rambo in five movies. The first, First Blood, was released in 1982, with what is assumed to be the final instalment of the series, ‘Last Blood’ being released in 2019.
Asked why Gosling – who is nominated for an Oscar for his role as Ken in last year’s Barbie movie – would be his preferred choice, Stallone said the pair had met at a dinner and got talking. “Obviously we are opposites. He’s good looking. I’m not.” He acknowledged.
But during the pair’s conversation, it emerged that Gosling is a big fan of the Rambo films – even to the point of dressing like him as a child – and that he had a lot of affiliation with the character. “And I thought, you know, this is interesting,” said Stallone. “If I ever pass on the baton, I’ll pass it on to him because he loves the character.”
Stallone did later acknowledge that some might say that Gosling is too good-looking to play the grizzled veteran.
Gosling meanwhile has spoke of his love for Rambo in the past. As far back as 2011, he told then-Tonight Show host Jay Leno about how the first Rambo film had put a spell on him back in the 80s and he would pretend to be the character at school.
In addition, Gosling is no stranger to action roles – indeed, he is set to show his action skills in the upcoming movie ‘The Fall Guy’, which is set for release on May 3.
Whether this revelation from Stallone puts an idea in an executive’s mind remains to be seen.
